Analysis of The Haughty Snail-King
Vachel Lindsay 1879 (Springfield) – 1931 (Springfield)
Twelve snails went walking after night.
They'd creep an inch or so,
Then stop and bug their eyes
And blow.
Some folks . . . are . . . deadly . . . slow.
Twelve snails went walking yestereve,
Led by their fat old king.
They were so dull their princeling had
No sceptre, robe or ring—
Only a paper cap to wear
When nightly journeying.
This king-snail said: "I feel a thought
Within. . . . It blossoms soon. . . .
O little courtiers of mine, . . .
I crave a pretty boo. . . .
Oh, yes . . . (High thoughts with effort come
And well-bred snails are ALMOST dumb.)
"I wish I had a yellow crown
As glistering . . . as . . . the moon."
| Scheme | XAXAAXBXBXB XCXXDDXC |
|---|---|
| Poetic Form | |
| Metre | 11110101 111111 110111 01 111101 111101 111111 1011111 110111 10010111 110100 11111101 011101 11010011 110101 11111101 0111111 11110101 11101 |
| Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
| Characters | 618 |
| Words | 107 |
| Sentences | 41 |
| Stanzas | 2 |
| Stanza Lengths | 11, 8 |
| Lines Amount | 19 |
| Letters per line (avg) | 23 |
| Words per line (avg) | 7 |
| Letters per stanza (avg) | 220 |
| Words per stanza (avg) | 67 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 32 sec read
- 140 Views
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"The Haughty Snail-King" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/37368/the-haughty-snail-king>.
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