Analysis of Wapping Old Stairs
William Makepeace Thackeray 1811 – 1863
'Your Molly has never been false, she declares,
Since the last time we parted at Wapping Old Stairs;
When I said that I would continue the same,
And I gave you the 'bacco-box marked with my name.
When I passed a whole fortnight between decks with you,
Did I e'er give a kiss, Tom, to one of your crew?
To be useful and kind to my Thomas I stay'd,
For his trousers I washed, and his grog too I made.
Though you promised last Sunday to walk in the Mall
With Susan from Deptford and likewise with Sall,
In silence I stood your unkindness to hear
And only upbraided my Tom with a tear.
Why should Sall, or should Susan, than me be more prized?
For the heart that is true, Tom, should ne'er be despised;
Then be constant and kind, nor your Molly forsake,
Still your trousers I'll wash and your grog too I'll make.'
Scheme | AABBCCDD EEXXFFGG |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 11011011101 101111011011 11111101001 01110111111 11101101111 1110101111111 111001111011 111011011111 11101111001 110110111 010111111 01001011101 111111011111 101111111101 111001111001 111011011111 |
Closest metre | Iambic hexameter |
Characters | 802 |
Words | 159 |
Sentences | 7 |
Stanzas | 2 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8 |
Lines Amount | 16 |
Letters per line (avg) | 39 |
Words per line (avg) | 10 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 311 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 78 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 48 sec read
- 118 Views
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"Wapping Old Stairs" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/41078/wapping-old-stairs>.
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