Analysis of Plea
Dorothy Parker 1893 (Long Branch) – 1967 (New York City)
Secrets, you said, would hold us two apart;
You'd have me know of you your least transgression,
And so the intimate places of your heart,
Kneeling, you bared to me, as in confession.
Softly you told of loves that went before-
Of clinging arms, of kisses gladly given;
Luxuriously clean of heart once more,
You rose up, then, and stood before me, shriven.
When this, my day of happiness, is through,
And love, that bloomed so fair, turns brown and brittle,
There is a thing that I shall ask of you-
I, who have given so much, and asked so little.
Some day, when there's another in my stead,
Again you'll feel the need of absolution,
And you will go to her, and bow your head,
And offer her your past, as contribution.
When with your list of loves you overcome her,
For Heaven's sake, keep this one secret from her!
Scheme | ABABCBCB DEDEFBFB GG |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1011111101 11111111010 01010010111 10111110010 1011111101 11011101010 111111 1111010111 1111110011 01111111010 1101111111 111101101110 1111010011 0111011010 0111100111 0100111010 1111111100 11011111010 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 804 |
Words | 153 |
Sentences | 6 |
Stanzas | 3 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8, 2 |
Lines Amount | 18 |
Letters per line (avg) | 35 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 208 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 50 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 26, 2023
- 47 sec read
- 109 Views
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"Plea" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 12 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/8205/plea>.
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