Analysis of Prologue to a Saga

Dorothy Parker 1893 (Long Branch) – 1967 (New York City)



Maidens, gather not the yew,
Leave the glossy myrtle sleeping;
Any lad was born untrue,
Never a one is fit your weeping.

Pretty dears, your tumult cease;
Love's a fardel, burthening double.
Clear your hearts, and have you peace-
Gangway, girls: I'll show you trouble.


Scheme ABAB CDCD
Poetic Form Traditional rhyme
Quatrain 
Metre 1010101 10101010 1011101 100111110 1011101 101110 1110111 1111110
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 268
Words 47
Sentences 4
Stanzas 2
Stanza Lengths 4, 4
Lines Amount 8
Letters per line (avg) 26
Words per line (avg) 6
Letters per stanza (avg) 104
Words per stanza (avg) 23
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

14 sec read
110

Dorothy Parker

Dorothy Parker was an American poet, short story writer, critic and satirist, best known for her wit, wisecracks, and eye for 20th-century urban foibles. more…

All Dorothy Parker poems | Dorothy Parker Books

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