Analysis of The Poor Man's Guest
Edith Nesbit 1858 (Kennington, Surrey ) – 1924 (New Romney, Kent)
ONE came to me in royal guise
With banners flying fair and free
But many griefs had made me wise
And I refused to bow the knee.
Then one drew near who bore the flower
Of all the flowers of June and May;
But many griefs had lent me power
And I was strong to turn away.
Then came a beggar to my gate
With shoulders bowed to sorrow's pack,
So weary and so desolate
I had no heart to turn him back.
I let him share my board, my bed,
I warmed him in my shrinking breast,
I gave him all I had, and said:
'You, only you, have been my guest.
'Love passed in many a fair disguise
But never could an entrance win,
But you came in such piteous wise,
Poor friend, I could but let you in.'
Low laughed my guest: 'Kind friend!' said he,
And dropped the rags he was weary of;
And I, betrayed, saw over me
The terrible face of outraged Love.
Scheme | ABAB CDCD XEXE FGFG AHAH BIBI |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain |
Metre | 11110101 11010101 11011111 01011101 111111010 110101101 110111110 01111101 11010111 1101111 11001100 11111111 11111111 11101101 11111101 11011111 110100101 11011101 1110111 11111110 11111111 010111101 01011101 01001111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 810 |
Words | 173 |
Sentences | 8 |
Stanzas | 6 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 24 |
Letters per line (avg) | 26 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 105 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 28 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 51 sec read
- 88 Views
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