Analysis of Tobacco, Rum And Brandy



Waves pound wild 'gainst coastal rocks,
The night is black as coal;
Covert, away from mooring docks
Ten smugglers give their all.

The moon illuminates the sky
It highlights men and boats;
Oilskins donned to keep them dry
As sea-surf salts their coats.

A lookout stationed on the cliff
To sound his signal when,
He notes a troop patrolling - if...
He spies the excise men.

Below him are his hearty mates,
Each adept and handy,
Unloading scores of casks and crates...
 Tobacco, rum and brandy.

Secreted well in ghostly caves
They store their pirate booty;
Thwarted, by the crashing waves,
The taxmen halt their duty.

As daylight breaks upon the beach,
The veil of darkness shed;
The ten are safely beyond reach,
At rest, at home, in bed.


Scheme AXAX BCBC DEDE FGFG HGHG IJIJ
Poetic Form Quatrain  (83%)
Metre 1111101 011111 10011101 110111 0101001 11101 111111 111111 0110101 111101 11010101 110011 01111101 101010 01011101 011010 01010101 1111010 1010101 011110 1110101 011101 01110011 111101
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 712
Words 129
Sentences 8
Stanzas 6
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4
Lines Amount 24
Letters per line (avg) 24
Words per line (avg) 5
Letters per stanza (avg) 96
Words per stanza (avg) 22

About this poem

Excitement in the moonlight on the Cornish coast of Olde England within these 1998 quatrains

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Submitted by AlanSJeeves on July 18, 2021

Modified on March 05, 2023

38 sec read
4

Alan S Jeeves

Alan S Jeeves is a Lancashire (England) born, Yorkshire based classical poet. more…

All Alan S Jeeves poems | Alan S Jeeves Books

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