Analysis of Looking at a Portrait
Joseph Seamon Cotter 1861 (Louisville) – 1949
O why are there eyes like these,
That sparkle and dapple and tease,
So wide with the morning, so deep with the night,
Dancing and gleaming in passioned delight?
O why are there eyes like these?
O why are there lips like these?
Caressed by the southern breeze,
That beckon and call and hold a slave
All who therewith each soul-cry leave?
O why are there lips like these?
O why are there arms like these?
That crumple and crush as they please
A weak man's heart, and in their embrace
Bring a glow of red to a strong man's face?
O why are there arms like these?
| Scheme | AabbA AaxxA AaccA |
|---|---|
| Poetic Form | |
| Metre | 1111111 1100101 11101011101 100100101 1111111 1111111 0110101 110010101 1111111 1111111 1111111 11001111 011100101 1011110111 1111111 |
| Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
| Characters | 564 |
| Words | 110 |
| Sentences | 9 |
| Stanzas | 3 |
| Stanza Lengths | 5, 5, 5 |
| Lines Amount | 15 |
| Letters per line (avg) | 29 |
| Words per line (avg) | 7 |
| Letters per stanza (avg) | 145 |
| Words per stanza (avg) | 36 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 33 sec read
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"Looking at a Portrait" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/24586/looking-at-a-portrait>.
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