Analysis of Behind the Scenes
Andrew Barton Paterson 1864 (Orange, New South Wales) – 1941 (Sydney, New South Wales)
The actor struts his little hour,
Between the limelight and the band;
The public feel the actor's power,
Yet nothing do they understand
Of all the touches here and there
That make or mar the actor's part,
They never see, beneath the glare,
The artist striving after art.
To them it seems a labour slight
Where nought of study intervenes;
You see it in another light
When once you've been behind the scenes.
For though the actor at his best
Is, like a poet, born not made,
He still must study with a zest
And practise hard to learn his trade.
So, whether on the actor's form
The stately robes of Hamlet sit,
Or as Macbeth he rave and storm,
Or plays burlesque to please the pit,
'Tis each and all a work of art,
That constant care and practice means --
The actor who creates a part
Has done his work behind the scenes.
Scheme | ABABCDCDEFEF GHGHIJIJ DFDF |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 010111010 0101001 010101010 1101101 11010101 11110101 11010101 01010101 1111011 1111001 11100101 11110101 11010111 11010111 11110101 0111111 11010101 01011101 11011101 11011101 11010111 11010101 01010101 11110101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 825 |
Words | 157 |
Sentences | 5 |
Stanzas | 3 |
Stanza Lengths | 12, 8, 4 |
Lines Amount | 24 |
Letters per line (avg) | 27 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 212 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 52 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 25, 2023
- 48 sec read
- 262 Views
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"Behind the Scenes" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 5 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/2493/behind-the-scenes>.
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