Analysis of Braggart

Dorothy Parker 1893 (Long Branch) – 1967 (New York City)



The days will rally, wreathing
Their crazy tarantelle;
And you must go on breathing,
But I'll be safe in hell.

Like January weather,
The years will bite and smart,
And pull your bones together
To wrap your chattering heart.

The pretty stuff you're made of
Will crack and crease and dry.
The thing you are afraid of
Will look from every eye.

You will go faltering after
The bright, imperious line,
And split your throat on laughter,
And burn your eyes with brine.

You will be frail and musty
With peering, furtive head,
Whilst I am young and lusty
Among the roaring dead.


Scheme ABAB CDCD EFEF CGCG HIHI
Poetic Form Quatrain 
Metre 011101 1101 0111110 111101 110010 011101 0111010 1111001 0101111 110101 0111011 1111001 11110010 0101001 0111110 011111 1111010 110101 1111010 010101
Closest metre Iambic trimeter
Characters 559
Words 105
Sentences 7
Stanzas 5
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4, 4
Lines Amount 20
Letters per line (avg) 23
Words per line (avg) 5
Letters per stanza (avg) 90
Words per stanza (avg) 21
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 24, 2023

32 sec read
110

Dorothy Parker

Dorothy Parker was an American poet, short story writer, critic and satirist, best known for her wit, wisecracks, and eye for 20th-century urban foibles. more…

All Dorothy Parker poems | Dorothy Parker Books

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