Analysis of To An Importunate Ghost
James Whitcomb Riley 1849 (Greenfield) – 1916 (Indianapolis)
Get gone, thou most uncomfortable ghost!
Thou really dost annoy me with thy thin
Impalpable transparency of grin;
And the vague, shadowy shape of thee almost
Hath vext me beyond boundary and coast
Of my broad patience. Stay thy chattering chin,
And reel the tauntings of thy vain tongue in,
Nor tempt me further with thy vaporish boast
That I am _helpless_ to combat thee! Well,
Have at thee, then! Yet if a doom most dire
Thou wouldst escape, flee whilst thou canst!--Revile
Me not, Miasmic Mist!--Rank Air! _retire_!
One instant longer an thou haunt'st me, I'll
_Inhale_ thee, O thou wraith despicable!
Scheme | ABBAABBACDEDEF |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1111010001 1101011111 1010011 0011001111 1110110001 11110111001 010111110 111101111 111111011 1111110111 1101111101 1111111 11010111111 111110100 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 599 |
Words | 107 |
Sentences | 10 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 14 |
Lines Amount | 14 |
Letters per line (avg) | 34 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 476 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 103 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 32 sec read
- 48 Views
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