Analysis of Shovel And Tongs
Ella Wheeler Wilcox 1855 (Janesville) – 1919
The Poker proposed to the shovel
That they should be man and wife,
'I think,' said he, 'that we could agree
As we journey along through life.'
The Shovel blushed as she answered,
'I thank you kindly, Mister,
But my promise belongs to the faithful Tongs,
So I only can be your sister.'
And when the couple were married
The Stove gave the Shovel away;
And it seemed too bad that the Poker, poor lad,
Was the Tongs' best man on that day.
But the Poker soon after was wedded
To the hearth broom, slender and slick;
And 'twas whispered about Mrs. Tongs was put out
Because he found comfort so quick.
Scheme | XAXA XBXB XCXC XDXD |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain |
Metre | 010011010 1111101 111111101 11100111 01011110 1111010 11100110101 111011110 01010010 01101001 01111101011 10111111 1010110110 10111001 011001101111 01111011 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 587 |
Words | 117 |
Sentences | 6 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 16 |
Letters per line (avg) | 29 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 115 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 28 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 34 sec read
- 53 Views
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