Analysis of Dilemma
Dorothy Parker 1893 (Long Branch) – 1967 (New York City)
If I were mild, and I were sweet,
And laid my heart before your feet,
And took my dearest thoughts to you,
And hailed your easy lies as true;
Were I to murmur "Yes," and then
"How true, my dear," and "Yes," again,
And wear my eyes discreetly down,
And tremble whitely at your frown,
And keep my words unquestioning
My love, you'd run like anything!
Should I be frail, and I be mad,
And share my heart with every lad,
But beat my head against the floor
What times you wandered past my door;
Were I to doubt, and I to sneer,
And shriek "Farewell!" and still be here,
And break your joy, and quench your trust-
I should not see you for the dust!
Scheme | AABBCCDDEE FFGGXXHH |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 11010101 01110111 01110111 01110111 01110101 11110101 01110101 01010111 01110100 1111110 11110111 011111001 11110101 11110111 01110111 0110111 01110111 11111101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 633 |
Words | 132 |
Sentences | 4 |
Stanzas | 2 |
Stanza Lengths | 10, 8 |
Lines Amount | 18 |
Letters per line (avg) | 27 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 242 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 63 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 25, 2023
- 38 sec read
- 142 Views
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"Dilemma" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 11 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/8141/dilemma>.
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