Analysis of Constant Cannibal Maiden, The

Wallace Irwin 1875 – 1959



Far, oh, far is the Mango island,
        Far, oh, far is the tropical sea,
    Palms a-slant and the hills a-smile, and
        A cannibal maiden a-waiting for me.

I've been deceived by a damsel Spanish,
        And Indian maidens both red and brown,
    A black-eyed Turk and a blue-eyed Danish,
        And a Puritan lassie of Salem town.

For the Puritan Prue she sets in the offing,
        A-castin' 'er eyes at a tall marine,
    And the Spanish minx is the wust at scoffing
        Of all of the wimming I ever seen.

But the cannibal maid is a simple creetur,
        With a habit of gazin' over the sea,
    A-hopin' in vain for the day I'll meet 'er,
        And constant and faithful a-yearnin' for me.

Me Turkish sweetheart she played me double,
        Eloped with the Sultan Harum In-Deed,
    And the Danish damsel she made me trouble
        When she ups and married an oblong Swede.
    But there's truth in the heart of the maid o' Mango,
        Though her cheeks is black like the kiln-baked cork,
    As she sets in the shade o' the whingo-whango,
        A-waitin' for me, with a knife and fork.


Scheme ABAB CDCD EFEF GBGB HIHIXJEJ
Poetic Form
Metre 111101010 111101001 101001010 01001001011 1101101010 0100101101 0111001110 00100101101 101001110010 011110101 0010110111 111011101 10100110101 1010111001 0101101110 0100100111 110111110 11010101 00101011110 1110101101 111001101110 1011110111 1110011011 011110101
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 1,109
Words 186
Sentences 6
Stanzas 5
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4, 8
Lines Amount 24
Letters per line (avg) 32
Words per line (avg) 8
Letters per stanza (avg) 151
Words per stanza (avg) 37
Font size:
 

Submitted by naama on July 15, 2020

Modified on March 05, 2023

56 sec read
10

Wallace Irwin

Wallace Irwin (March 15, 1875 – February 14, 1959) was an American writer. more…

All Wallace Irwin poems | Wallace Irwin Books

0 fans

Discuss this Wallace Irwin poem analysis with the community:

0 Comments

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "Constant Cannibal Maiden, The" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 30 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/54296/constant-cannibal-maiden%2C-the>.

    Become a member!

    Join our community of poets and poetry lovers to share your work and offer feedback and encouragement to writers all over the world!

    More poems by

    Wallace Irwin

    »

    April 2024

    Poetry Contest

    Join our monthly contest for an opportunity to win cash prizes and attain global acclaim for your talent.
    0
    days
    3
    hours
    3
    minutes

    Special Program

    Earn Rewards!

    Unlock exciting rewards such as a free mug and free contest pass by commenting on fellow members' poems today!

    Browse Poetry.com

    Quiz

    Are you a poetry master?

    »
    In what year did Alexander Pope wrote "Farewell to London"?
    A 1690
    B 1725
    C 1744
    D 1715