Analysis of A Sombre Retrospect
Long, long ago, in that heroic time
When I, a coy and modest youth, was shot
Out on this dust-heap of careers and crime
To try and learn what's what,
I had a servitor, a swarthy knave,
Who showed an almost irreligious taste
For wearing nothing but a turban, save
A rag about the waist.
This apparition gave me such a start,
That I endowed him with a cast-off pair
Of inexpressibles, and said, 'Depart,
And be no longer bare.'
He took the offering with broken thanks;
But day succeeded day, and still revealed
Those sombre and attenuated shanks
Intensely unconcealed;
Until at last the climax came when I
Resolved to bring this matter to an end,
And when I saw him passing, shouted, 'Hi!
Where are your trousers, friend?'
Halting, he gave a deferential bow;
Then, to my horror, beamingly replied,
'Master not see? I wearing trousers now!'
I would have said he lied,
But could not. As I shaped the glowing phrase,
I looked upon his turban - looked again -
Mine own familiar pattern met my gaze,
And all the truth was plain!
Th' unhappy creature, Eastern to the core,
Holding my gift in superstitious dread,
Had made a turban out of it, and wore
His trousers - on his head!
Scheme | AXAX BCBC DEDE FGFG HIHI JKJK LXLX MNMN |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain (75%) |
Metre | 1101010101 1101010111 1111110101 110111 11010101 111111 1101010101 010101 101011101 1101110111 110101 011101 1101001101 1101010101 11001001 01001 011101111 0111110111 0111110101 111101 101100101 11110101 1011110101 111111 1111110101 1101110101 1101010111 010111 110101010101 101100101 1101011101 110111 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,160 |
Words | 224 |
Sentences | 9 |
Stanzas | 8 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 32 |
Letters per line (avg) | 28 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 113 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 27 |
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Submitted on August 03, 2020
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:06 min read
- 3 Views
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"A Sombre Retrospect" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 16 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/55933/a-sombre-retrospect>.
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