Analysis of Jack McGuire

Edgar Lee Masters 1868 (Garnett) – 1950 (Elkins Park)



They would have lynched me
Had I not been secretly hurried away
To the jail at Peoria.
And yet I was going peacefully home,
Carrying my jug, a little drunk,
When Logan, the marshal, halted me,
Called me a drunken hound and shook me,
And, when I cursed him for it, struck me
With that Prohibition loaded cane --
All this before I shot him.
They would have hanged me except for this:
My lawyer, Kinsey Keene, was helping to land
Old Thomas Rhodes for wrecking the bank,
And the judge was a friend of Rhodes
And wanted him to escape,
And Kinsey offered to quit on Rhodes
For fourteen years for me.
And the bargain was made. I served my time
And learned to read and write.


Scheme ABCDEAAAFGHIJKLKAMN
Poetic Form
Metre 11111 11111001001 10110100 0111101001 100110101 110010101 110101011 011111111 11010101 1101111 111110111 11010111011 110111001 00110111 0101101 010101111 111111 0010111111 011101
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 658
Words 130
Sentences 6
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 19
Lines Amount 19
Letters per line (avg) 27
Words per line (avg) 7
Letters per stanza (avg) 520
Words per stanza (avg) 128
Font size:
 

Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

39 sec read
101

Edgar Lee Masters

Edgar Lee Masters was an American poet, biographer, and dramatist. more…

All Edgar Lee Masters poems | Edgar Lee Masters Books

2 fans

Discuss this Edgar Lee Masters poem analysis with the community:

0 Comments

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "Jack McGuire" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/8616/jack-mcguire>.

    Become a member!

    Join our community of poets and poetry lovers to share your work and offer feedback and encouragement to writers all over the world!

    April 2024

    Poetry Contest

    Join our monthly contest for an opportunity to win cash prizes and attain global acclaim for your talent.
    1
    day
    13
    hours
    30
    minutes

    Special Program

    Earn Rewards!

    Unlock exciting rewards such as a free mug and free contest pass by commenting on fellow members' poems today!

    Browse Poetry.com

    Quiz

    Are you a poetry master?

    »
    Which of these poets was not American?
    A Ezra Pound
    B Walt Whitman
    C Emily Dickinson
    D Rudyard Kipling