Analysis of The Whale
Ellis Parker Butler 1869 (Muscatine) – 1937 (Williamsville)
The Whale is found in seas and oceans,
Indulging there in fishlike motions,
But Science shows that Whales are mammals,
Like Jersey cows, and goats, and camels.
When undisturbed, the Whale will browse
Like camels, goats, and Jersey cows,
On food that satisfies its tongue,
Thus making milk to feed its young.
Asking no costly hay and oats,
Like camels, Jersey cows, and goats,
The Whale, prolific milk producer,
Should be our cheapest lactic juicer.
Our milk should all come from the sea,
But who, I ask, would want to be—
And here the proposition fails—
The milkmaid to a herd of Whales?
Scheme | AABB CCDD EEFF GGHH |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain |
Metre | 011101010 01010110 110111110 110101010 1010111 11010101 1111011 11011111 10110101 11010101 010101010 111010101 101111101 11111111 0100101 0110111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 584 |
Words | 105 |
Sentences | 5 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 16 |
Letters per line (avg) | 29 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 115 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 26 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 29, 2023
- 31 sec read
- 53 Views
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"The Whale" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/11080/the-whale>.
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