Analysis of Smoke
Ella Wheeler Wilcox 1855 (Janesville) – 1919
Last summer, lazing by the sea,
I met a most entrancing creature,
Her black eyes quite bewildered me---
She had a Spanish cast of feature.
She often smoked a cigarette,
And did it in the cutest fashion.
Before a week passed by she set
My young heart in a raging passion.
I swore I loved her as my life,
I gave her gems (don't tell my tailor).
She promised to become my wife,
But whispered, 'Papa is my jailer.'
'We must be very sly, you see,
For Papa will not list to reason.
You must not come to call on me
Until he's gone from home a season.
'I'll send you word, now don't forget,
Take this as pledge, I will remember.'
She gave me a perfumed cigarette,
And turned and left me with September.
To-day she sent her 'cards' to me.
'My presence asked' to see her marry
That millionaire old banker C---
She has my 'presents,' so I'll tarry.
And still I feel a keen regret
(About the jewels that I gave her)
I've smoked the little cigarette---
It had a most delicious flavour.
Scheme | ABAB CDCD EBEB ADAD CBCB AAAA CBCB |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain |
Metre | 1101101 1101110 01110101 110101110 1101001 011001010 01011111 111001010 11110111 110111110 11010111 110101110 11110111 110111110 11111111 011111010 11111101 111111010 11100101 010111010 11110111 110111010 1011101 111101110 01110101 010101110 1101001 11010101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 974 |
Words | 191 |
Sentences | 13 |
Stanzas | 7 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 28 |
Letters per line (avg) | 26 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 104 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 27 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 58 sec read
- 124 Views
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"Smoke" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 13 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/10790/smoke>.
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