Analysis of The Bird of Paradise
William Henry Davies 1871 – 1940
Here comes Kate Summers, who, for gold,
Takes any man to bed:
"You knew my friend, Nell Barnes," she said;
"You knew Nell Barnes -- she's dead.
"Nell Barnes was bad on all you men,
Unclean, a thief as well;
Yet all my life I have not found
A better friend than Nell.
"So I sat at her side at last,
For hours, till she was dead;
And yet she had no sense at all
Of any word I said.
"For all her cry but came to this --
'Not for the world! Take care:
Don't touch that bird of paradise,
Perched on the bed-post there!'
"I asked her would she like some grapes,
Som damsons ripe and sweet;
A custard made with new-laid eggs,
Or tender fowl to eat.
"I promised I would follow her,
To see her in her grave;
And buy a wreath with borrowed pence,
If nothing I could save.
"Yet still her cry but came to this --
'Not for the world! Take care:
Don't touch that bird of paradise,
Perched on the bed-post there!' "
Scheme | xaaa xbxb xaxa cDED xfxf xgxg cDED |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain (86%) |
Metre | 11110111 110111 11111111 111111 11111111 010111 11111111 010111 11110111 1101111 01111111 110111 11011111 110111 1111110 110111 11011111 11101 01011111 110111 11011100 110001 0101111 110111 11011111 110111 1111110 110111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 908 |
Words | 186 |
Sentences | 10 |
Stanzas | 7 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 28 |
Letters per line (avg) | 24 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 95 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 26 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 55 sec read
- 156 Views
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