Analysis of The Broken Doll
Charles Lamb 1775 (Inner Temple, London) – 1834 (Edmonton, London)
An infant is a selfish sprite;
But what of that? the sweet delight
Which from participation springs,
Is quite unknown to these young things.
We elder children then will smile
At our dear little John awhile,
And bear with him, until he see
There is a sweet felicity
In pleasing more than only one
Dear little craving selfish John.
He laughs, and thinks it a fine joke,
That he our new wax doll has broke.
Anger will never teach him better;
We will the spirit and the letter
Of courtesy to him display
By taking in a friendly way
These baby frolics; till he learn
True sport from mischief to discern.
Reproof a parent's province is:
A sister's discipline is this;
By studied kindness to effect
A little brother's young respect.
What is a doll? a fragile toy.
What is its loss? if the dear boy,
Who half perceives he's done amiss,
Retain impression of the kiss
That followed instant on his cheek;
If the kind, loving words we speak
Of 'Never mind it,' 'We forgive,'-
If these in his short memory live
Only, perchance, for half a day-
Who minds a doll-if that should lay
The first impression in his mind
That sisters are to brothers kind?
For thus the broken doll may prove
Foundation to fraternal love.
Scheme | AABBCCDDXX EEFFGGHH XIJJKKIILLXXGGMMXX |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 11010101 11110101 1100101 11011111 11010111 110110101 01110111 11010100 01011101 11010101 11011011 111011111 101101110 110100010 11001101 11000101 1101111 11110101 1010101 01010011 11010101 01010101 11010101 11111011 11011101 01010101 11010111 10110111 11011101 110111001 10011101 11011111 01010011 11011101 11010111 01010101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,172 |
Words | 223 |
Sentences | 12 |
Stanzas | 3 |
Stanza Lengths | 10, 8, 18 |
Lines Amount | 36 |
Letters per line (avg) | 26 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 314 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 73 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:07 min read
- 67 Views
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"The Broken Doll" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 9 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/5383/the-broken-doll>.
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