Analysis of Barmaid

William Ernest Henley 1849 (Gloucester) – 1903 (Woking)



Though, if you ask her name, she says Elise,
Being plain Elizabeth, e'en let it pass,
And own that, if her aspirates take their ease,
She ever makes a point, in washing glass,
Handling the engine, turning taps for tots,
And countering change, and scorning what men say,
Of posing as a dove among the pots,
Nor often gives her dignity away.
Her head's a work of art, and, if her eyes
Be tired and ignorant, she has a waist;
Cheaply the Mode she shadows; and she tries
From penny novels to amend her taste;
And, having mopped the zinc for certain years,
And faced the gas, she fades and disappears.


Scheme ABCBDEDEFGFGHH
Poetic Form
Metre 1111011101 101010011111 0111010111 1101010101 1001010111 0100101111 1101010101 1101010001 0101110101 11001001101 100111011 1101010101 0101011101 010111001
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 591
Words 113
Sentences 3
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 14
Lines Amount 14
Letters per line (avg) 33
Words per line (avg) 8
Letters per stanza (avg) 459
Words per stanza (avg) 111
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 26, 2023

34 sec read
107

William Ernest Henley

William Ernest Henley was an English poet, critic and editor, best remembered for his 1875 poem "Invictus". more…

All William Ernest Henley poems | William Ernest Henley Books

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