Analysis of Robinson Crusoe's Story

Charles Edward Carryl 1841 (New York) – 1920



THE night was thick and hazy   
   When the 'Piccadilly Daisy'   
Carried down the crew and captain in the sea;   
   And I think the water drowned 'em;   
   For they never, never found 'em,
And I know they didn't come ashore with me.   

Oh! 'twas very sad and lonely   
   When I found myself the only   
Population on this cultivated shore;   
   But I've made a little tavern
   In a rocky little cavern,   
And I sit and watch for people at the door.   

I spent no time in looking   
   For a girl to do my cooking,   
As I'm quite a clever hand at making stews;
   But I had that fellow Friday,   
   Just to keep the tavern tidy,   
And to put a Sunday polish on my shoes.   

I have a little garden   
   That I'm cultivating lard in,
As the things I eat are rather tough and dry;   
   For I live on toasted lizards,   
   Prickly pears, and parrot gizzards,   
And I'm really very fond of beetle-pie.   

The clothes I had were furry,
   And it made me fret and worry   
When I found the moths were eating off the hair;   
   And I had to scrape and sand 'em,   
   And I boiled 'em and I tanned 'em,   
Till I got the fine morocco suit I wear.

I sometimes seek diversion   
   In a family excursion   
With the few domestic animals you see;   
   And we take along a carrot   
   As refreshment for the parrot,
And a little can of jungleberry tea.   

Then we gather as we travel,   
   Bits of moss and dirty gravel,   
And we chip off little specimens of stone;   
   And we carry home as prizes
   Funny bugs, of handy sizes,   
Just to give the day a scientific tone.   

If the roads are wet and muddy   
   We remain at home and study,—   
For the Goat is very clever at a sum,—
   And the Dog, instead of fighting,   
   Studies ornamental writing,   
While the Cat is taking lessons on the drum.   

We retire at eleven,   
   And we rise again at seven;
And I wish to call attention, as I close,   
   To the fact that all the scholars   
   Are correct about their collars,   
And particular in turning out their toes.


Scheme AAABBA AACDDC EEFAAF GXHXAH AAIBBI GGAJJA KKLMML AANEEN GGOPPO
Poetic Form
Metre 0111010 1010010 10101010001 01101011 11101011 01111010111 11101010 1111010 010111001 11101010 00101010 01101110101 1111010 10111110 11101011101 11111010 11101010 0110110111 1101010 1110010 10111110101 11111010 1010101 01101011101 0111010 01111010 11101010101 01111011 01110111 11101010111 1011010 00100010 10101010011 01101010 10101010 00101111 11101110 11101010 01111010011 01101110 10111010 1110100101 10111010 10111010 10111010101 00101110 1001010 10111010101 1011010 01101110 01111010111 10111010 10101110 00100010111
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 2,033
Words 362
Sentences 11
Stanzas 9
Stanza Lengths 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6
Lines Amount 54
Letters per line (avg) 26
Words per line (avg) 7
Letters per stanza (avg) 156
Words per stanza (avg) 40
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 29, 2023

1:50 min read
287

Charles Edward Carryl

Charles Edward Caryl was an American children's literature author. more…

All Charles Edward Carryl poems | Charles Edward Carryl Books

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