Analysis of A Certain Lady
Dorothy Parker 1893 (Long Branch) – 1967 (New York City)
Oh, I can smile for you, and tilt my head,
And drink your rushing words with eager lips,
And paint my mouth for you a fragrant red,
And trace your brows with tutored finger-tips.
When you rehearse your list of loves to me,
Oh, I can laugh and marvel, rapturous-eyed.
And you laugh back, nor can you ever see
The thousand little deaths my heart has died.
And you believe, so well I know my part,
That I am gay as morning, light as snow,
And all the straining things within my heart
You'll never know.
Oh, I can laugh and listen, when we meet,
And you bring tales of fresh adventurings, --
Of ladies delicately indiscreet,
Of lingering hands, and gently whispered things.
And you are pleased with me, and strive anew
To sing me sagas of your late delights.
Thus do you want me -- marveling, gay, and true,
Nor do you see my staring eyes of nights.
And when, in search of novelty, you stray,
Oh, I can kiss you blithely as you go ....
And what goes on, my love, while you're away,
You'll never know.
Scheme | ababcdcdefeF gbgxhihijfjF |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1111110111 0111011101 0111110101 0111110101 1101111111 11110101001 0111111101 0101011111 0101111111 1111110111 0101010111 1101 1111010111 0111111 1101000001 11001010101 0111110101 1111011101 11111100101 1111110111 0101110011 1111110111 0111111101 1101 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,004 |
Words | 191 |
Sentences | 10 |
Stanzas | 2 |
Stanza Lengths | 12, 12 |
Lines Amount | 24 |
Letters per line (avg) | 32 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 378 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 95 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on May 02, 2023
- 58 sec read
- 705 Views
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