Analysis of Twins, The
Robert Browning 1812 (Camberwell) – 1889 (Venice)
``Give'' and ``It-shall-be-given-unto-you.''
I.
Grand rough old Martin Luther
Bloomed fables---flowers on furze,
The better the uncouther:
Do roses stick like burrs?
A beggar asked an alms
One day at an abbey-door,
Said Luther; but, seized with qualms,
The abbot replied, ``We're poor!
``Poor, who had plenty once,
``When gifts fell thick as rain:
``But they give us nought, for the nonce,
``And how should we give again?''
Then the beggar, ``See your sins!
``Of old, unless I err,
``Ye had brothers for inmates, twins,
``Date and Dabitur.
``While Date was in good case
``Dabitur flourished too:
``For Dabitur's lenten face
``No wonder if Date rue.
``Would ye retrieve the one?
``Try and make plump the other!
``When Date's penance is done,
``Dabitur helps his brother.
``Only, beware relapse!''
The Abbot hung his head.
This beggar might be perhaps
An angel, Luther said.
Scheme | A XBCBC CXCX CXCX CXCB CACA DBDB CECE |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Etheree (27%) Tetractys (20%) |
Metre | 1011110101 1 1111010 1101011 01001 110111 010111 1111101 1101111 0100111 111101 111111 11111101 0111101 1010111 110111 1110111 101 111011 1101 1111 110111 110101 1011010 111011 11110 100101 010111 1101101 110101 |
Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
Characters | 906 |
Words | 154 |
Sentences | 21 |
Stanzas | 8 |
Stanza Lengths | 1, 5, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 30 |
Letters per line (avg) | 23 |
Words per line (avg) | 5 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 84 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 18 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 46 sec read
- 60 Views
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"Twins, The" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 8 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/30438/twins%2C-the>.
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