Analysis of Robert Davidson

Edgar Lee Masters 1868 (Garnett) – 1950 (Elkins Park)



I grew spiritually fat living off the souls of men.
If I saw a soul that was strong
I wounded its pride and devoured its strength.
The shelters of friendship knew my cunning,
For where I could steal a friend I did so.
And wherever I could enlarge my power
By undermining ambition, I did so,
Thus to make smooth my own.
And to triumph over other souls,
Just to assert and prove my superior strength,
Was with me a delight,
The keen exhilaration of soul gymnastics.
Devouring souls, I should have lived forever.
But their undigested remains bred in me a deadly nephritis,
With fear, restlessness, sinking spirits,
Hatred, suspicion, vision disturbed.
I collapsed at last with a shriek.
Remember the acorn;
It does not devour other acorns.


Scheme ABCDEFEGHCIJFEKLMNO
Poetic Form
Metre 111000011010111 11101111 11011001011 0101101110 1111101111 00101101110 1100010111 111111 011010101 110101101001 111001 01001011010 010011111010 111011010101 111001010 100101001 10111101 010010 1110101010
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 726
Words 131
Sentences 10
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 19
Lines Amount 19
Letters per line (avg) 31
Words per line (avg) 7
Letters per stanza (avg) 585
Words per stanza (avg) 129
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

39 sec read
50

Edgar Lee Masters

Edgar Lee Masters was an American poet, biographer, and dramatist. more…

All Edgar Lee Masters poems | Edgar Lee Masters Books

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