Analysis of A Parisian Episode

Ellis Parker Butler 1869 (Muscatine) – 1937 (Williamsville)



Upon Bottle Miche the autre day
While yet the nuit was early,
Je met a homme whose barbe was grey,
Whose cheveaux long and curly.

"Je am a poete, sir," dit he,
"Je live where tres grande want teems
I'm faim, sir. Sil vous plait give me

Un franc or cinquatite centimes."

I donne him vingt big copper sous
But dit, "You moderne rhymers
The sacre poet name abuse

Les poets were old timers."

"Je know! I know!" he wept, contrite;
"The bards no more suis mighty:
Ils rise no more in eleve flight,
Though some are beaucoup flighty.

"Vous wonder why Je weep this way,
Pour quoi these tears and blubbers?
It is mon fault les bards today
Helas! suis mere earth-grubbers.

"There was a time when tout might see
My grande flights dans the saddle;
Crowned rois, indeed, applauded me
Le Pegasus astraddle.

"Le winged horse avec acclaim
Was voted mon possession;

Je rode him tous les jours to fame;
Je led the whole procession.

"Then arrivee the Prussian war
The siege the sacre famine

Then some had but a crust encore,
We mange the last least ham-an'

"Helas! Mon noble winged steed
Went oft avec no dinner;
On epics il refusee feed
And maigre grew, and thinner!

"Tout food was gone, and dans the street
Each homme sought crusts to sate him
Joyeux were those with horse's meat,
And Pegasus! Je ate him!"

My anger then Je could not hide
To parler scarcely able
"Oh! curses dans you, sir!" Je cried;

"Vous human livery stable!"

He fled! But vous who read this know
Why mon pauvre verse is beaten
By that of cinquante years ago
'Vant Pegasus fut eaten!
  


Scheme ABAB BCB X XCX X DBDB ACAC BEBE FG FG HG HX IJIJ KLKL MEM E NGNG
Poetic Form
Metre 01101011 1101110 11011111 111010 1101111 1111111 11111111 11111 11111101 111011 0110101 1100110 11111101 0111110 1111011 111110 11011111 111101 11111101 11111 11011111 1111010 11010101 0100010 011101 1101010 11111111 1101010 110101 010110 1111011 1101111 111011 111110 110111 011010 11110101 1111111 1011101 0100111 11011111 1101010 11011111 11010010 11111111 1111110 1111101 1100110
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 1,549
Words 309
Sentences 22
Stanzas 17
Stanza Lengths 4, 3, 1, 3, 1, 4, 4, 4, 2, 2, 2, 2, 4, 4, 3, 1, 4
Lines Amount 48
Letters per line (avg) 25
Words per line (avg) 6
Letters per stanza (avg) 70
Words per stanza (avg) 17
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Submitted on August 03, 2020

Modified on March 05, 2023

1:31 min read
5

Ellis Parker Butler

Ellis Parker Butler was an American author. more…

All Ellis Parker Butler poems | Ellis Parker Butler Books

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