Analysis of Second Love

Dorothy Parker 1893 (Long Branch) – 1967 (New York City)



"So surely is she mine," you say, and turn
Your quick and steady mind to harder things-
To bills and bonds and talk of what men earn-
And whistle up the stair, of evenings.
And do you see a dream behind my eyes,
Or ask a simple question twice of me-
"Thus women are," you say; for men are wise
And tolerant, in their security.

How shall I count the midnights I have known
When calm you turn to me, nor feel me start,
To find my easy lips upon your own
And know my breast beneath your rhythmic heart.
Your god defer the day I tell you this:
My lad, my lad, it is not you I kiss!


Scheme ABABCDCD EFEFGG
Poetic Form Shakespearean sonnet 
Metre 1101111101 1101011101 1101011111 010101110 0111010111 1101010111 1101111111 0100010100 111101111 1111111111 1111010111 0111011101 1101011111 1111111111
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 572
Words 123
Sentences 5
Stanzas 2
Stanza Lengths 8, 6
Lines Amount 14
Letters per line (avg) 31
Words per line (avg) 9
Letters per stanza (avg) 218
Words per stanza (avg) 60
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 20, 2023

36 sec read
154

Dorothy Parker

Dorothy Parker was an American poet, short story writer, critic and satirist, best known for her wit, wisecracks, and eye for 20th-century urban foibles. more…

All Dorothy Parker poems | Dorothy Parker Books

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