Analysis of Kisses And The Rhythmic Principle
Clarence Michael James Stanislaus Dennis 1876 (Auburn) – 1938 (Melbourne)
My dear ladies - that is to say, those of you who may happen inadvertently to glance through this dreadful paper
Most of you, no doubt, have felt impelled, at one time or another, to lightly caper
Round and about a ballroom, clasped in the manly and purely platonic embrace of some intellectual affinity - some male bird of your type.
There comes a period in the lives of all of us when the time for such festive prancing seems deliciously ripe.
Is it not so? Then dance, dear ladies, dance every time you get a chance.
Pray, do not think for a moment that I approve of those incomprehensible persons known as Wowsers.
I object to them on principle. I object to all their works, opinions and prejudices.
But most of all I object to their absurd hats and totally nondescript trousers.
But I digress. Ladies, I am your friend.
And ever shall I sympathetically lend
An ear to your protestations in defence of the polka-mazurka, and the schottische, and the two-step, and the waltz.
To declare that such dances are indelicate is false.
They are not!
Nor is the turkey-trot
A thing of evil.
And, as some would have us believe, an invention of the DEVIL.
Nay, even the cruelly maligned sticking-plaster
Leadeth in no sense to moral disaster
For always remember, ladies, when you are indulging in intricate terpsichorean evolutions, then that unutterably ecstatic bliss you
Experience for the moment is merely an abnormally rapid oxidisation of the mental tissue.
Dear females - diners, tarts, peaches, flappers, bits o' fluff, and perfect ladies,
There are those who will tell you that dancing is a direct importation from Hades.
By making such absurd and obviously idiotic assertions nothing can be gained:
For the whole matter may be scientifically, psychologically and biologically explained.
For instance, we will suppose that you are treading some stately measure
Such as the Gaby-glide - with a partner whose appearance and deportment give you entire pleasure.
And we will suppose
His is emboldened to propose
A subsequent and somewhat surreptitious adjournment to the conservatory -
(You know the old, old story?)
And, being half inclined to agree, you fall to wondering whether mother would really miss you.
Do not hesitate, dear lady. Respond immediately to the extraordinary and not altogether unpleasant oxidisation of the aforesaid tissue.
And now, dear lady,
Having discovered a secluded nook both cool and shady,
It is just possible that your partner may fondly place his arm around you.
Nay, do not let this dumbfound you.
Be not alarmed. No haughty glances, if you please,
For indications such as these
Betray a mind uncultured. If you would act aright,
I pray you, regard the whole matter in a scientific light.
If, for a moment, I thought you failed to recognise the rhythmic principle I should be sorely grieved.
Remember, always remember, my dear lady, that the poor young man's overcharged brain must, at all costs, be relieved.
(For, in the course of my exhaustive researches, I have discovered, after much Labor and infinite pains,
That a very large proportion of dancing men are afflicted with overcharged brains.)
And then, should he, perchance, press you tenderly to his biled shirt, and ultimately kiss you;
No protests, I pray you.
Reflet, again, that this is uncontrovertibly another manifestation of the rapid, not to say furious oxidisation of the aforementioned tissue.
And here, dear lady, endeth my discourse. I have nothing to add except, perhaps, that it would at this point be advisable to return to the ballroom and your maternal relation.
Not, of course, with any idea of snubbing the poor young man with the overcharged
brain; but merely as an ordinary precaution against the possible effects of over-oxidisation.
Scheme | AABBCCXXDDXXEEFFAAGGHHIIAAJJKKGG KKGGHHDXLLMMGGG NXN |
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Poetic Form | |
Metre | 111011111111110010011111010 111111101111101011010 10010110010010010011101000100111111 1101000011111101111010101001 111111110110011101 111110101101110010010111 110111100110111101001000 111111011011010010110 1101101111 01011010001 111110001101010010011001 10111101010011 111 110101 01110 0111110110101010 110010011010 1011110010 110101011101001001111101011 010010101101010010110101 11101101011100110 11111111101001010110 1101010100001001010111 101101101000010000010001 11011011111011010 1101011010101000101101010 01101 11010101 01000110100101001000 1101110 010101101111100101011011 1110110010100010010001010010110011 01110 100100010111010 1111001110110111011 11111101 110111010111 1010111 0101111111 111010110000101 11010111111010100111101 010101011101011110111111101 100111010010110101011001001 101010101101101011011 0111011110011110100011 11111 1011111010001010101111001100101 01110111011101101011111111010010110101010010 111110010110011110101 111011100010010100011101 |
Characters | 3,723 |
Words | 631 |
Sentences | 37 |
Stanzas | 3 |
Stanza Lengths | 32, 15, 3 |
Lines Amount | 50 |
Letters per line (avg) | 60 |
Words per line (avg) | 13 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 1,000 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 213 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 3:09 min read
- 67 Views
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"Kisses And The Rhythmic Principle" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/6417/kisses-and-the-rhythmic-principle>.
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