Analysis of The Poet's Forge
Helen Hunt Jackson 1830 (Amherst, Massachusetts) – 1885 (San Francisco)
He lies on his back, the idling smith,
A lazy, dreaming fellow is he;
The sky is blue, or the sky is gray,
He lies on his back the livelong day,
Not a tool in sight, say what they may,
A curious sort of smith is he.
The powers of the air are in league with him;
The country around believes it well;
The wondering folk draw spying near;
Never sight nor sound do they see or hear;
No wonder they feel a little fear;
When is it his work is done so well?
Never sight nor sound to see or hear;
The powers of the air are in league with him;
High over his head his metals swing,
Fine gold and silver to shame the king;
We might distinguish their glittering,
If once we could get in league with him.
High over his head his metals swing;
He hammers them idly year by year,
Hammers and chuckles a low refrain:
"A bench and a book are a ball and a chain,
The adze is a better tool than the plane;
What's the odds between now and next year?"
Hammers and chuckles his low refrain,
A lazy, dreaming fellow is he:
When sudden, some day, his bells peal out,
And men, at the sound, for gladness shout;
He laughs and asks what it's all about;
Oh, a curious sort of smith is he.
Scheme | xAbbba Cdefed fCGggc Gehhhe hAiiia |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Etheree (23%) Tetractys (20%) |
Metre | 1111101001 010101011 011110111 11111011 101011111 010011111 01010110111 010010111 010011101 1011111111 110110101 111111111 101111111 01010110111 110111101 110101101 110101100 111110111 110111101 110110111 100100101 01001101001 0110101101 101011011 100101101 010101011 110111111 01101111 110111101 1010011111 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,167 |
Words | 236 |
Sentences | 6 |
Stanzas | 5 |
Stanza Lengths | 6, 6, 6, 6, 6 |
Lines Amount | 30 |
Letters per line (avg) | 29 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 177 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 47 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:11 min read
- 55 Views
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"The Poet's Forge" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/17088/the-poet%27s-forge>.
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