Analysis of When George Was King
Emily Pauline Johnson 1861 – 1913
Cards, and swords, and a lady's love,
That is a tale worth reading,
An insult veiled, a downcast glove,
And rapiers leap unheeding.
And 'tis O! for the brawl,
The thrust, the fall,
And the foe at your feet a-bleeding.
Tales of revel at wayside inns,
The goblets gaily filling,
Braggarts boasting a thousand sins,
Though none can boast a shilling.
And 'tis O! for the wine,
The frothing stein,
And the clamour of cups a-spilling.
Tales of maidens in rich brocade,
Powder and puff and patches,
Gallants lilting a serenade
Of old-time trolls and catches.
And 'tis O! for the lips
And the finger tips,
And the kiss that the boldest snatches.
Tales of buckle and big rosette,
The slender shoe adorning,
Of curtseying through the minuet
With laughter, love, or scorning.
And 'tis O! for the shout
Of the roustabout,
As he hies him home in the morning.
Cards and swords, and a lady's love,
Give to the tale God-speeding,
War and wassail, and perfumed glove,
And all that's rare in reading.
And 'tis O! for the ways
Of the olden days,
And a life that was worth the leading.
Scheme | Ababccb dbdbeeb fgfghhx ibibxfb Ababjjb |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 10100101 1101110 1011011 0111 011101 0101 001111010 1110111 011010 1100101 1111010 011101 011 00111010 11100101 1001010 11001 1111010 011101 00101 001101010 11100101 0101010 111001 110111 011101 101 111110010 10100101 1101110 1010011 0111010 011101 10101 001111010 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,039 |
Words | 194 |
Sentences | 16 |
Stanzas | 5 |
Stanza Lengths | 7, 7, 7, 7, 7 |
Lines Amount | 35 |
Letters per line (avg) | 23 |
Words per line (avg) | 5 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 164 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 38 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 59 sec read
- 115 Views
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"When George Was King" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 8 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/12648/when-george-was-king>.
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