Analysis of A Drunken Man's Praise Of Sobriety

William Butler Yeats 1865 (Sandymount) – 1939 (Menton)



COME swish around, my pretty punk,
And keep me dancing still
That I may stay a sober man
Although I drink my fill.

Sobriety is a jewel
That I do much adore;
And therefore keep me dancing
Though drunkards lie and snore.
O mind your feet, O mind your feet,
Keep dancing like a wave,
And under every dancer
A dead man in his grave.
No ups and downs, my pretty,
A mermaid, not a punk;
A drunkard is a dead man,
And all dead men are drunk.


Scheme ABCB XDXDXEXEXACA
Poetic Form
Metre 11011101 011101 11110101 11111 01001010 111101 011110 110101 11111111 110101 01010010 011011 1101110 01101 0101011 011111
Closest metre Iambic trimeter
Characters 427
Words 90
Sentences 5
Stanzas 2
Stanza Lengths 4, 12
Lines Amount 16
Letters per line (avg) 21
Words per line (avg) 6
Letters per stanza (avg) 166
Words per stanza (avg) 44
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 09, 2023

27 sec read
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William Butler Yeats

William Butler Yeats was an Irish poet and one of the foremost figures of 20th century literature. more…

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