Analysis of Book Agent Story
James McIntyre 1828 (Forres) – 1906
As we have given several humorous Scottish stories in verse we will venture to
trespass on your good nature by giving an American specimen. The scene is laid
in the suburbs of New York. It was a prose tale, and we fancy we have not
diminished the height, breadth or depth of the humour by grinding it in our
poetical mill and having it flow out in rhyme.
There is a man, his name is Brown,
He lives in a suburban town
And has an office in the city,
His misfortunes you will pity.
His mind it was on stocks and change,
He cared not for things new or strange ;
But agent managed him to hook
And sold to him a costly book.
Brown cared not for those glorious names-
Died for religion in the flames;
Now he felt agent was a Tartar
For selling him a book of martyr.
The agent knew it would make strife,
But sold another to his wife;
She did not know that Brown had bought,
And agent on her easy wrought .
Approaching her with winning smile
He poor woman did beguile.
He made her believe without a doubt
No Christian could do without
This book, which would all inspire
With spark of celestial fire,
With feelings like the first martyr
Who had died for Christian charter.
When Brown did home return at night
His wife, to add to his delight,
Resolved that she would, after tea,
Get chatting with her husband free
And tell him of fine book she bought ;
Of trouble fresh she never thought,
But she noticed a gloomy frown
On the brow of her husband Brown,
But thought when I my purchase tell
Those dark clouds they will dispel ;
She said, my dear, I bought martyr,
He looked as if he her could quarter.
And said the scoundrel sold me book ;
Out of the window then he did look
And saw the agent haste to train ;
He tried to stop him, but in vain ;
Smith then was passing in spring waggon,
And he had his trotting nag on ;
He told him to stop book agent ;
His escape for to prevent,
Smith told him Brown wanted him ;
But agent-nothing daunted him ;
Said he : He only wants to barter
With me for my book of Martyr.
If thats all, said Smith, with quick dash,
Give me his book, and here's your cash ;
Book agent jumped aboard the car,
For he knew there would be war;
Smith met Brown with triumphant look-
Said he : I have got you the book ;
Brown's feelings now no one could paint,
He there did show he was no saint ;
But to big own home he now returned,
And fierce rage in his bosom burned ;
He was not fit for Knight of Garter
When he brought in the third martyr.
Scheme | XXABX CCDDEEFFGGBB HHAIJJKKXBBB LLDDAICCMMBB FFNNCXXXOOBB PPXXFFQQRRBB |
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Poetic Form | |
Metre | 111101010010100111101 111110110101001000111 0010111110110110111 010011111011101010 1101011101 11011111 11000101 011100010 10101110 11111101 11111111 11010111 01110101 111111001 11010001 111101010 110101110 01011111 11010111 11111111 01010101 01001101 1110101 110010101 1101101 1111101 11101010 11010110 11111010 11110111 11111101 01111101 11010101 01111111 11011101 11100101 10110101 11111101 1111101 11111110 111110110 01010111 110101111 01010111 11111101 11110011 01111011 11111110 1011101 1111101 11010101 111101110 11111110 11111111 11110111 11010101 1111111 11110101 11111101 11011111 11111111 111111101 01101101 111111110 11100110 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 2,409 |
Words | 473 |
Sentences | 13 |
Stanzas | 6 |
Stanza Lengths | 5, 12, 12, 12, 12, 12 |
Lines Amount | 65 |
Letters per line (avg) | 29 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 316 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 81 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 2:22 min read
- 131 Views
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"Book Agent Story" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 27 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/20286/book-agent-story>.
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