Analysis of poem #15
Some thieves have burgled every house;
The rich are sorrowing
At sacrilege and heirlooms lost,
Spoons, silks and sapphire rings.
The poorer tenants mourn as well;
Their losses are their doom.
Without the coin for food or rent,
Hunger and eviction loom.
Just down the street, a misanthrope
Who lives in an old tub
Cackles at their lamentations,
And gives his hands a rub.
He used to own a battered cup,
That and a bowl for alms,
But then he saw an urchin drink
Right out of his cupped palms.
He learned that cups were luxury,
And threw the thing away.
He’s happier in poverty,
And that’s just how he’ll stay.
He boasts to passers-by he’s safe,
Since thieves can never steal
Knowledge or virtue from the good.
Wisdom alone is real.
How better for that mendicant
If thieves could somehow take
Self-satisfaction from such prigs.
Oh mellow him for pity’s sake.
Scheme | ABCX XDXD XEAE XXBX FGFG XHXH CBAB |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain (71%) |
Metre | 11111001 0111 1100011 1101001 01010111 110111 01011111 1000101 1101010 110111 1111 011101 11110101 100111 11111101 111111 11110100 010101 11000100 011111 11110111 111101 10110101 100111 110111 11111 1010111 1101111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 866 |
Words | 152 |
Sentences | 11 |
Stanzas | 7 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 28 |
Letters per line (avg) | 24 |
Words per line (avg) | 5 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 96 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 22 |
About this poem
If I recall correctly, Diogenes Laertes told this story about Diogenes the Cynic, minus the moral. Too many Diogenes’s!
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"poem #15" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 1 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/103510/poem-%2315>.
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