Analysis of Alley Rats
Carl Sandburg 1878 (Galesburg) – 1967 (Flat Rock)
They were calling certain styles of whiskers by the name of “lilacs.”
And another manner of beard assumed in their chatter a verbal guise
Of “mutton chops,” “galways,” “feather dusters.”
Metaphors such as these sprang from their lips while other street cries
Sprang from sparrows finding scattered oats among interstices of the curb.
Ah-hah these metaphors—and Ah-hah these boys—among the police they were known
As the Dirty Dozen and their names took the front pages of newspapers
And two of them croaked on the same day at a “necktie party” … if we employ the metaphors of their lips.
Scheme | XAB AXXBX |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 101010111010111 001010110101100101 110111010 100111111111011 111010101011101 1111000111101001101 10101001110110110 0111110111011011010100111 |
Characters | 613 |
Words | 105 |
Sentences | 5 |
Stanzas | 2 |
Stanza Lengths | 3, 5 |
Lines Amount | 8 |
Letters per line (avg) | 58 |
Words per line (avg) | 12 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 234 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 50 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 24, 2023
- 31 sec read
- 54 Views
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