Analysis of The Cock-Fighter's Garland
Muse -- hide his name of whom I sing,
Lest his surviving house thou bring
For his sake into scorn,
Nor speak the school from which he drew,
The much or little that he knew,
Nor place where he was born.
That such a man once was, may seem
Worthy of record, (if the theme
Perchance may credit win,)
For proof to man, what man may prove,
If grace depart, and demons move
The source of guilt within.
This man (for since the howling wild
Disclaims him, man he must be styled)
Wanted no good below;
Gentle he was, if gentle birth
Could make him such; and he had worth,
If wealth can worth bestow.
In social talk and ready jest
He shone superior at the feast,
And qualities of mind
Illustrious in the eyes of those
Whose gay society he chose
Possessed of every kind.
Methinks I see him powdered red,
With bushy locks his well-dressed head
Winged broad on either side,
The mossy rose-bud not so sweet;
His steeds superb, his carriage neat
As luxury could provide.
Can such be cruel? Such can be
Cruel as hell, and so was he;
A tyrant entertained
With barbarous sports, whose fell delight
Was to encourage mortal fight
'Twixt birds to battle trained.
One feathered champion he possessed,
His darling far beyond the rest,
Which never knew disgrace,
Nor e'er had fought, but he made flow
The life-blood of his fiercest foe,
The Caesar of his race.
It chanced, at last, when, on a day,
He pushed him to the desperate fray,
His courage drooped, he fled.
The master stormed, the prize was lost,
And, instant, frantic at the cost,
He doomed his favourite dead.
He seized him fast, and from the pit
Flew to the kitchen, snatched the spit,
And, bring me cord, he cried;
The cord was brought, and, at his word,
To that dire implement the bird
Alive and struggling, tied.
The horrid sequel asks a veil,
And all the terrors of the tale
That can be, shall be, sunk.--
Led by the sufferer's screams aright,
His shocked companions view the sight.
And him with fury drunk.
All, suppliant, beg a milder fate
For the old warrior at the grate;
He, deaf to pity's call,
Whirled round him rapid as a wheel
His culinary club of steel,
Death menacing on all.
But vengeance hung not far remote,
For while he stretched his clamorous throat
And heaven and earth defied,
Big with a curse too closely pent,
That struggled vainly for a vent,
He tottered, reeled, and died.
'Tis not for us, with rash surmise,
To point the judgements of the skies;
But judgements plain as this,
That, sent for a man's instruction, bring
A written label on their wing
'Tis hard to read amiss.
Scheme | AABCCB DDEFFE GGHIIH JXKLLK MMNOON PPQRRQ JJSHHS TTMXXM UUNVVN WWXGRX YYZ1 1 Z 2 2 N3 3 N 4 4 5 AA5 |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 11111111 11010111 111011 11011111 01110111 111111 11011111 10101101 011101 11111111 11010101 011101 11110101 01111111 101101 10111101 11110111 111101 01010101 110100101 010011 010000111 11010011 0111001 1111101 11011111 111101 0111111 11011101 1100101 11110111 10110111 01001 110011101 11010101 111101 110100101 11010101 110101 110111111 01111101 010111 11111101 11110101 110111 01010111 01010101 11111 11110101 11010101 011111 01110111 11110001 0101001 01010101 01010101 111111 110111 11010101 011101 1110101 101100101 11111 11110101 1100111 110011 11011101 1111111 0100101 11011101 11010101 11101 11111101 11010101 110111 111010101 01010111 111101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 2,470 |
Words | 470 |
Sentences | 18 |
Stanzas | 13 |
Stanza Lengths | 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6 |
Lines Amount | 78 |
Letters per line (avg) | 25 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 151 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 36 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 2:22 min read
- 100 Views
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"The Cock-Fighter's Garland" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 25 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/40129/the-cock-fighter%27s-garland>.
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