Analysis of Barleymow And Dunghill.
John Gay 1685 – 1732
How many saucy beaux we meet
'Twixt Westminster and Aldgate-street!
Rascals - the mushrooms of a day,
Who sprung and shared the South Sea prey,
Nor in their zenith condescend
To own or know the humble friend.
A careful farmer took his way
Across his yard at break of day:
He leant a moment o'er the rail,
To hear the music of the flail;
In his quick eye he viewed his stock, -
The geese, the hogs, the fleecy flock.
A barleymow there, fat as mutton,
Then held her master by the button:
"Master, my heart and soul are wrung - till
They can't abide that dirty dunghill:
Master, you know I make your beer -
You boast of me at Christmas cheer;
Then why insult me and disgrace me,
And next to that vile dunghill place me?
By Jove! it gives my nose offence:
Command the hinds to cart it hence."
"You stupid Barleymow," said Dunghill;
"You talk about your heart and wrung-ill:
Where would you be, I'd like to know,
Had I not fed and made you grow?
You of October brew brag - pshaw!
You would have been a husk of straw.
And now, instead of gratitude,
You rail in this ungrateful mood."
Scheme | AABBCC BBDDEE FFGDHHIIJJ DGKKXXLL |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Etheree (33%) Tetractys (20%) |
Metre | 11010111 110011 10010101 11010111 1011001 11110101 01010111 01111111 1100101001 11010101 01111111 01010101 0111110 110101010 101101111 11011101 10111111 11111101 110110011 01111111 1111111 01011111 110111 110111011 11111111 11110111 11010111 11110111 0101110 11010101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,059 |
Words | 212 |
Sentences | 11 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 6, 6, 10, 8 |
Lines Amount | 30 |
Letters per line (avg) | 27 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 205 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 52 |
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Submitted on August 03, 2020
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:03 min read
- 5 Views
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"Barleymow And Dunghill." Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 26 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/55904/barleymow-and-dunghill.>.
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