Analysis of Henry King

Hilaire Belloc 1870 (La Celle-Saint-Cloud) – 1953



The Chief Defect of Henry King
Was chewing little bits of String.
At last he swallowed some which tied
Itself in ugly Knots inside.

Physicians of the Utmost Fame
Were called at once; but when they came
They answered, as they took their Fees,
"There is no Cure for this Disease.

"Henry will very soon be dead.''
His Parents stood about his Bed
Lamenting his Untimely Death,
When Henry, with his Latest Breath,

Cried, "Oh, my Friends, be warned by me,
That Breakfast, Dinner, Lunch, and Tea
Are all the Human Frame requires...''
With that, the Wretched Child expires.


Scheme AABB CCDD EEFF GGHH
Poetic Form Quatrain 
Metre 01101101 11010111 11110111 01010101 0101011 01111111 11011111 11111101 10110111 11010111 01010101 11011101 11111111 11010101 110101010 110101010
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 558
Words 103
Sentences 7
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4
Lines Amount 16
Letters per line (avg) 27
Words per line (avg) 6
Letters per stanza (avg) 110
Words per stanza (avg) 25
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on May 03, 2023

30 sec read
655

Hilaire Belloc

Joseph Hilaire Pierre René Belloc was an Anglo-French writer and historian who became a naturalised British subject in 1902, but kept his French citizenship. more…

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