Analysis of The Text
Charles Lamb 1775 (Inner Temple, London) – 1834 (Edmonton, London)
One Sunday eve a grave old man,
Who had not been at church, did say,
'Eliza, tell me, if you can,
What text our Doctor took to-day?'
She hung her head, she blushed for shame,
One single word she did not know,
Nor verse nor chapter she could name,
Her silent blushes told him so.
Again said he, 'My little maid,
What in the sermon did you hear?
Come tell me that, for that may aid
Me to find out the text, my dear.'
A tear stole down each blushing cheek,
She wished she better had attended;
She sobbing said, when she could speak,
She heard not till 'twas almost ended.
'Ah! little heedless one, why what
Could you be thinking on? 'tis clear
Some foolish fancies must have got
Possession of your head, my dear.
'What thoughts were they, Eliza, tell,
Nor seek from me the truth to smother.'-
'O I remember very well,
I whispered something to my brother.
'I said, 'Be friends with me, dear Will;'
We quarrelled, sir, at the church door,-
Though he cried, 'Hush, don't speak, be still,'
Yet I repeated these words o'er
'Seven or eight times, I have no doubt.
But here comes William, and if he
The good things he has heard about
Forgets too, sir, the fault's in me.'
'No, sir,' said William, 'though perplext
And much disturbed by my sister,
I in this matter of the text,
I thank my memory, can assist her.
'I have, and pride myself on having,
A more retentive head than she.'-
Then gracefully his right hand waving,
He with no little vanity
Recited gospel, chapter, verse-
I should be loth to spoil in metre
All the good words he did rehearse,
As spoken by our Lord to Peter.
But surely never words from heaven
Of peace and love more full descended;
That we should seventy times seven
Forgive our brother that offended.
In every point of view he placed it,
As he the Doctor's self had been,
With emphasis and action graced it:
But from his self-conceit 'twas seen
Who had brought home the words, and who had
A little on the meaning thought;
Eliza now the old man knew had
Learned that which William never caught.
Without impeaching William's merit,
His head but served him for the letter;
Hers missed the words, but kept the spirit;
Her memory to her heart was debtor.
Scheme | ABAB CDCD EXEF GHGH IFJF KLKL MXML NONO ELXL POPO QLQL RHRH SXSX TXTJ ILIL |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain (73%) Etheree (22%) Tetractys (20%) |
Metre | 1110111 11111111 01011111 111010111 11011111 11011111 11110111 01010111 01111101 10010111 11111111 11110111 01111101 111101010 11011111 11111110 1101111 11110111 11010111 01011111 11010101 111101110 11010101 110101110 11111111 1111011 11111111 110101110 101111111 11110011 01111101 01110101 1111011 01011110 10110101 1111001010 11011110 011111 110011110 11110100 01010101 111111010 10111101 1101101110 110101110 110111010 111100110 0110101010 0100111111 11010111 110001011 11110111 111101011 01010101 010101111 11110101 010101010 111111010 010111010 0100101110 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 2,113 |
Words | 412 |
Sentences | 19 |
Stanzas | 15 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 60 |
Letters per line (avg) | 28 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 110 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 27 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 2:03 min read
- 55 Views
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"The Text" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 14 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/5416/the-text>.
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