Rich & Poor; or Saint & Sinner
Thomas Love Peacock 1785 (Weymouth, Dorset) – 1866
The poor man's sins are glaring;
In the face of ghostly warning
He is caught in the fact
Of an overt act---
Buying greens on a Sunday morning.
The rich man's sins are hidden
In the pomp of wealth and station;
And escape the sight
Of the children of light,
Who are wise in their generation.
The rich man has a kitchen,
And cooks to dress his dinner;
The poor who would roast
To the baker's must post,
And thus becomes a sinner.
The rich man has a cellar,
And a ready butler by him;
The poor man must steer
For his pint of beer
Where the saint can't choose but to spy him.
The rich man's painted windows
Hide the concerts of the quality;
The poor can but share
A crack'd fiddle in the air,
Which offends all sound morality.
The rich man is invisible
In the crowd of his gay society;
But the poor man's delight
Is a sore in the sight,
And a stench in the nose of piety.
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 54 sec read
- 150 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | AABBA CCDDC CEFFE EGHHG XIJJI XIDDI |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 845 |
Words | 174 |
Stanzas | 6 |
Stanza Lengths | 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5 |
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"Rich & Poor; or Saint & Sinner" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 10 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/36756/rich-&-poor;-or-saint-&-sinner>.
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