Analysis of Dialogue Between a Sovereign and a One-Pound Note
Thomas Moore 1779 (Dublin) – 1852 (Bromham)
Said a Sov'reign to a Note,
In the pocket of my coat,
Where they met in a neat purse of leather,
"How happens it, I prithee,
That though I'm wedded with thee,
Fair Pound, we can never live together?
Like your sex, fond of change,
With silver you can range,
And of lots of young sixpences be mother;
While with me -- upon my word
Not my Lady and my Lord
Of W--stm--th see so little of each other!"
The indignant Note replied
(Lying crumpled by his side),
"Shame, shame, it is yourself that roam, Sir --
One cannot look askance,
But, whip! you're off to France,
Leaving nothing but old rags at home, Sir.
Your scampering began from the moment Parson Van,
Poor man, made us one in Love's fetter;
"For better or for worse"
Is the usual marriage curse,
But ours is all "worse" and no "better."
In vain are laws pass'd,
There's nothing holds you fast
Tho' you know, sweet Sovereign, I adore you --
At the smallest hint in life,
Your forsake your lawful wife,
As other Sovereigns did before you.
I flirt with Silver, true --
But what can ladies do,
When disown'd by their natural protectors?
And as to falsehood, stuff!
I shall soon be false enough,
When I get among those wicked Bank Directors."
The Sovereign, smiling on her,
Now swore, upon his honour,
To be henceforth domestic and loyal;
But, within an hour or two,
Why -- I sold him to a Jew,
And he's now at No. 10, Palais Royal.
Scheme | AABCCB DDBXXB EEBFFB XBGGB HHIJJI IIKLLK BBMIIM |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 101101 0010111 1110011110 110111 1111011 1111101010 111111 110111 011111110 1110111 1110011 110011111101110 0010101 1010111 111101111 110101 111111 1010111111 1100011010101 111110110 110111 10100101 1101110110 01111 110111 1111101011 1010101 1011101 110101011 111101 111101 10111100010 01111 1111101 111011101010 0101010 110111 1111010010 10111011 1111101 011110110 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,348 |
Words | 264 |
Sentences | 12 |
Stanzas | 7 |
Stanza Lengths | 6, 6, 6, 5, 6, 6, 6 |
Lines Amount | 41 |
Letters per line (avg) | 25 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 148 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 37 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:20 min read
- 119 Views
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"Dialogue Between a Sovereign and a One-Pound Note" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 19 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/36828/dialogue-between-a-sovereign-and-a-one-pound-note>.
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