Analysis of A Simile
Matthew Prior 1664 – 1721
Dear Thomas, didst thou never pop
Thy head into a tin-man's shop?
There, Thomas, didst thou never see
('Tis but by way of simile)
A squirrel spend his little rage
In jumping round a rolling cage?
The cage, as either side turn'd up,
Striking a ring of bells a-top?--
Mov'd in the orb, pleas'd with the chimes,
The foolish creature thinks he climbs:
But here or there, turn wood or wire,
He never gets two inches higher.
So fares it with those merry blades,
That frisk it under Pindus' shades.
In noble songs, and lofty odes,
They tread on stars, and talk with gods;
Still dancing in an airy round,
Still pleas'd with their own verses' sound;
Brought back, how fast soe'er they go,
Always aspiring, always low.
Scheme | AAXBCCXA DDEE FFXXGGXB |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Etheree (30%) Tetractys (20%) |
Metre | 11011101 11010111 11011101 111111 01011101 01010101 01110111 10011101 10011101 01010111 111111110 110111010 11111101 1111011 01010101 11110111 11001101 11111101 1111111 101011 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 697 |
Words | 131 |
Sentences | 7 |
Stanzas | 3 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 4, 8 |
Lines Amount | 20 |
Letters per line (avg) | 27 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 180 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 43 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 30, 2023
- 41 sec read
- 118 Views
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"A Simile" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/27315/a-simile>.
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