Analysis of Anecdote For Fathers.
Arthur Thomas Quiller-Couch 1863 (Bodmin, Cornwall) – 1944 (Cornwall)
Designed to show that the practice of lying is not confined to children.
By the late W. W. (of H.M. Inland Revenue Service).
And is it so? Can Folly stalk
And aim her unrespecting darts
In shades where grave Professors walk
And Bachelors of Arts?
I have a boy, not six years old,
A sprite of birth and lineage high:
His birth I did myself behold,
His caste is in his eye.
And oh! his limbs are full of grace,
His boyish beauty past compare:
His mother's joy to wash his face,
And mine to brush his hair!
One morn we strolled on our short walk,
With four goloshes on our shoes,
And held the customary talk
That parents love to use.
(And oft I turn it into verse,
And write it down upon a page,
Which, being sold, supplies my purse
And ministers to age.)
So as we paced the curving High,
To view the sights of Oxford town
We raised our feet (like Nelly Bly),
And then we put them down.
'Now, little Edward, answer me'--
I said, and clutched him by the gown--
'At Cambridge would you rather be,
Or here in Oxford town?'
My boy replied with tiny frown
(He'd been a year at Cavendish),
'I'd rather dwell in Oxford town,
If I could have my wish.'
'Now, little Edward, say why so;
My little Edward, tell me why.'
'Well, really, Pa, I hardly know.'
'Remarkable!' said I:
'For Cambridge has her "King's Parade,"
And much the more becoming gown;
Why should you slight her so,' I said,
'Compared with Oxford town?'
At this my boy hung down his head,
While sterner grew the parent's eye;
And six-and-thirty times I said,
'Come, Edward, tell me why?'
For I loved Cambridge (where they deal--
How strange!--in butter by the yard);
And so, with every third appeal,
I hit him rather hard.
Twelve times I struck, as may be seen
(For three times twelve is thirty-six),
When in a shop the Magazine
His tearful sight did fix.
He saw it plain, it made him smile,
And thus to me he made reply:--
'At Oxford there's a Crocodile;
And that's the reason why.'
Oh, Mr. Editor! my heart
For deeper lore would seldom yearn,
Could I believe the hundredth part
Of what from you I learn.
Scheme | X X ABAB CDCD EFEF AXAX GHGH DIDI JIJI IKIK LDLD XIMI MDMD NONO PQPQ RDRD STST |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 011110101101101110 1011001001111010 01111101 01011 01110101 01011 11011111 011101001 1111101 111011 01111111 11010101 11011111 011111 111111011 1111101 0101001 110111 01111011 01110101 11010111 010011 11110101 11011101 111011101 011111 11010101 11011101 11011101 110101 11011101 11011100 11010101 111111 11010111 11010111 11011101 010011 11010101 01010101 11110111 011101 11111111 11010101 01010111 110111 11110111 11010101 011100101 111101 11111111 11111101 1001010 110111 11111111 01111101 1101010 010101 11010011 11011101 11010101 111111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 2,045 |
Words | 417 |
Sentences | 28 |
Stanzas | 17 |
Stanza Lengths | 1, 1, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 62 |
Letters per line (avg) | 25 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 90 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 23 |
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Submitted on August 03, 2020
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 2:04 min read
- 4 Views
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"Anecdote For Fathers." Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 16 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/54805/anecdote-for-fathers.>.
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