Analysis of The Duck and the Kangaroo
Edward Lear 1812 (Holloway) – 1888 (Sanremo)
Said the Duck to the Kangaroo,
'Good gracious! how you hop!
Over the fields and the water too,
As if you never would stop!
My life is a bore in this nasty pond,
And I long to go out in the world beyond!
I wish I could hop like you!'
Said the Duck to the Kangaroo.
'Please give me a ride on your back!'
Said the Duck to the Kangaroo.
'I would sit quite still, and say nothing but 'Quack',
The whole of the long day through!
And we'd go to the Dee, and the Jelly Bo Lee,
Over the land, and over the sea;
Please take me a ride! O do!'
Said the Duck to the Kangaroo.
Said the Kangaroo to the Duck,
'This requires some little reflection;
Perhaps on the whole it might bring me luck,
And there seems but one objection,
Which is, if you'll let me speak so bold,
Your feet are unpleasantly wet and cold,
And would probably give me the roo-
Matiz!' said the Kangaroo.
Said the Duck, 'As I sat on the rocks,
I have thought over that completely,
And I bought four pairs of worsted socks
Which fit my web-feet neatly.
And to keep out the cold I've bought a cloak,
And every day a cigar I'll smoke,
All to follow my own dear true
Love of a Kangaroo!'
Said the Kangaroo, 'I'm ready!
'All in the moonlight pale;
'But to balance me well, dear Duck, sit steady!
'And quite at the end of my tail!'
So away they went with a hop and a bound,
And they hopped the whole world three times round;
And who so happy - O who,
As the Duck and the Kangaroo?
Scheme | AbabccaA dAdaeeaA fgfghhaa ieiejjaa ekekllaa |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Tetractys (20%) Etheree (20%) |
Metre | 1011001 110111 100100101 1111011 1110101101 01111100101 1111111 1011001 11101111 1011001 11111011011 0110111 011101001011 100101001 1110111 1011001 1001101 1010110010 0110111111 01111010 111111111 1110100101 011001101 11001 101111101 111101010 011111101 1111110 0111011101 0100100111 11101111 11001 1001110 10011 11101111110 01101111 10111101001 011011111 0111011 1010001 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,397 |
Words | 294 |
Sentences | 21 |
Stanzas | 5 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8, 8, 8, 8 |
Lines Amount | 40 |
Letters per line (avg) | 27 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 214 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 57 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:27 min read
- 197 Views
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