Analysis of Phantasmagoria CANTO VII ( Sad Souvenaunce )

Lewis Carroll 1832 (Daresbury) – 1898 (Guildford)



"WHAT'S this?" I pondered. "Have I slept?
Or can I have been drinking?"
But soon a gentler feeling crept
Upon me, and I sat and wept
An hour or so, like winking.

"No need for Bones to hurry so!"
I sobbed. "In fact, I doubt
If it was worth his while to go -
And who is Tibbs, I'd like to know,
To make such work about?

"If Tibbs is anything like me,
It's POSSIBLE," I said,
"He won't be over-pleased to be
Dropped in upon at half-past three,
After he's snug in bed.

"And if Bones plagues him anyhow -
Squeaking and all the rest of it,
As he was doing here just now -
I prophesy there'll be a row,
And Tibbs will have the best of it!"

Then, as my tears could never bring
The friendly Phantom back,
It seemed to me the proper thing
To mix another glass, and sing
The following Coronach.

'AND ART THOU GONE, BELOVED GHOST?
BEST OF FAMILIARS!
NAY THEN, FAREWELL, MY DUCKLING ROAST,
FAREWELL, FAREWELL, MY TEA AND TOAST,
MY MEERSCHAUM AND CIGARS!

THE HUES OF LIFE ARE DULL AND GRAY,
THE SWEETS OF LIFE INSIPID,
WHEN thou, MY CHARMER, ART AWAY -
OLD BRICK, OR RATHER, LET ME SAY,
OLD PARALLELEPIPED!'

Instead of singing Verse the Third,
I ceased - abruptly, rather:
But, after such a splendid word
I felt that it would be absurd
To try it any farther.

So with a yawn I went my way
To seek the welcome downy,
And slept, and dreamed till break of day
Of Poltergeist and Fetch and Fay
And Leprechaun and Brownie!

For year I've not been visited
By any kind of Sprite;
Yet still they echo in my head,
Those parting words, so kindly said,
"Old Turnip-top, good-night!"


Scheme ABAAB CDCCD EFEEF GHGCH BXBBX ICIIX JAJJA KLKKL JEJJE XMFFM
Poetic Form Etheree  (28%)
Metre 11110111 1111110 11010101 01101101 11011110 11111101 110111 11111111 01111111 111101 1111011 110011 11110111 10011111 101101 0111110 10010111 11110111 1110101 01110111 11111101 010101 11110101 11010101 01001 0111011 111 1111101 111101 11001 01111101 01111 11110101 11110111 11 01110101 1101010 11010101 11111101 1111010 11011111 1101010 01011111 1100101 01010 11111100 110111 11110011 11011101 110111
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 1,563
Words 307
Sentences 19
Stanzas 10
Stanza Lengths 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5
Lines Amount 50
Letters per line (avg) 23
Words per line (avg) 6
Letters per stanza (avg) 117
Words per stanza (avg) 30
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

1:32 min read
63

Lewis Carroll

Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, better known by his pen name, Lewis Carroll, was an English writer, mathematician, logician, Anglican deacon and photographer. more…

All Lewis Carroll poems | Lewis Carroll Books

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