Analysis of The Spoilsport
Robert Graves 1895 (Wimbledon) – 1985 (Deià)
My familiar ghost again
Comes to see what he can see,
Critic, son of Conscious Brain,
Spying on our privacy.
Slam the window, bolt the door,
Yet he’ll enter in and stay;
In tomorrow’s book he’ll score
Indiscretions of today.
Whispered love and muttered fears,
How their echoes fly about!
None escape his watchful ears,
Every sigh might be a shout.
No kind words nor angry cries
Turn away this grim spoilsport;
No fine lady’s pleading eyes,
Neither love, nor hate, nor … port.
Critic wears no smile of fun,
Speaks no word of blame nor praise,
Counts our kisses one by one,
Notes each gesture, every phrase.
My familiar ghost again
Stands or squats where suits him best;
Critic, son of Conscious Brain,
Listens, watches, takes no rest.
Scheme | AbCb dede fgfg hehx ijij AkCk |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain |
Metre | 1010101 1111111 1011101 10110100 1010101 1110001 001111 010101 1010101 1110101 1011101 10011101 1111101 101111 111101 1011111 1011111 1111111 11010111 11101001 1010101 1111111 1011101 1010111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 746 |
Words | 131 |
Sentences | 8 |
Stanzas | 6 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 24 |
Letters per line (avg) | 24 |
Words per line (avg) | 5 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 95 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 22 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 06, 2023
- 39 sec read
- 41 Views
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"The Spoilsport" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/31202/the-spoilsport>.
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