Analysis of Ballade 2
Eustache Deschamps 1346 (Champagne) – 1406
In Antwerp, Bruges, Ostend and Ghent
I used to order food with flair,
But in every inn to which I went
They always brought me, with my fare,
With every roast and mutton dish,
With boar, with rabbit, pigeon, bustard,
With fresh and with salt-water fish,
Always, never asking, mustard.
I ordered herring, said I'd like
Carp for supper at the bar,
And called for simple boiled pike,
And two large sole, when I ate at Spa.
I ordered green sauce when in Brussels;
The waiter stared and looked disgusted;
The bus boy brought in with my mussels
As always, never asking, mustard.
I couldn't eat or drink without it.
They add it to the water they
Boil the fish in and-don't doubt it-
The drippings from the roast each day
Are tossed into a mustard vat
In which they're mixed, and then entrusted
To those who bring-they're trained at that-
Always, never asking, mustard.
Prince, it's clear a spice like clove
can drop its guard. It won't be busted.
There's just one thing these people serve:
Always, never asking, mustard.
Scheme | ababcdcD exexfxfd ghghijiD kjkD |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 01010101 11110111 1010011111 1111111 110010101 111101010 11011101 1101010 11010111 1110101 0111011 011111111 110111010 010101010 011101110 11101010 110111011 11110101 10100111 0110111 11010101 011101010 11111111 1101010 1110111 111111110 11111101 1101010 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,468 |
Words | 183 |
Sentences | 9 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8, 8, 4 |
Lines Amount | 28 |
Letters per line (avg) | 28 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 196 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 45 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 57 sec read
- 132 Views
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"Ballade 2" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 24 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/13159/ballade-2>.
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