Analysis of Size and Tears
Lewis Carroll 1832 (Daresbury) – 1898 (Guildford)
When on the sandy shore I sit,
Beside the salt sea-wave,
And fall into a weeping fit
Because I dare not shave -
A little whisper at my ear
Enquires the reason of my fear.
I answer "If that ruffian Jones
Should recognise me here,
He'd bellow out my name in tones
Offensive to the ear:
He chaffs me so on being stout
(A thing that always puts me out)."
Ah me! I see him on the cliff!
Farewell, farewell to hope,
If he should look this way, and if
He's got his telescope!
To whatsoever place I flee,
My odious rival follows me!
For every night, and everywhere,
I meet him out at dinner;
And when I've found some charming fair,
And vowed to die or win her,
The wretch (he's thin and I am stout)
Is sure to come and cut me out!
The girls (just like them!) all agree
To praise J. Jones, Esquire:
I ask them what on earth they see
About him to admire?
They cry "He is so sleek and slim,
It's quite a treat to look at him!"
They vanish in tobacco smoke,
Those visionary maids -
I feel a sharp and sudden poke
Between the shoulder-blades -
"Why, Brown, my boy! Your growing stout!"
(I told you he would find me out!)
"My growth is not YOUR business, Sir!"
"No more it is, my boy!
But if it's YOURS, as I infer,
Why, Brown, I give you joy!
A man, whose business prospers so,
Is just the sort of man to know!
"It's hardly safe, though, talking here -
I'd best get out of reach:
For such a weight as yours, I fear,
Must shortly sink the beach!" -
Insult me thus because I'm stout!
I vow I'll go and call him out!
Scheme | ABABCD ECECFF GHGHII JKJKFF ILILMM NONOFF KPKPQQ CRDRFF |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 11010111 010111 01010101 011111 01010111 1010111 1101111 1111 11011101 010101 11111101 0111111 11111101 1111 11111101 11110 1010111 110010101 11001010 1111110 01111101 0111110 01110111 11110111 01111101 11111 11111111 011101 11111101 11011111 1100011 11001 11010101 010101 11111101 11111111 11111101 111111 11111101 111111 01110101 11011111 11011101 111111 11011111 110101 01110111 11110111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,461 |
Words | 310 |
Sentences | 22 |
Stanzas | 8 |
Stanza Lengths | 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6 |
Lines Amount | 48 |
Letters per line (avg) | 23 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 139 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 38 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 22, 2023
- 1:34 min read
- 44 Views
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"Size and Tears" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/25791/size-and-tears>.
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