Analysis of Goodbat Nightman

Roger McGough 1937 (Litherland)



God bless all policemen
and fighters of crime,
May thieves go to jail
for a very long time.

They've had a hard day
helping clean up the town,
Now they hang from the mantelpiece
both upside down.

A glass of warm blood
and then straight up the stairs,
Batman and Robin
are saying their prayers.

* * *

They've locked all the doors
and they've put out the bat,
Put on their batjamas
(They like doing that)

They've filled their batwater-bottles
made their batbeds,
With two springy battresses
for sleepy batheads.

They're closing red eyes
and they're counting black sheep,
Batman and Robin
are falling asleep.


Scheme xaxa xbcb xcDc cece cccc cfDf
Poetic Form Tetractys  (28%)
Metre 111010 01011 11111 101011 11011 101101 111101 1111 01111 011101 1010 11011 1 11101 011101 1111 11101 111110 111 1111 1101 11011 011011 1010 11001
Closest metre Iambic trimeter
Characters 580
Words 106
Sentences 5
Stanzas 7
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 1, 4, 4, 4
Lines Amount 25
Letters per line (avg) 19
Words per line (avg) 4
Letters per stanza (avg) 68
Words per stanza (avg) 15
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Submitted by RobertHaigh on July 27, 2020

Modified on May 03, 2023

33 sec read
321

Roger McGough

Roger McGough was born in Liverpool and educated at St Mary's College and the University of Hull. He has been a writer for many years, and his numerous collections have established him as one of the most distinctive and powerful voices in contemporary poetry. more…

All Roger McGough poems | Roger McGough Books

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