Analysis of The duel
Eugene Field 1850 (St. Louis) – 1895 (Chicago)
The gingham dog and the calico cat
Side by side on the table sat;
'T was half-past twelve, and (what do you think!)
Nor one nor t' other had slept a wink!
The old Dutch clock and the Chinese plate
Appeared to know as sure as fate
There was going to be a terrible spat.
(I wasn't there; I simply state
What was told to me by the Chinese plate!)
The gingham dog went "bow-wow-wow!"
And the calico cat replied "mee-ow!"
The air was littered, an hour or so,
With bits of gingham and calico,
While the old Dutch clock in the chimney place
Up with its hands before its face,
For it always dreaded a family row!
(Now mind: I'm only telling you
What the old Dutch clock declares is true!)
The Chinese plate looked very blue,
And wailed, "Oh, dear! what shall we do!"
But the gingham dog and the calico cat
Wallowed this way and tumbled that,
Employing every tooth and claw
In the awfullest way you ever saw -
And, oh! how the gingham and calico flew!
(Don't fancy I exaggerate -
I got my news from the Chinese plate!)
Next morning, where the two had sat
They found no trace of dog or cat;
And some folks think unto this day
That burglars stole that pair away!
But the truth about the cat and pup
Is this: they ate each other up!
Now what do you really think of that!
(The old Dutch clock it told me so,
And that is how I came to know.)
Scheme | AABBCCACC XDDDEEDFF FFAAGGFCC AAHHIIADD |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 010100101 11110101 1111101111 1111101101 011100011 01111111 11101101001 11011101 1111110011 01011111 001010111 0111011011 11110010 1011100101 11110111 1111001001 11110101 101110111 00111101 01111111 1010100101 10110101 010100101 00111101 0110100101 1101010 111110011 11010111 11111111 01111011 11011101 101010101 11111101 111110111 01111111 01111111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,300 |
Words | 271 |
Sentences | 18 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 9, 9, 9, 9 |
Lines Amount | 36 |
Letters per line (avg) | 28 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 252 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 65 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 22, 2023
- 1:21 min read
- 431 Views
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"The duel" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 21 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/13072/the-duel>.
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