Analysis of The Snail
William Cowper 1731 (Berkhamsted) – 1800 (Dereham)
To grass, or leaf, or fruit, or wall,
The snail sticks close, nor fears to fall,
As if he grew there, house and all
Together.
Within that house secure he hides,
When danger imminent betides
Of storm, or other harm besides
Of weather.
Give but his horns the slightest touch,
His self-collecting power is such,
He shrinks into his house, with much
Displeasure.
Where’er he dwells, he dwells alone,
Except himself has chattels none,
Well satisfied to be his own
Whole treasure.
Thus, hermit-like, his life he leads,
Nor partner of his banquet needs,
And if he meets one, only feeds
The faster.
Who seeks him must be worse than blind,
(He and his house are so combined,)
If, finding it, he fails to find
Its master.
Scheme | AAAB CCCB DDDB EXEB FFFB GGGB |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 11111111 01111111 11111101 010 01110111 1101001 11110101 110 11110101 110101011 11011111 010 1111101 0101111 1101111 110 11011111 11011101 01111101 010 11111111 10111101 11011111 110 |
Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
Characters | 700 |
Words | 130 |
Sentences | 7 |
Stanzas | 6 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 24 |
Letters per line (avg) | 23 |
Words per line (avg) | 5 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 92 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 21 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 29, 2023
- 39 sec read
- 241 Views
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"The Snail" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 27 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/40179/the-snail>.
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