Analysis of Cuckoo in the Pear-Tree
William Brighty Rands 1823 (Chelsea, Middlesex) – 1882 (East Dulwich, London)
The Cuckoo sat in the old pear-tree,
Cuckoo!
Raining or snowing, nought cared he.
Cuckoo!
Cuckoo, cuckoo, nought cared he.
The Cuckoo flew over a housetop high.
Cuckoo!
"Dear, are you at home, for here am I?
Cuckoo!
Cuckoo, cuckoo, here am I."
"I dare not open the door to you.
Cuckoo!
Perhaps you are not the right cuckoo?
Cuckoo!
Cuckoo, cukoo, the right Cuckoo!"
"I am the right Cuckoo, the proper one.
Cuckoo!
For I am my father's only son,
Cuckoo!
Cuckoo, cuckoo, his only son."
"If you are your father's only son -
Cuckoo!
The bobbin pull tightly,
Come through the door lightly -
Cuckoo!
"If you are your father's only son -
Cuckoo!
It must be you, the only one -
Cuckoo, cuckoo, my own Cuckoo!
Cuckoo!"
| Scheme | aBaBa cBcBc bBbBb dBdBd DBaaB DBdbB |
|---|---|
| Poetic Form | Tetractys (57%) Etheree (27%) |
| Metre | 01100111 1 10110111 1 11111 01110011 1 111111111 1 11111 111100111 1 01111011 1 11011 110110101 1 111110101 1 111101 111110101 1 010110 110110 1 111110101 1 11110101 11111 1 |
| Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
| Characters | 688 |
| Words | 136 |
| Sentences | 24 |
| Stanzas | 6 |
| Stanza Lengths | 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5 |
| Lines Amount | 30 |
| Letters per line (avg) | 17 |
| Words per line (avg) | 4 |
| Letters per stanza (avg) | 87 |
| Words per stanza (avg) | 22 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 40 sec read
- 86 Views
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"Cuckoo in the Pear-Tree" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/39216/cuckoo-in-the-pear-tree>.
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