Analysis of Children's Party
Ogden Nash 1902 (Rye, New York) – 1971 (Baltimore)
May I join you in the doghouse, Rover?
I wish to retire till the party's over.
Since three o'clock I've done my best
To entertain each tiny guest;
My conscience now I've left behind me,
And if they want me, let them find me.
I blew their bubbles, I sailed their boats,
I kept them from each other's throats.
I told them tales of magic lands,
I took them out and washed their hands.
I sorted their rubbers and tied their laces,
I wiped their noses and dried their faces.
Of similarity there's lots
Twixt tiny tots and Hottentots.
I've earned repose to heal the ravages
Of these angelic-looking savages.
Oh, progeny playing by itself
Is a lonely fascinating elf,
But progeny in roistering batches
Would drive St. Francis from here to Natchez.
Shunned are the games a parent proposes;
They prefer to squirt each other with hoses,
Their playmates are their natural foemen
And they like to poke each other's abdomen.
Their joy needs another's woe to cushion it,
Say a puddle, and somebody littler to push in it.
They observe with glee the ballistic results
Of ice cream with spoons for catapults,
And inform the assembly with tears and glares
That everyone's presents are better than theirs.
Oh, little women and little men,
Someday I hope to love you again,
But not till after the party's over,
So give me the key to the doghouse, Rover.
Scheme | AABBCCDDEEFFGDHFIIFJHHKKLLMMNNKKAA |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 111100110 11101101010 11011111 1011101 110111011 011111111 111101111 11111101 11111101 11110111 11011001110 1111001110 1010011 110101 1101110100 111010100 110010101 10101001 11000110 111101111 1101010010 10111110110 11111001 01111110010 11101011101 10100101001101 10111001001 111111100 00100101101 1101011011 110100101 11111101 1111001010 1110110110 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,300 |
Words | 238 |
Sentences | 14 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 34 |
Lines Amount | 34 |
Letters per line (avg) | 31 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 1,050 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 238 |
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"Children's Party" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 27 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/53655/children%27s-party>.
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