Analysis of Ballade of an Omnibus

Amy Levy 1861 (London) – 1889 (London)



"To see my love suffices me."
--Ballades in Blue China.

Some men to carriages aspire;
On some the costly hansoms wait;
Some seek a fly, on job or hire;
Some mount the trotting steed, elate.
I envy not the rich and great,
A wandering minstrel, poor and free,
I am contented with my fate --
An omnibus suffices me.

In winter days of rain and mire
I find within a corner strait;
The 'busmen know me and my lyre
From Brompton to the Bull-and-Gate.
When summer comes, I mount in state
The topmost summit, whence I see
Crœsus look up, compassionate --
An omnibus suffices me.

I mark, untroubled by desire,
Lucullus' phaeton and its freight.
The scene whereof I cannot tire,
The human tale of love and hate,
The city pageant, early and late
Unfolds itself, rolls by, to be
A pleasure deep and delicate.
An omnibus suffices me.

Princess, your splendour you require,
I, my simplicity; agree
Neither to rate lower nor higher.
An omnibus suffices me.


Scheme ax bcdccacA bcbccaeA dcdccaeA dadA
Poetic Form Etheree  (33%)
Tetractys  (20%)
Metre 11110101 10110 11110001 1101011 110111110 11010101 11010101 010010101 11010111 11000101 01011101 11010101 0111011 1110101 11011101 0110111 11110100 11000101 110101010 11011 01111010 01011101 010101001 01011111 01010100 11000101 1011110 11010001 101110110 11000101
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 920
Words 172
Sentences 12
Stanzas 5
Stanza Lengths 2, 8, 8, 8, 4
Lines Amount 30
Letters per line (avg) 24
Words per line (avg) 6
Letters per stanza (avg) 145
Words per stanza (avg) 34
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 19, 2023

51 sec read
174

Amy Levy

Amy Levy was a British essayist, poet, and novelist best remembered for her feminist positions and her homosexual romances during the Victorian era. more…

All Amy Levy poems | Amy Levy Books

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