Analysis of Drinking Song
James Kenneth Stephen 1859 (London) – 1892
There are people, I know, to be found,
Who say, and apparently think,
That sorrow and care may be drowned
By a timely consumption of drink.
Does not man, these enthusiasts ask,
Most nearly approach the divine,
When engaged in the soul-stirring task
Of filling his body with wine?
Have not beggars been frequently known,
When satisfied, soaked, and replete,
To imagine their bench was a throne
And the civilised world at their feet?
Lord Byron has finely described
The remarkably soothing effect
Of liquor, profusely imbibed,
On a soul that is shattered and wrecked.
In short, if your body or mind
Or your soul or your purse come to grief,
You need only get drunk, and you'll find
Complete and immediate relief.
For myself, I have managed to do
Without having recourse to this plan,
So I can't write a poem for you,
And you'd better get someone who can.
Scheme | ABAB CDCD EFEF GHGH IJIJ KLKL |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Traditional rhyme Quatrain |
Metre | 111011111 11001001 11001111 101001011 11110101 11001001 101001101 11011011 111011001 1101001 101011101 0011111 11011001 001001001 11001001 101111001 01111011 111111111 111011011 010010001 11111011 011010111 111101011 01101111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 860 |
Words | 153 |
Sentences | 7 |
Stanzas | 6 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 24 |
Letters per line (avg) | 28 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 112 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 25 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on May 01, 2023
- 46 sec read
- 49 Views
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"Drinking Song" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 1 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/20206/drinking-song>.
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