Analysis of Modesties
Philip Larkin 1922 (Coventry) – 1985 (Hull)
Words as plain as hen-birds' wings
Do not lie,
Do not over-broider things -
Are too shy.
Thoughts that shuffle round like pence
Through each reign,
Wear down to their simplest sense
Yet remain.
Weeds are not supposed to grow
But by degrees
Some achieve a flower, although
No one sees.
| Scheme | ABAB CDCD EFEF |
|---|---|
| Poetic Form | Traditional rhyme Quatrain |
| Metre | 1111111 111 111011 111 1110111 111 1111101 101 1110111 1101 1010101 111 |
| Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
| Characters | 273 |
| Words | 51 |
| Sentences | 3 |
| Stanzas | 3 |
| Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4 |
| Lines Amount | 12 |
| Letters per line (avg) | 19 |
| Words per line (avg) | 4 |
| Letters per stanza (avg) | 75 |
| Words per stanza (avg) | 17 |
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"Modesties" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 27 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/58734/modesties>.
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