Analysis of An Enigma

Edgar Allan Poe 1809 (Boston) – 1849 (Baltimore)



"Seldom we find," says Solomon Don Dunce,
        "Half an idea in the profoundest sonnet.
      Through all the flimsy things we see at once
        As easily as through a Naples bonnet-
        Trash of all trash!- how can a lady don it?
      Yet heavier far than your Petrarchan stuff-
      Owl-downy nonsense that the faintest puff
        Twirls into trunk-paper the while you con it."
      And, veritably, Sol is right enough.
      The general tuckermanities are arrant
      Bubbles- ephemeral and so transparent-
        But this is, now- you may depend upon it-
      Stable, opaque, immortal- all by dint
      Of the dear names that he concealed within 't.


Scheme ABACBDDBDEEBFG
Poetic Form
Metre 1011110011 1101000110 1101011111 11001101010 11111101011 110011111 1101010101 10111001111 0100011101 01001110 10010001010 11111101011 1001010111 10111101011
Closest metre Iambic hexameter
Characters 666
Words 106
Sentences 7
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 14
Lines Amount 14
Letters per line (avg) 33
Words per line (avg) 7
Letters per stanza (avg) 455
Words per stanza (avg) 101
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 24, 2023

31 sec read
449

Edgar Allan Poe

Edgar Allan Poe was an American author, poet, editor, and literary critic, considered part of the American Romantic Movement. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. more…

All Edgar Allan Poe poems | Edgar Allan Poe Books

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