Analysis of The Dictator
Clarence Michael James Stanislaus Dennis 1876 (Auburn) – 1938 (Melbourne)
Avaunt! What news is this I hear
Of portent grim and sinister?
Is he, whose words insult mine ear,
A mere, upstart Prime Minister?
Odds fish! These fellows hitherto
Wore no demeanor critical;
But, cap in hand, have sought my view
On all affairs political.
'Sdeath! Has the caitiff not the sense
To be polite and affable
Like others, whose meek diffidence,
At times, was even laughable?
Aha! I made them sore afraid!
They gave my schemes the preference,
And murmured: 'Thank you, Mister Wade,'
With low and seemly deference.
Then, I had but to raise my hand,
And ev'ry Fed'ral min-i-on
Sprang hastily to my command,
And bowed to my opin-i-on.
'Twas I that granted them the site
To build their pesky capital;
For, if approached with mien polite.
I'm not a fearsome chap at all.
'Twasq I dictated all their laws
And made State Frights substantially
Their shibboleth; I marked the flaws,
What time they schemed financially.
I bade them to the Conference;
They came with meek humility;
And there I filled them with immense
Respect for my ability.
But now, this upstart Fisher man,
Intent on irritating me,
Has dared to moot a Fed'ral plan
Without conciliating me.
Zounds! I have spoken! And I speak
With ominous obscurity.
Let him beware, I say! . . . Next week:
'Tis pregnant with - futurity.
Next week! Be warned! Here, in my sleeve
Are certain things mysterious.
It they be loosened, by my leave. . . .
Aha! It will be serious!
0, I have words of weight and stress
To tickle your auriculars.
Enough! . . . Watch handbills and the press
For further grim particulars.
Scheme | ABAB CDCD EDED FGFG HIHI JDJX KLKL GLEL MLML NLNC OPOP QEQX |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain (83%) |
Metre | 1111111 11010100 11110111 0111100 1111011 11010100 11011111 11010100 1101101 11010100 110111 11110100 1111101 11110100 01011101 1101100 11111111 011111 11001101 0111111 11110101 11110100 11011101 11010111 11010111 01110100 1101101 11110100 11110100 11110100 01111101 01110100 1111101 0111001 1111011 0111 11110011 11000100 11011111 11011 11111011 11010100 11110111 1111100 1111101 11011 0111001 11010100 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,527 |
Words | 272 |
Sentences | 40 |
Stanzas | 12 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 48 |
Letters per line (avg) | 25 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 100 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 23 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:22 min read
- 44 Views
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"The Dictator" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 8 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/6618/the-dictator>.
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