Analysis of Born on TV
Jonathan N. Wakeling 1980 (Calgary)
“All the world’s a stage”*
On television I am but an actor:
Scream, cry, be a baby forever.
There is no audience on television.
No one to respond to, nothing to relate to
Plastic bag and dustbin people
That let me pout garbage into
Apart. The sensuous feminine wholesome to its core
Romanticized beyond regret or physical or spiritual justice.
If I only had one life it would be lived, vivified outside,
As animals, primates, rodents, scoundrels of potent Eden
To whom I carelessly dictate truth, trust and carnal envy,
People my disordered box in Technicolor.
Dressing for dinner and afters fashioned with transistors
Transmitting fate. Orwell. Not a sound now you hear
A whisper that’s the news,
Static, pheromones to apes.
*As You Like It, Act II, Scene VII by William Shakespeare
Scheme | X AABCXC XX XBXAXDXX D |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 10101 1100111110 111010010 1111001100 111011101011 10101010 11111001 01010010010111 010010111001100010 11101111111111 11001101011010 111100011101010 10101010100 1011001101010 01011101111 010101 101011 111111111101 |
Closest metre | Iambic hexameter |
Characters | 774 |
Words | 133 |
Sentences | 9 |
Stanzas | 5 |
Stanza Lengths | 1, 6, 2, 8, 1 |
Lines Amount | 18 |
Letters per line (avg) | 35 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 124 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 27 |
Font size:
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"Born on TV" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 11 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/97207/born-on-tv>.
Discuss this Jonathan N. Wakeling poem analysis with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In