Analysis of An Extempore

John Keats 1795 (Moorgate) – 1821 (Rome)



When they were come into Faery's Court
They rang -- no one at home -- all gone to sport
And dance and kiss and love as faerys do
For Faries be as human lovers true --
Amid the woods they were so lone and wild
Where even the Robin feels himself exil'd
And where the very books as if affraid
Hurry along to some less magic shade.
'No one at home'! the fretful princess cry'd
'And all for nothing such a dre[a]ry ride
And all for nothing my new diamond cross
No one to see my persian feathers toss
No one to see my Ape, my Dwarf, my Fool
Or how I pace my Otaheitan mule.
Ape, Dwarf and Fool why stand you gaping there
Burst the door open, quick -- or I declare
I'll switch you soundly and in pieces tear.'
The Dwarf began to tremble and the Ape
Star'd at the Fool, the Fool was all agape
The Princess grasp'd her switch but just in time
The Dwarf with piteous face began to rhyme.
'O mighty Princess did you ne'er hear tell
What your poor servants know but too too well
Know you the three great crimes in faery land
The first alas! poor Dwarf I understand
I made a whipstock of a faery's wand
The next is snoring in their company
The next the last the direst of the three
Is making free when they are not at home.
I was a Prince -- a baby prince -- my doom
You see, I made a whipstock of a wand
My top has henceforth slept in faery land.
He was a Prince the Fool, a grown up Prince
But he has never been a King's son since
He fell a snoring at a faery Ball
Your poor Ape was a Prince and he poor thing
But ape -- so pray your highness stay awhile
'Tis sooth indeed we know it to our sorrow --
Persist and you may be an ape tomorrow --
While the Dwarf spake the Princess all for spite
Peal'd the brown hazel twig to lilly white
Clench'd her small teeth, and held her lips apart
Try'd to look unconcerned with beating heart.
They saw her highness had made up her mind
And quaver'd like the reeds before the wind
And they had had it, but O happy chance
The Ape for very fear began to dance
And grin'd as all his uglyness did ache--
She staid her vixen fingers for his sake
He was so very ugly: then she took
Her pocket mirror and began to look
First at herself and [then] at him and then
She smil'd at her own beauteous face again.
Yet for all this -- for all her pretty face
She took it in her head to see the place.
Women gain little from experience
Either in Lovers, husbands or expense.
The more their beauty the more fortune too
Beauty before the wide world never knew.
So each fair reasons -- tho' it oft miscarries.
She thought her pretty face would please the fa[e]ries.
'My darling Ape I wont whip you today
Give me the Picklock sirrah and go play.'
They all three wept but counsel was as vain
As crying cup biddy to drops of rain.
Yet lingeringly did the sad Ape forth draw
The Picklock from the Pocket in his Jaw.
The Princess took it and dismounting straight
Trip'd in blue silver'd slippers to the gate
And touch'd the wards, the Door full courteously
Opened -- she enter'd with her servants three.
Again it clos'd and there was nothing seen
But the Mule grasing on the herbage green.
End of Canto xii.

Canto the xiii.
The Mule no sooner saw himself alone
Than he prick'd up his Ears -- and said 'well done!
At least unhappy Prince I may be free --
No more a Princess shall side saddle me
O King of Othaiete -- tho' a Mule
'Aye every inch a King' -- tho' 'Fortune's fool.'
Well done -- for by what Mr. Dwarfy said
I would not give a sixpence for her head.'
Even as he spake he trotted in high glee
To the knotty side of an old Pollard tree
And rub'd his sides against the mossed bark
Till his Girths burst and left him naked stark
Except his Bridle -- how get rid of that
Buckled and tied with many a twist and plait.
At last it struck him to pretend to sleep
And then the thievish Monkies down would creep
And filch the unpleasant trammels quite away.
No sooner thought of than adown he lay
Sham'd a good snore -- the Monkey-men descended
And whom they thought to injure they befriended.
They hung his Bridle on a topmost bough
And of[f] he went run, trot, or anyhow--


Scheme AABBCCAXAXDDEEFFFGGHHIIJJKLLXXKJMMXXXNNOOPPQQRRSSTTUUVVXXBBDDWWXXYYZZEL1 1 D DXXLLEE2 2 LL3 3 XZ4 4 WWXX5 5
Poetic Form
Metre 11010111 1111111111 010101111 1011110101 0101101101 1100101011 010101111 1001111101 1111010101 011101011 0111011101 1111110101 1111111111 1111111 1101111101 1011011101 1111000101 0101110001 1101011101 0101011101 011110111 1101011111 1111011111 110111011 010111101 11011011 0111001100 0101010101 1101111111 1101010111 111101101 111111011 1101010111 1111010111 110101011 1111010111 1111110101 110111111010 0101111101 1011010111 1011011101 1011010101 111011101 1101011101 0101010101 0111111101 0111010111 01111111 1101010111 1111010111 0101000111 1101011101 111011101 1111110101 1110011101 1011010100 1001010101 0111001101 1001011101 111101111 1101011101 1101111101 11011011 1111110111 1101101111 11101111 011010011 01011011 101110101 01010111 1011010101 0111011101 10111011 11101 1001 0111010101 1111110111 1101011111 1101011101 1111101 1100101111 111111011 111101101 10111110011 10101111101 011101011 1111011101 0111011111 10011100101 1111110111 01011111 0100101101 110111111 10110101010 01111101010 111101011 011111110
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 3,996
Words 810
Sentences 30
Stanzas 2
Stanza Lengths 74, 23
Lines Amount 97
Letters per line (avg) 32
Words per line (avg) 8
Letters per stanza (avg) 1,573
Words per stanza (avg) 402
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 14, 2023

4:09 min read
60

John Keats

John Keats was an English Romantic poet. more…

All John Keats poems | John Keats Books

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