Analysis of Sophie Spoilall
Heinrich Hoffmann 1809 (Frankfurt,) – 1894 (Frankfurt,)
I never saw a girl or boy
So prone as Sophie to destroy
Whate'er she laid her hands upon,
Though tough as wood, or hard as stone;
With Sophie it was all the same,
No matter who the thing might claim,
No matter were it choice or rare,
For naught did the destroyer care.
Her playthings shared the common lot;
Though hers they were, she spared them not,
Her dolls she oft tore limb from limb,
To gratify a foolish whim.
"Fie!" said her mother, "don't you know,
That if you use your playthings so,
Kriss Kringle will in wrath refuse
To give you what you might abuse?
Remember, how in times gone by,
You've always found a rich supply
Of Christmas presents; but beware,
You'll find no more another year."
You'd think such words would surely tend
To make this child her ways amend.
But no; she still her course pursued,
Regardless of advice so good.
But when her mother sees 'tis plain
That all her arguments are vain,
Says she, "Since I have done my best,
I'll let experience do the rest."
Meantime the season of the year
For Christmas gifts was drawing near,
And Sophie doubted not that she
An ample store of them would see.
At length the happy hour was come.
The children, led into the room,
Behold, with wonder and surprise,
Three tables set before their eyes.
One is for Nelly, one for Ned,
And both with choicest treasures spread.
Scheme | AAXXBBCCDDEE FFXXGGCH IIXXJJKKHHLLXXMMNN |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 11010111 11110101 10110101 11111111 11011101 11010111 11001111 11100101 0110101 10101111 01111111 1100101 11010111 1111111 1110101 11111101 01010111 1110101 11010101 11110101 11111101 11110101 11110101 01010111 11010111 11010011 11111111 110100101 1010101 11011101 01010111 11011111 110101011 01010101 01110001 11010111 11110111 01110101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,304 |
Words | 253 |
Sentences | 12 |
Stanzas | 3 |
Stanza Lengths | 12, 8, 18 |
Lines Amount | 38 |
Letters per line (avg) | 27 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 343 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 82 |
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Submitted on August 03, 2020
Modified on April 28, 2023
- 1:16 min read
- 5 Views
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"Sophie Spoilall" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 30 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/55534/sophie-spoilall>.
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