Analysis of The Maid-Servant At The Inn

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



"It's queer," she said; "I see the light
  As plain as I beheld it then,
All silver-like and calm and bright-
  We've not had stars like that again!

"And she was such a gentle thing
  To birth a baby in the cold.
The barn was dark and frightening-
  This new one's better than the old.

"I mind my eyes were full of tears,
  For I was young, and quick distressed,
But she was less than me in years
  That held a son against her breast.

"I never saw a sweeter child-
  The little one, the darling one!-
I mind I told her, when he smiled
  You'd know he was his mother's son.

"It's queer that I should see them so-
  The time they came to Bethlehem
Was more than thirty years ago;
  I've prayed that all is well with them."


Scheme ABAB CDCD XEXE FGFG HIHI
Poetic Form Quatrain 
Metre 11111101 1111111 11010101 11111101 01110101 11010001 01110100 11110101 11110111 11110101 11111101 11010101 11010101 01010101 11110111 11111101 11111111 0111110 11110101 11111111
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 709
Words 145
Sentences 8
Stanzas 5
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4, 4
Lines Amount 20
Letters per line (avg) 26
Words per line (avg) 7
Letters per stanza (avg) 105
Words per stanza (avg) 28
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 06, 2023

45 sec read
157

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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