An Enigma
Edgar Allan Poe 1809 (Boston) – 1849 (Baltimore)
"Seldom we find," says Solomon Don Dunce,
"Half an idea in the profoundest sonnet.
Through all the flimsy things we see at once
As easily as through a Naples bonnet-
Trash of all trash!- how can a lady don it?
Yet heavier far than your Petrarchan stuff-
Owl-downy nonsense that the faintest puff
Twirls into trunk-paper the while you con it."
And, veritably, Sol is right enough.
The general tuckermanities are arrant
Bubbles- ephemeral and so transparent-
But this is, now- you may depend upon it-
Stable, opaque, immortal- all by dint
Of the dear names that he concealed within 't.
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 24, 2023
- 31 sec read
- 448 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | ABACBDDBDEEBFG |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic hexameter |
Characters | 666 |
Words | 106 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 14 |
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"An Enigma" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 25 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/8430/an-enigma>.
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