Analysis of To Robin Goodfellow

Eugene Field 1850 (St. Louis) – 1895 (Chicago)



I see you, Maister Bawsy-brown,
 Through yonder lattice creepin';
You come for cream and to gar me dream,
 But you dinna find me sleepin'.
The moonbeam, that upon the floor
 Wi' crickets ben a-jinkin',
Now steals away fra' her bonnie play--
 Wi' a rosier blie, I'm thinkin'.

I saw you, Maister Bawsy-brown,
 When the blue bells went a-ringin'
For the merrie fays o' the banks an' braes,
 And I kenned your bonnie singin';
The gowans gave you honey sweets,
 And the posies on the heather
Dript draughts o' dew for the faery crew
 That danct and sang together.

But posie-bloom an' simmer-dew
 And ither sweets o' faery
C'u'd na gae down wi' Bawsy-brown,
 Sae nigh to Maggie's dairy!
My pantry shelves, sae clean and white,
 Are set wi' cream and cheeses,--
Gae, gin you will, an' take your fill
 Of whatsoever pleases.

Then wave your wand aboon my een
 Until they close awearie,
And the night be past sae sweet and fast
 Wi' dreamings o' my dearie.
But pinch the wench in yonder room,
 For she's na gude nor bonnie,--
Her shelves be dust and her pans be rust,
 And she winkit at my Johnnie!


Scheme AAXABAXX AACACDED EBAFXCXC ABXBXFXF
Poetic Form
Metre 111111 110101 111101111 111111 0110101 110101 110110101 101001110 111111 1011101 1010110111 0111101 01011101 0011010 11111011 1101010 1111101 01111 1111111 111110 11011101 1111010 11111111 101010 1111111 01111 001111101 11111 11010101 1111110 011100111 0111110
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 1,065
Words 199
Sentences 8
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 8, 8, 8, 8
Lines Amount 32
Letters per line (avg) 25
Words per line (avg) 6
Letters per stanza (avg) 203
Words per stanza (avg) 49
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 18, 2023

1:01 min read
110

Eugene Field

Eugene Field, Sr. was an American writer, best known for his children's poetry and humorous essays. more…

All Eugene Field poems | Eugene Field Books

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