Analysis of Of Himself
William Cowper 1731 (Berkhamsted) – 1800 (Dereham)
William was once a bashful youth;
His modesty was such,
That one might say (to say the truth)
He rather had too much.
Some said that it was want of sense,
And others want of spirit,
(So blest a thing is impudence),
While others could not bear it.
But some a different notion had,
And at each other winking,
Observed, that though he little said,
He paid it off with thinking.
Howe'er, it happened, by degrees,
He mended and grew perter;
In company was more at ease,
And dressed a little smarter;
Nay, now and then would look quite gay,
As other people do;
And sometimes said, or tried to say,
A witty thing or so.
He eyed the women, and made free
To comment on their shapes;
So that there was, or seemed to be,
No fear of a relapse.
The women said, who thought him rough,
But now no longer foolish,
'The creature may do well enough,
But wants a deal of polish.'
At length, improved from head to heel,
'Twere scarce too much to say,
No dancing bear was so genteel,
Or half so dégagé.
Now that a miracle so strange
May not in vain be shown,
Let the dear maid who wrought the change
E'er claim him for her own.
Scheme | ABAB CXCX XDXD EFEF GXGX FXXX HIHI JGJX KLKL |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain (56%) |
Metre | 10110101 110011 11111101 110111 11111111 0101110 110111 1101111 110100101 0111010 01111101 1111110 10110101 110011 01001111 0101010 11011111 110101 00111111 010111 11010011 110111 11111111 111001 01011111 1111010 01011101 1101110 11011111 111111 11011101 11111 11010011 110111 10111101 1011101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,082 |
Words | 217 |
Sentences | 9 |
Stanzas | 9 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 36 |
Letters per line (avg) | 23 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 93 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 24 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:05 min read
- 113 Views
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"Of Himself" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 12 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/39935/of-himself>.
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