Analysis of The Beasts In The Tower
Charles Lamb 1775 (Inner Temple, London) – 1834 (Edmonton, London)
Within the precincts of this yard,
Each in his narrow confines barred,
Dwells every beast that can be found
On Afric or on Indian ground.
How different was the life they led
In those wild haunts where they were bred,
To this tame servitude and fear,
Enslaved by man, they suffer here!
In that uneasy close recess
Couches a sleeping lioness;
That next den holds a bear; the next
A wolf, by hunger ever vext;
There, fiercer from the keeper's lashes
His teeth the fell hyena gnashes;
That creature on whose back abound
Black spots upon a yellow ground,
A panther is, the fairest beast
That haunteth in the spacious East.
He underneath a fair outside
Does cruelty and treachery hide.
That cat-like beast that to and fro
Restless as fire does ever go,
As if his courage did resent
His limbs in such confinement pent,
That should their prey in forests take,
And make the Indian jungles quake,
A tiger is. Observe how sleek
And glossy smooth his coat: no streak
On satin ever matched the pride
Of that which marks his furry hide.
How strong his muscles! he with ease
Upon the tallest man could seize,
In his large mouth away could bear him,
And into thousand pieces tear him:
Yet cabined so securely here,
The smallest infant need not fear.
That lordly creature next to him
A lion is. Survey each limb.
Observe the texture of his claws,
The massy thickness of those jaws;
His mane that sweeps the ground in length,
Like Samson's locks, betokening strength.
In force and swiftness he excels
Each beast that in the forest dwells;
The savage tribes him king confess
Throughout the howling wilderness.
Woe to the hapless neighbourhood,
When he is pressed by want of food!
Of man, or child, of bull, or horse,
He makes his prey; such is his force.
A waste behind him he creates,
Whole villages depopulates.
Yet here within appointed lines
How small a grate his rage confines!
This place methinks resembleth well
The world itself in which we dwell.
Perils and snares on every ground
Like these wild beasts beset us round.
But Providence their rage restrains,
Our heavenly Keeper sets them chains;
His goodness saveth every hour
His darlings from the lion's power.
Scheme | AABBCCDE FFXAXFBBGGHH IIJJKKLLHHMMNNED NNOOPPQQFXAXRRXFSS TTBBUUVV |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 0101111 1011011 110011111 11111001 110010111 01111101 1111001 01111101 01010101 100101 11110101 01110101 11010110 11010101 11011101 11010101 01010101 1100101 1010111 11001001 11111101 101101101 11110101 11010101 11110101 010100101 01010111 01011111 11010101 11111101 11110111 01010111 011101111 001101011 1110101 01010111 1110111 01010111 01010111 0110111 11110101 11111 01010101 11100101 01011101 01010100 110101 11111111 11111111 11111111 01011101 11001 11010101 1101111 11111 01010111 100111001 11110111 11001101 1010010111 110110010 110101010 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 2,097 |
Words | 382 |
Sentences | 20 |
Stanzas | 5 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 12, 16, 18, 8 |
Lines Amount | 62 |
Letters per line (avg) | 28 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 342 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 76 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:55 min read
- 49 Views
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"The Beasts In The Tower" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 21 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/5379/the-beasts-in-the-tower>.
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