Analysis of A Greater Than He
Baby sits upon the floor,
Baby's scarce a twelvemonth old;
Baby laughs, and _goo-goos_ o'er
Memories how a babe of yore
Humbled Glooskap bold.
Glooskap was a man of might,
Skilled in magic, huge of limb;
Giant, wizard, goblin, sprite,
Ghost, witch, devil, imp of night,
All had fled from him.
Then he questioned: 'Can there be
Further labors to be done?
Breathes there one to equal me,
Who before me will not flee?'
Quoth a squaw: 'Yes, one.'
'Name him,' angry Glooskap cried,
'Baby,' said she, 'And be warned--
If you meddle, woe betide
All your glory, all your pride!
For you will be scorned,'
Baby sat upon the ground,
Harming none, and sucked his thumb,
Gazing with a look profound
Upon Glooskap and around,
Solon-wise, Sphinx-dumb.
Glooskap never married was,
So he thought, like all his kind,
That he knew the nursery laws
Wholly, and with ease could cause
Service prompt and blind.
Sweetly, the magician smiled,
Like the summer sun, and said:
'Hither, Baby.' But the child,
By the sweet smile unbeguiled,
Only shook his head.
Like a bird among the trees,
Singing, Glooskap spake once more:
Baby listened to the glees,
Sucked his thumb, and sat at ease
Still upon the floor.
Thundering, the magician spoke:
'Hither, Baby, I command!'
Baby stirred not, only broke
Into wailings that awoke
All the desert land.
Mystic song and magic spell,
Fit to raise the very dead,
Fit to rule the imps that dwell
In the deepest depths of Hell,
Glooskap sang and said.
All was vain. Upon the floor
Baby sat, and heard each lay,
Listened close, and called for more,
When each mystic song was o'er,
But did not obey.
Then the baffled warrior wept;
And the baby in delight,
Sitting where a sunbeam slept,
Laughed and crowed, and crowing kept,
Till his foe took flight.
Scheme | ABCAB DEDDE FGFFG HIHHI JKJJK LMXLM NONBO PALPA QRQQR SOSSO ATACT UDUUD |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Etheree (30%) |
Metre | 1010101 101011 10101110 10010111 1011 110111 1010111 1010101 1110111 11111 1110111 1010111 1111101 1011111 10111 111011 1011011 1110101 1110111 11111 1010101 1010111 1010101 011001 10111 110101 1111111 11101001 1001111 10101 1000101 1010101 1010101 10111 10111 1010101 101111 1010101 1110111 10101 10000101 1010101 1011101 011101 10101 1010101 1110101 1110111 0010111 1101 1110101 1010111 1010111 11101110 11101 10101001 0010001 101011 1010101 11111 |
Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
Characters | 1,704 |
Words | 318 |
Sentences | 18 |
Stanzas | 12 |
Stanza Lengths | 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5 |
Lines Amount | 60 |
Letters per line (avg) | 22 |
Words per line (avg) | 5 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 112 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 26 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:34 min read
- 29 Views
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"A Greater Than He" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 27 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/42663/a-greater-than-he>.
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