Analysis of Philosopher, A
Sam Walter Foss 1858 (Candia) – 1911
Zack Bumstead useter flosserfize
About the ocean an' the skies;
An' gab an' gas f'um morn till noon
About the other side the moon;
An' 'bout the natur of the place
Ten miles beyend the end of space.
An' if his wife she'd ask the crank
Ef he wouldn't kinder try to yank
Hisself out-doors an' git some wood
To make her kitchen fire good,
So she c'd bake her beans an' pies,
He'd say, "I've gotter flosserfize."
An' then he'd set an' flosserfize
About the natur an' the size
Of angels' wings, an' think, and gawp,
An' wonder how they make 'em flop.
He'd calkerlate how long a skid
'Twould take to move the sun, he did;
An' if the skid was strong an' prime,
It couldn't be moved to supper-time.
An' w'en his wife 'd ask the lout
Ef he wouldn't kinder waltz about
An' take a rag an' shoo the flies,
He'd say, "I've gotter flosserfize."
An' then he'd set an' flosserfize
'Bout schemes for fencing in the skies,
Then lettin' out the lots to rent,
So's he could make an honest cent.
An' if he'd find it pooty tough
To borry cash fer fencin'-stuff;
An' if 'twere best to take his wealth
An' go to Europe for his health,
Or save his cash till he'd enough
To buy some more of fencin'-stuff;
Then, ef his wife she'd ask the gump
Ef he wouldn't kinder try to hump
Hisself to t'other side the door,
So she c'd come an' sweep the floor,
He'd look at her with mournful eyes,
An' say, "I've gotter flosserfize."
An' so he'd set an' flosserfize
'Bout what it wuz held up the skies,
An' how God made this earthly ball
Jest simply out er nawthin' 'tall,
An' 'bout the natur, shape, an' form
Of nawthin' that he made it from.
Then, ef his wife sh'd ask the freak
Ef he wouldn't kinder try to sneak
Out to the barn an' find some aigs,
He'd never move, nor lift his laigs;
He'd never stir, nor try to rise,
But say, "I've gotter flosserfize."
An' so he'd set an' flosserfize
About the earth, an' sea, an' skies,
An' scratch his head, an' ask the cause
Of w'at there wuz before time wuz,
An' w'at the universe 'd do
Bimeby w'en time hed all got through;
An' jest how fur we'd have to climb
Ef we sh'd travel out er time;
An' ef we'd need, w'en we got there,
To keep our watches in repair.
Then, ef his wife she'd ask the gawk
Ef he wouldn't kinder try to walk
To where she had the table spread,
An' kinder git his stomach fed,
He'd leap for that ar kitchen door,
An' say, "W'y didn't you speak afore?"
An' when he'd got his supper et,
He'd set, an' set, an' set, an' set,
An' fold his arms, an' shet his eyes,
An' set, an' set, an' flosserfize.
Scheme | aabbaaccddaA AaeeffgghhaA Aaiijjkkjjeellaa Aammxxnnaaaa Aaaaooggppqqrrllssaa |
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Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1111 01010101 111111111 01010101 1101101 1110111 11111101 111010111 1111111 11010101 11110111 11111 111111 0101101 11011101 11011111 111101 11110111 11011111 110111101 11001111101 111010101 11011101 11111 111111 11110001 1110111 11111101 1111111 111111 11111111 11110111 11111101 1111111 11111101 111010111 11110101 11111101 11101101 11111 111111 11111101 11111101 1101011 1101111 1111111 11111101 111010111 11011111 11011111 11011111 11111 111111 01011111 11111101 11001110111 1100101011 1100111111 11111111 11110101 11111001111 111010001 11111101 111010111 11110101 11011101 11111101 11100110111 11111101 11111111 11111111 111111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 2,462 |
Words | 501 |
Sentences | 12 |
Stanzas | 5 |
Stanza Lengths | 12, 12, 16, 12, 20 |
Lines Amount | 72 |
Letters per line (avg) | 26 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 367 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 98 |
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Submitted on August 03, 2020
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 2:42 min read
- 8 Views
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"Philosopher, A" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 18 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/56592/philosopher%2C-a>.
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