Analysis of The Pigs and the Charcoal-burner

Walter de la Mare 1873 (Charlton, London) – 1956 (Twickenham)



The old Pig said to the little pigs,
'In the forest is truffles and mast,
Follow me then, all ye little pigs,
Follow me fast!'

The Charcoal-burner sat in the shade
With his chin oil his thumb,
And saw the big Pig and the little pigs
Chuffling come.

He watched 'neath a green and giant bough,
And the pigs in the ground
Made a wonderful grisling and gruzzling
And greedy sound.

And when, full-fed, they were gone, and Night
Walked her starry ways,
He stared with his cheeks in his hands
At his sullen blaze.


Scheme ABAB XCAC XDXD XEXE
Poetic Form Quatrain 
Metre 011110101 001011001 101111101 1011 01101001 111111 0101100101 11 111010101 001001 10100101 0101 011110101 10101 11111011 11101
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 499
Words 98
Sentences 5
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4
Lines Amount 16
Letters per line (avg) 25
Words per line (avg) 6
Letters per stanza (avg) 98
Words per stanza (avg) 24
Font size:
 

Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 13, 2023

29 sec read
80

Walter de la Mare

Walter John de la Mare was an English poet short story writer and novelist best remembered for his works for children and The Listeners He was born in Kent and was educated at St Pauls Cathedral School His first book Songs of Childhood was published under the name Walter Ramal His 1921 novel Memoirs of a Midget won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for fiction more…

All Walter de la Mare poems | Walter de la Mare Books

1 fan

Discuss this Walter de la Mare poem analysis with the community:

0 Comments

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "The Pigs and the Charcoal-burner" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/38323/the-pigs-and-the-charcoal-burner>.

    Become a member!

    Join our community of poets and poetry lovers to share your work and offer feedback and encouragement to writers all over the world!

    More poems by

    Walter de la Mare

    »

    April 2024

    Poetry Contest

    Join our monthly contest for an opportunity to win cash prizes and attain global acclaim for your talent.
    2
    days
    10
    hours
    16
    minutes

    Special Program

    Earn Rewards!

    Unlock exciting rewards such as a free mug and free contest pass by commenting on fellow members' poems today!

    Browse Poetry.com

    Quiz

    Are you a poetry master?

    »
    The Baltimore Ravens’ team name was inspired by which American poet?
    A Walt Whitman
    B Langston Hughes
    C Emily Dickinson
    D Edgar Allan Poe