Analysis of The Frog and the Golden Ball
Robert Graves 1895 (Wimbledon) – 1985 (Deià)
She let her golden ball fall down the well
And begged a cold frog to retrieve it;
For which she kissed his ugly, gaping mouth -
Indeed, he could scarce believe it.
And seeing him transformed to his princely shape,
Who had been by hags enchanted,
She knew she could never love another man
Nor by any fate be daunted.
But what would her royal father and mother say?
They had promised her in marriage
To a cousin whose wide kingdom marched with theirs,
Who rode in a jeweled carriage.
'Our plight, dear heart, would appear past human hope
To all except you and me: to all
Who have never swum as a frog in a dark well
Or have lost a golden ball.'
'What then shall we do now?' she asked her lover.
He kissed her again, and said:
'Is magic of love less powerful at your Court
Than at this green well-head?'
Scheme | ABXB XCXC XDXD XEAE XFXF |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain |
Metre | 1101011101 010111011 1111110101 01111011 01010111101 11111010 11111010101 11101110 111010100101 11100010 10101110111 1100110 101111011101 110110111 111011010011 1110101 11111111010 1100101 110111100111 111111 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 793 |
Words | 159 |
Sentences | 9 |
Stanzas | 5 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 20 |
Letters per line (avg) | 31 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 124 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 31 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 25, 2023
- 46 sec read
- 151 Views
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