Analysis of Beware the cat
William Baldwin 1963 (William Joseph Baldwin February 21, 1963 Massapequa, New York)
This little book Bevvare the Cat
moste pleasantly compil'd:
In time obscured was and so,
siince that hath been exilde.
Exilde, because perchaunce at first,
it shewed the toyes and drifts:
Of such as then by wiles and willes,
maintained Popish shifts.
Shifts, such as those in such a time,
delighted for to vse:
Wherby ful many simple soules,
they did ful sore abuse.
Abuse? yea sure and that with spight
when as the Cat gan tel:
Of many pranks of popish preests,
bothe foolish mad and fel.
Fel sure & vaine, if iudgement right
appeere to be in place:
And so as fel in pleasant wise,
this fixion shewes their grace.
Grace? nay sure vngratiousnes,
of such and many mo:
which may be tolde in these our daies
to make vs laugh also.
Also to laugh? nay rather weep,
to see such shifts now vsed:
And that in euery sorte of men,
true vertue is abused.
Abused? yea, and quite downe cast,
let vs be sure of that:
And therfore now as hath been said,
I say beware the Cat.
The Cat ful pleasantly wil shew,
some sleights that now are wrought
And make some laugh, which vnto mirth
to be constrainde are loght.
Lothe? yea, for ouer passing greef,
that much bereues their minde:
For such disorder as in states,
of euery sorte they finde.
Finde? yea, who can now boste but that
the Cat wil him disclose?
Therfore in midst of mirth (I say)
beware the Cat to those.
Scheme | AXBA XCXC XBXX DEBE DFXF BBBB XAXX XAXA XXXA XAXA AGXG |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain (82%) |
Metre | 1101101 110001 0101101 11111 101111 110101 11111101 0111 11110101 010111 1110101 111101 01110111 110111 1101111 110101 111111 11101 01110101 11111 1111 110101 111101101 1110110 10111101 111111 0101111 11101 0110111 1101111 0111111 110101 01110011 111111 0111111 11111 1111101 11111 11010101 11111 11111111 011101 1011111 010111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,311 |
Words | 254 |
Sentences | 19 |
Stanzas | 11 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 44 |
Letters per line (avg) | 24 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 95 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 23 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 21, 2023
- 1:16 min read
- 175 Views
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"Beware the cat" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 16 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/43579/beware-the-cat>.
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