Analysis of Auto-Da-Fe
George Augustus Baker Jr 1849 ( New York City, New York) – 1906 ( New York City, New York)
Oh, just burning up some old papers,
They do make a good deal of smoke:
That's right, Dolly, open the window;
They'll blaze if you give them a poke.
I've got a lot more in the closet;
Just look at the dust! What a mess!
Why, read it, of course, if you want to,
It's only a letter, I guess.
Just me, and my pipe, and the fire-light,
Whose mystical circles of red
Protect me alone with the shadows;
The smoke-wreaths engarland my head;
And the strains of a waltz, half forgotten,
The favorite waltz of the year,
Played softly by fairy musicians,
Chime sweetly and low on my ear.
The smoke-cloud floats thickly around me,
All perfumed and white, till it seems
A bride-veil magicians have woven
To honor the bride of my dreams.
Float on, dreamy waltz, through my fancies,
My thoughts in your harmony twine!
Draw near, phantom face, in your beauty,
Look deep, phantom eyes, into mine.
Sweet lips crimson buds half unfolded
Give breath to the exquisite voice,
That, waking the strands of my being
To melody, bids me rejoice.
Dream, soul, till the world's dream is ended!
Dream, heart, of your beautiful past!
For dreaming is better than weeping,
And all things but dreams at the last.
Change rules in the world of the waking
Its laughter aye ends in a sigh;
Dreams only are changeless immortal:
A love-dream alone cannot die.
Toil, fools! Sow your hopes in the furrows,
Rich harvest of failure you'll reap;
Life's riddle is read the most truly
By men who but talk in their sleep.
There, stop! That'll do yes, I own it
But, dear, I was young then, you know.
I wrote that before we were married;
Let's see why, it's ten years ago!
You remember that night, at Drake's party,
When you flirted with Dick all the time?
I left in a state quite pathetic,
And went home to scribble that rhyme.
What a boy I was then with my dreaming,
And reading the riddle of life!
You gave a good guess at its meaning
The night you said "Yes," little wife.
One kiss for old times' sake, my Dolly
That didn't seem much like a dream.
Holloa! something's wrong with the children!
Those young ones do nothing but scream.
Scheme | ABCBXDXD XEXEFXXX GHFHXIGI JKLKJMLM LNXNAOGO XCXCGPXP LQLQGRFR |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 111011110 11101111 111010010 11111101 110110010 11101101 111111111 11001011 1101100101 11001011 01101101 011111 0011011010 01001101 110110010 11001111 011110011 10101111 011010110 11001111 111011110 11011001 111010110 11101011 111011010 11101001 110011110 11001101 111011110 11111001 110110110 01111101 110011010 11011001 11011010 01101101 11111001 11011011 110110110 11111011 111011111 11111111 111011010 11111101 1010111110 111011101 110011010 01111011 1011111110 01001011 110111110 01111101 111111110 11011101 11011010 11111011 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 2,110 |
Words | 405 |
Sentences | 30 |
Stanzas | 7 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8 |
Lines Amount | 56 |
Letters per line (avg) | 29 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 228 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 55 |
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Submitted on August 03, 2020
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 2:05 min read
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"Auto-Da-Fe" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 18 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/55336/auto-da-fe>.
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