Analysis of Boccaccio
Eugene Field 1850 (St. Louis) – 1895 (Chicago)
One day upon a topmost shelf
I found a precious prize indeed,
Which father used to read himself,
But did not want us boys to read;
A brown old book of certain age
(As type and binding seemed to show),
While on the spotted title-page
Appeared the name 'Boccaccio.'
I'd never heard that name before,
But in due season it became
To him who fondly brooded o'er
Those pages a belovèd name!
Adown the centuries I walked
Mid pastoral scenes and royal show;
With seigneurs and their dames I talked--
The crony of Boccaccio!
Those courtly knights and sprightly maids,
Who really seemed disposed to shine
In gallantries and escapades,
Anon became great friends of mine.
Yet was there sentiment with fun,
And oftentimes my tears would flow
At some quaint tale of valor done,
As told by my Boccaccio.
In boyish dreams I saw again
Bucolic belles and dames of court,
The princely youths and monkish men
Arrayed for sacrifice or sport.
Again I heard the nightingale
Sing as she sang those years ago
In his embowered Italian vale
To my revered Boccaccio.
And still I love that brown old book
I found upon the topmost shelf--
I love it so I let none look
Upon the treasure but myself!
And yet I have a strapping boy
Who (I have every cause to know)
Would to its full extent enjoy
The friendship of Boccaccio!
But boys are, oh! so different now
From what they were when I was one!
I fear my boy would not know how
To take that old raconteur's fun!
In your companionship, O friend,
I think it wise alone to go
Plucking the gracious fruits that bend
Wheree'er you lead, Boccaccio.
So rest you there upon the shelf,
Clad in your garb of faded brown;
Perhaps, sometime, my boy himself
Shall find you out and take you down.
Then may he feel the joy once more
That thrilled me, filled me years ago
When reverently I brooded o'er
The glories of Boccaccio!
Scheme | AXAXBCBD EFGFHCHD DIDIJCJD KLKLMCMD NANAOCOD PJPJQCQD ARARECGD |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1101011 11010101 11011101 11111111 01111101 11010111 11010101 01011 11011101 10110101 111101010 11001011 1010011 110010101 1101111 01011 11010101 11010111 01010 1011111 11110011 0101111 11111101 11111 01011101 01010111 0101011 0111011 01110100 11111101 0110101 11011 01111111 1101011 11111111 0101011 01110101 111100111 11110101 01011 111111001 11101111 11111111 111111 0101011 11110111 10010111 1111 11110101 10111101 0111101 11110111 11110111 11111101 1100011010 01011 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,785 |
Words | 340 |
Sentences | 16 |
Stanzas | 7 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8 |
Lines Amount | 56 |
Letters per line (avg) | 26 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 206 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 48 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:43 min read
- 154 Views
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"Boccaccio" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 21 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/12915/boccaccio>.
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