Analysis of Choosing A Profession
Charles Lamb 1775 (Inner Temple, London) – 1834 (Edmonton, London)
A Creole boy from the West Indies brought,
To be in European learning taught,
Some years before to Westminster he went,
To a preparatory school was sent.
When from his artless tale the mistress found,
The child had not one friend on English ground,
She, even as if she his own mother were,
Made the dark Indian her peculiar care.
Oft on her favourite's future lot she thought;
To know the bent of his young mind she sought,
For much the kind preceptress wished to find
To what profession he was most inclined,
That where his genius led they might him train;
For nature's kindly bent she held not vain.
But vain her efforts to explore his will;
The frequent question he evaded still:
Till on a day at length he to her came,
Joy sparkling in his eyes; and said, the same
Trade he would be those boys of colour were,
Who danced so happy in the open air.
It was a troop of chimney-sweeping boys,
With wooden music and obstreperous noise,
In tarnished finery and grotesque array,
Were dancing in the street the first of May.
Scheme | AABBCCDEAAFFGGHHIIDEJJKK |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 0101101101 110010101 110111011 100100111 111110101 0111111101 11011111100 10110000101 110110111 1101111111 11011111 1101011101 1111011111 1101011111 1101010111 0101010101 1101111101 1100110101 111111110 1111000101 1101110101 11010001001 01010000101 0100010111 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,004 |
Words | 190 |
Sentences | 6 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 24 |
Lines Amount | 24 |
Letters per line (avg) | 34 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 804 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 188 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 30, 2023
- 57 sec read
- 512 Views
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