Hendecasyllabics

Alfred Lord Tennyson 1809 – 1892



O you chorus of indolent reviewers,
    Irresponsible, indolent reviewers,
    Look, I come to the test, a tiny poem
    All composed in a metre of Catullus,
    All in quantity, careful of my motion,
    Like the skater on ice that hardly bears him,
    Lest I fall unawares before the people,
    Waking laughter in indolent reviewers.
    Should I flounder awhile without a tumble
    Thro' this metrification of Catullus,
    They should speak to me not without a welcome,
    All that chorus of indolent reviewers.
    Hard, hard, hard it is, only not to tumble,
    So fantastical is the dainty meter.
    Wherefore slight me not wholly, nor believe me
    Too presumptuous, indolent reviewers.
    O blatant Magazines, regard me rather -
    Since I blush to belaud myself a moment -
    As some rare little rose, a piece of inmost
    Horticultural art, or half-coquette-like
    Maiden, not to be greeted unbenignly.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

43 sec read
85

Quick analysis:

Scheme AABACDEAEABAEFGAFHHIE
Closest metre Iambic hexameter
Characters 913
Words 144
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 21

Alfred Lord Tennyson

Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson, FRS was Poet Laureate of Great Britain and Ireland during much of Queen Victoria's reign and remains one of the most popular British poets.  more…

All Alfred Lord Tennyson poems | Alfred Lord Tennyson Books

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    "Hendecasyllabics" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Mar. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/987/hendecasyllabics>.

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