Analysis of The Mad Gardener's Song
Lewis Carroll 1832 (Daresbury) – 1898 (Guildford)
He thought he saw an Elephant,
That practised on a fife:
He looked again, and found it was
A letter from his wife.
'At length I realise,' he said,
The bitterness of Life!'
He thought he saw a Buffalo
Upon the chimney-piece:
He looked again, and found it was
His Sister's Husband's Niece.
'Unless you leave this house,' he said,
'I'll send for the Police!'
He thought he saw a Rattlesnake
That questioned him in Greek:
He looked again, and found it was
The Middle of Next Week.
'The one thing I regret,' he said,
'Is that it cannot speak!'
He thought he saw a Banker's Clerk
Descending from the bus:
He looked again, and found it was
A Hippopotamus.
'If this should stay to dine,' he said,
'There won't be much for us!'
He thought he saw a Kangaroo
That worked a coffee-mill:
He looked again, and found it was
A Vegetable-Pill.
'Were I to swallow this,' he said,
'I should be very ill!'
He thought he saw a Coach-and-Four
That stood beside his bed:
He looked again, and found it was
A Bear without a Head.
'Poor thing,' he said, 'poor silly thing!
It's waiting to be fed!'
He thought he saw an Albatross
That fluttered round the lamp:
He looked again, and found it was
A Penny-Postage Stamp.
'You'd best be getting home,' he said:
'The nights are very damp!'
He thought he saw a Garden-Door
That opened with a key:
He looked again, and found it was
A Double Rule of Three:
'And all its mystery,' he said,
'Is clear as day to me!'
He thought he saw a Argument
That proved he was the Pope:
He looked again, and found it was
A Bar of Mottled Soap.
'A fact so dread,' he faintly said,
'Extinguishes all hope!'
Scheme | abCbdb xeCede xfCfdf xgCgdg xhChdh idCdxd xjCjdj ikCkdk alCldl |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 11111100 11101 11010111 010111 111111 010011 1111010 010101 11010111 110101 01111111 111001 1111010 110101 11010111 010111 01110111 111101 11110101 010101 11010111 00100 11111111 111111 1111001 110101 11010111 01001 01110111 111101 11110101 110111 11010111 010101 11111101 110111 1111110 110101 11010111 010101 11110111 011101 11110101 110101 11010111 010111 01110011 111111 11110100 111101 11010111 011101 01111101 111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,559 |
Words | 322 |
Sentences | 19 |
Stanzas | 9 |
Stanza Lengths | 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6 |
Lines Amount | 54 |
Letters per line (avg) | 22 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 133 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 34 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on May 01, 2023
- 1:33 min read
- 527 Views
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