Analysis of Good-By Bill

Ringgold Wilmer Lardner 1885 (Niles, Michigan) – 1933 (East Hampton, New York)



Dollar Bill, that I've held so tight
Ever since payday, a week ago,
Shall I purchase with you tonight
A pair of seats at the vaudeville show?
(Hark! A voice from the easy chair:
"Look at his shoes! We must buy a pair.")

Dollar Bill, from the wreckage saved,
Tell me, how shall I squander you?
Shall I be shined, shampooed and shaved,
Singed and trimmed 'round the edges, too?
(Hark! A voice from the easy chair:
"He hasn't a romper that's fit to wear.")

Dollar Bill, that I cherished so,
Think of the cigarettes you'd buy,
Turkish ones, with a kick, you know;
Makin's eventually tire a guy.
(Hark! A voice from the easy chair:
"Look at those stockings! Just one big tear!")

Dollar Bill, it is time to part.
What do I care for a vaudeville show?
I'll shave myself and look just as smart.
Makin's aren't so bad, you know.
Dollar Bill, we must say good-by;
There on the floor is the Reason Why.


Scheme ababCc dedeCc bfbfCc gbgbff
Poetic Form
Metre 10111111 10110101 11101101 011110101 10110101 111111101 10110101 11111101 11110101 10110101 10110101 110011111 10111101 1100111 10110111 1010001001 10110101 111101111 10111111 111110101 11101111 1101111 10111111 110110101
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 877
Words 173
Sentences 17
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 6, 6, 6, 6
Lines Amount 24
Letters per line (avg) 28
Words per line (avg) 7
Letters per stanza (avg) 166
Words per stanza (avg) 42
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Submitted on August 03, 2020

Modified on March 05, 2023

54 sec read
2

Ringgold Wilmer Lardner

Ringgold Wilmer "Ring" Lardner (March 5, 1885 – September 25, 1933) was an American sports columnist and short story writer best known for his satirical writings on sports, marriage, and the theatre. His contemporaries Ernest Hemingway, Virginia Woolf, and F. Scott Fitzgerald all professed strong admiration for his writing.  more…

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