Analysis of Curfew Shall Not Ring To-Night

William F Kirk 1877 – 1927



England's sun ban slowly setting on big hilltops far avay;
Dis bar sun ban tired of standing, so it lak to set, yu say;
And yust ven dis sun ban setting, it shine hard on Yosephine;
She ban talking to the sexton, and ban feeling purty mean.
"Now," she tal him, "yust be careful,... ay skol fix it op all right;
Yust one teng ay lak to tal yu, Curfew skol not reng to-night!"

Val, the sun yust keep on setting, and the sexton start for bell.
"Vait a minute!" Yosie tal him; sexton answer, "Vat to 'ell?"
"Val," she say, "ay having sveetheart who ban over har in yail,
Ay ban vorking hard for money, nuff so ay can pay his bail;
But it ant no use to du it, and dis har old yudge skol write
That he dies ven bell start going. Curfew skol not reng to-night!"

Den, yu say, dis maester sexton, he can't hearing Yosephine;
He ban vork in boiler factory ven he ban about saxteen,
And it mak him deaf lak blazes. So he go and grabbing rope;
But Miss Yosephine ant qvitter, she ant losing any hope.
No, sir! she run op in bell tower, yust so fast sum she can run,
And she tak gude hold on bell tongue, and hang on lak son of a gun.

Maester sexton, he keep renging, but dis bell ant reng, yu say;
For Miss Yosephine ban op dar; she ant ban no country yay.
Ay yust bet yu she get groggy, for her yob ban purty tough;
But the bell don't "dingle dangle," it ant even making bluff.
"Val, by yinger!" say the sexton, "dis har rope ban awful tight."
Yosephine look down, and tal him, "Curfew skol not reng to-night!"

Purty soon it ban all over. Sexton, he ban start for town,
And Miss Yosie rest a minute, den ay s'pose she coming down.
Anyhow, she go next morning for gude talk vith some poleece,
And she yolly Maester Cromwell - he ban Yustice of the Peace.
"Gude for yu," say Maester Cromwell, "ay skol let him live, all right:
Yust because yu fule dis sexton - curfew skol not reng to-night!"


Scheme ABCCDD EEEXDD CCFFCC BBAADD CCBXDD
Poetic Form
Metre 1011101011111 1111101101111111 0111111011111 11101010011011 111111101111111 111111111011111 101111100010111 10101111010111 11111011110101 11111101111111 111111110111111 111111101011111 111111011101 111010100111011 011111101110101 111111110101 1111101101111111 0111111101111101 1101111111111 1111111111101 11111110101111 101110101110101 111010101111101 1110111011111 11111101011111 011101011111101 1011110111111 011110111101 11111101111111 101111101011111
Closest metre Iambic octameter
Characters 1,862
Words 384
Sentences 22
Stanzas 5
Stanza Lengths 6, 6, 6, 6, 6
Lines Amount 30
Letters per line (avg) 47
Words per line (avg) 12
Letters per stanza (avg) 280
Words per stanza (avg) 74
Font size:
 

Submitted on August 03, 2020

Modified on March 15, 2023

1:52 min read
18

William F Kirk

William Frederick Kirk (April 29, 1877 – March 25, 1927) was an American baseball writer, columnist, humorist, poet and songwriter.  more…

All William F Kirk poems | William F Kirk Books

0 fans

Discuss this William F Kirk poem analysis with the community:

0 Comments

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "Curfew Shall Not Ring To-Night" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/57034/curfew-shall-not-ring-to-night>.

    Become a member!

    Join our community of poets and poetry lovers to share your work and offer feedback and encouragement to writers all over the world!

    April 2024

    Poetry Contest

    Join our monthly contest for an opportunity to win cash prizes and attain global acclaim for your talent.
    2
    days
    4
    hours
    18
    minutes

    Special Program

    Earn Rewards!

    Unlock exciting rewards such as a free mug and free contest pass by commenting on fellow members' poems today!

    Browse Poetry.com

    Quiz

    Are you a poetry master?

    »
    "If ever two were one, then surely we."
    A Hilda Doolittle
    B Anne Sexton
    C Sylvia Plath
    D Anne Bradstreet