Analysis of Companions - A Tale Of A Grandfather
Charles Stuart Calverley 1831 (Martley) – 1884
I KNOW not of what we ponder’d
Or made pretty pretence to talk,
As, her hand within mine, we wander’d
Tow’rd the pool by the lime-tree walk,
While the dew fell in showers from the passion flowers
And the blush-rose bent on her stalk.
I cannot recall her figure:
Was it regal as Juno’s own?
Or only a trifle bigger
Than the elves who surround the throne
Of the Faëry Queen, and are seen, I ween,
By mortals in dreams alone?
What her eyes were like I know not:
Perhaps they were blurr’d with tears;
And perhaps in you skies there glow not
(On the contrary) clearer spheres.
No! as to her eyes I am just as wise
As you or the cat, my dears.
Her teeth, I presume, were “pearly:”
But which was she, brunette or blonde?
Her hair, was it quaintly curly,
Or as straight as a beadle’s wand?
That I fail’d to remark: it was rather dark
And shadowy round the pond.
Then the hand that repos’d so snugly
In mine,—was it plump or spare?
Was the countenance fair or ugly?
Nay, children, you have me there!
My eyes were p’haps blurr’d; and besides I ’d heard
That it ’s horribly rude to stare.
And I,—was I brusque and surly?
Or oppressively bland and fond?
Was I partial to rising early?
Or why did we twain abscond,
When nobody knew, from the public view
To prowl by a misty pond?
What pass’d, what was felt or spoken,—
Whether anything pass’d at all,—
And whether the heart was broken
That beat under that shelt’ring shawl,—
(If shawl she had on, which I doubt),—has gone,
Yes, gone from me past recall.
Was I haply the lady’s suitor?
Or her uncle? I can’t make out;
Ask your governess, dears, or tutor.
For myself, I ’m in hopeless doubt
As to why we were there, who on earth we were,
And what this is all about.
Scheme | ABABCB DEDEEE AXAXXC FAFAXA FGFGAG FAFAXA HIHIXI DADADA |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1111111 1110111 10101111 10110111 1011010101010 00111101 1101010 1110111 11001010 10110101 1011101111 1100101 10101111 0110111 001011111 10100101 1110111111 1110111 01101010 11110111 01111010 11110101 11110111101 0100101 10111110 0111111 101001110 1101111 11011001111 111100111 01111010 11101 111011010 1111101 11110101 1110101 11111110 1010111 01001110 1110111 1111111111 111111 1110110 10101111 111001110 11110101 11110111110 0111101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,833 |
Words | 334 |
Sentences | 23 |
Stanzas | 8 |
Stanza Lengths | 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6 |
Lines Amount | 48 |
Letters per line (avg) | 27 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 160 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 41 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:40 min read
- 118 Views
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"Companions - A Tale Of A Grandfather" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 16 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/5446/companions---a-tale-of-a-grandfather>.
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