Analysis of The Dance
Major Henry Livingston Jr. 1748 (Poughkeepsie, Province of New York) – 1828 (Poughkeepsie, New York)
Take the name of the swain, a forlorn witless elf
Who was chang'd to a flow'r for admiring himself.
A part deem'd essential in each lady's dress
With what maidens cry when they wish to say yes.
A lullabye carriage, soft, cozy and light
With the name of the Poet who sang on the night.
The queen of Cairo, all lovely and winning
Whose blandishments ever kept Antony grinning.
The flow'r whose odors unremittingly please:
With the glory of forests, the king of the trees.
To the prince of the fairies, a jealous old knave,
Put the name of the tree that undid Mother Eve.
To finish the whole, add that period of day
When the linnet and thrush to repose hie away.
The initials of these, if adjusted with care.
Will show you the fairest where thousands are fair.
The sweet, pretty graces still hover about her
And Cupid would die with vexation without her.
When she swims in the dance or wherever she goes
She's crowded by witlings, plain-fellows, and beaux
Who throng at her elbow and tread on her toes.
If a pin or a hankerchief happen to fall
To seize on the prise fills with uproar the ball;
Such pulling and hawling & shoving & pushing
As rivals the racket of 'key and the cushion;'
And happy- thrice happy! too happy! the swain
Who can replace the pin or bandana again.
Tho the fellows surround & so humbly adore her
The girls on the contrary cannot endure her;
Her beauty their beauty forever disgraces
And her sweeter face still eclipses their faces-
For no lov'ly girl can a lov'ly girl bear
And fair ones are ever at war with the fair.
Scheme | AABBCC DDEEXXFF GGHHIXI JJDXXX HHBXGG |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 101101001101 1111011101001 01101001101 11101111111 011011001 101101011101 01110110010 110010110010 01111011 101011001101 101101001011 101101101101 110011110011 101001101101 001011101011 11101011011 011010110010 0101111010 111001101011 1101111001 1110101101 1011011011 1110111101 110011010 110010110010 01011011001 1110111001 101001110010 011010010010 0101100101 001011010110 111110111 01111011101 |
Closest metre | Iambic hexameter |
Characters | 1,539 |
Words | 290 |
Sentences | 16 |
Stanzas | 5 |
Stanza Lengths | 6, 8, 7, 6, 6 |
Lines Amount | 33 |
Letters per line (avg) | 37 |
Words per line (avg) | 9 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 242 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 57 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:29 min read
- 103 Views
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"The Dance" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 27 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/26333/the-dance>.
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