Analysis of A Classical Revival
William Schwenck Gilbert 1836 – 1911
At the outset I may mention it's my sovereign intention
To revive the classic memories of Athens at its best,
For my company possesses all the necessary dresses,
And a course of quiet cramming will supply us with the rest.
We've a choir hyporchematic (that is, ballet-operatic)
Who respond to the CHOREUTAE of that cultivated age,
And our clever chorus-master, all but captious criticaster,
Would accept as the CHOREGUS of the early Attic stage.
This return to classic ages is considered in their wages,
Which are always calculated by the day or by the week -
And I'll pay 'em (if they'll back me) all in OBOLOI and DRACHMAE,
Which they'll get (if they prefer it) at the Kalends that are
Greek!
(At this juncture I may mention
That this erudition sham
Is but classical pretension,
The result of steady "cram.":
Periphrastic methods spurning,
To my readers all discerning
I admit this show of learning
Is the fruit of steady cram."!)
In the period Socratic every dining-room was Attic
(Which suggests an architecture of a topsy-turvy kind),
There they'd satisfy their twist on a RECHERCHE cold [Greek text
which cannot be reproduced],
Which is what they called their lunch - and so may you, if you're
inclined.
As they gradually got on, they'd [Greek text which cannot be
reproduced]
(Which is Attic for a steady and a conscientious drink).
But they mixed their wine with water - which I'm sure they didn't
oughter -
And we Anglo-Saxons know a trick worth two of that, I think!
Then came rather risky dances (under certain circumstances)
Which would shock that worthy gentleman, the Licenser of Plays,
Corybantian maniAC kick - Dionysiac or Bacchic -
And the Dithyrambic revels of those indecorous days.
(And perhaps I'd better mention
Lest alarming you I am,
That it isn't our intention
To perform a Dithyramb -
It displays a lot of stocking,
Which is always very shocking,
And of course I'm only mocking
At the prevalence of "cram.")
Yes, on reconsideration, there are customs of that nation
Which are not in strict accordance with the habits of our day,
And when I come to codify, their rules I mean to modify,
Or Mrs. Grundy, p'r'aps, may have a word or two to say:
For they hadn't macintoshes or umbrellas or goloshes -
And a shower with their dresses must have played the very deuce,
And it must have been unpleasing when they caught a fit of
sneezing,
For, it seems, of pocket-handkerchiefs they didn't know the use.
They wore little underclothing - scarcely anything - or no-thing -
And their dress of Coan silk was quite transparent in design -
Well, in fact, in summer weather, something like the "altogether."
And it's THERE, I rather fancy, I shall have to draw the line!
(And again I wish to mention
That this erudition sham
Is but classical pretension,
The result of steady "cram."
Yet my classic love aggressive,
If you'll pardon the possessive,
Is exceedingly impressive
When you're passing an exam.)
Scheme | abcbdefecghfg aHAHiiih djxkfjxklxflcmdm ahahiiih anxncoxioipfp aHAHqqqh |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 10111101110010 101010100110111 111000101010010 001110101011101 101011101010 101101111001 0101010101111 1011011010101 1011101010100110 1111001011101 0111111110101 1111101110111 1 11101110 110101 11100010 0011101 11010 11101010 10111110 1011101 00100010100101110 10111001010101 111011101111 110101 1111111011111 01 111000111111101 01 11101010000101 11111110111110 1 011010101111111 111010101010100 111110100010011 1101111 001101111 00111010 1010111 111010010 101010 10101110 1111010 01111010 1010011 110001011101110 1110101010101101 01111101111110 11010111011111 1110100101011 001011101110101 011111111011 10 111110100110101 111011010111 01111111010001 101010101010010 011110101111101 00111110 110101 11100010 0011101 11101010 11100010 10100010 1110101 |
Closest metre | Iambic hexameter |
Characters | 2,858 |
Words | 513 |
Sentences | 18 |
Stanzas | 6 |
Stanza Lengths | 13, 8, 16, 8, 13, 8 |
Lines Amount | 66 |
Letters per line (avg) | 35 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 381 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 84 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 22, 2023
- 2:38 min read
- 146 Views
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