Analysis of To a Usurper
Eugene Field 1850 (St. Louis) – 1895 (Chicago)
Aha! a traitor in the camp,
A rebel strangely bold,--
A lisping, laughing, toddling scamp,
Not more than four years old!
To think that I, who've ruled alone
So proudly in the past,
Should be ejected from my throne
By my own son at last!
He trots his treason to and fro,
As only babies can,
And says he'll be his mamma's beau
When he's a "gweat, big man"!
You stingy boy! you've always had
A share in mamma's heart;
Would you begrudge your poor old dad
The tiniest little part?
That mamma, I regret to see,
Inclines to take your part,--
As if a dual monarchy
Should rule her gentle heart!
But when the years of youth have sped,
The bearded man, I trow,
Will quite forget he ever said
He'd be his mamma's beau.
Renounce your treason, little son,
Leave mamma's heart to me;
For there will come another one
To claim your loyalty.
And when that other comes to you,
God grant her love may shine
Through all your life, as fair and true
As mamma's does through mine!
Scheme | ABAB CDCD EFEF GHGH IHIH JEJE KIKI LMLM |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain |
Metre | 1010001 010101 0110101 111111 11110101 110001 11010111 111111 11110101 110101 0111111 110111 1101111 01011 11011111 0100101 11010111 011111 11010100 110101 11011111 010111 11011101 11111 01110101 11111 11110101 111100 01110111 110111 11111101 11111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 956 |
Words | 187 |
Sentences | 12 |
Stanzas | 8 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 32 |
Letters per line (avg) | 23 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 91 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 23 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 59 sec read
- 77 Views
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"To a Usurper" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 9 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/13115/to-a-usurper>.
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