Analysis of Bewildering Emotions
James Whitcomb Riley 1849 (Greenfield) – 1916 (Indianapolis)
The merriment that followed was subdued--
As though the story-teller's attitude
Were dual, in a sense, appealing quite
As much to sorrow as to mere delight,
According, haply, to the listener's bent
Either of sad or merry temperament.--
'And of your two appeals I much prefer
The pathos,' said 'The Noted Traveler,'--
'For should I live to twice my present years,
I know I could not quite forget the tears
That child-eyes bleed, the little palms nailed wide,
And quivering soul and body crucified....
But, bless 'em! there are no such children here
To-night, thank God!--Come here to me, my dear!'
He said to little Alex, in a tone
So winning that the sound of it alone
Had drawn a child more lothful to his knee:--
'And, now-sir, _I'll_ agree if _you'll_ agree,--
_You_ tell us all a story, and then _I_
Will tell one.'
'_But I can't._'
'Well, can't you _try?_'
'Yes, Mister: he _kin_ tell _one_. Alex, tell
The one, you know, 'at you made up so well,
About the _Bear_. He allus tells that one,'
Said Bud,--'He gits it mixed some 'bout the _gun_
An' _ax_ the Little Boy had, an' _apples_, too.'--
Then Uncle Mart said--'There, now! that'll do!--
Let _Alex_ tell his story his own way!'
And Alex, prompted thus, without delay
Began.
Scheme | AABBXXCCXXDDXXEEFFXG A CHHGEIIJJX |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 01110101 110101010 0100010101 1111011101 01011011 1011110100 0111011101 0101010100 1111111101 1111110101 1111010111 0100101010 1111111101 1111111111 1111010001 1101011101 110111111 0111011101 1111010011 111 111 1111 1101111101 0111111111 010111111 1111111101 1101011111 1101111101 111110111 0101010101 01 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,209 |
Words | 235 |
Sentences | 16 |
Stanzas | 3 |
Stanza Lengths | 20, 1, 10 |
Lines Amount | 31 |
Letters per line (avg) | 29 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 303 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 73 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:11 min read
- 121 Views
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"Bewildering Emotions" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/20843/bewildering-emotions>.
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