Analysis of A Garden Party in the Temple
James Williams 1869 (Taigwynion, near Tal-y-bont, Cardiganshire) – 1954 (United Kingdom)
On hospitable thoughts intent
To me the Inner Temple sent
An invitation,
A garden party 'twas to be,
And I accepted readily
And with elation;
Good reason too, but oft the seeds
Of reason flower in senseless deeds.
I stood as savage as a bear,
For not a human being there
Knew I from Adam
I heard around in various tones,
"So glad to see you, Mr. Jones;"
"Good morning, Madam."
It seemed so painfully absurd
To stand and never speak a word.
I brought my doom upon myself,
And there I was upon the shelf
In melancholy.
Why, say you, did I go at all?
I once met Chloris at a ball,
And in my folly
I went and suffered all this pain
In hopes to see her once again.
Of strawberries a pound at least
I ate, and made myself a beast
With tea and sherry;
And raspberries I ate and trembled,
Until I felt that I resembled
Myself a berry,
But 'twas the berry that at school
We used to call a gooseberry fool.
The I. C. R. V.[F] band droned on,
While guests had come and guests had gone
Since my arrival;
My brow grew gloomier with despair,
And on it sat the guilty air
Of a survival
Of some remorse for ancient crimes
Wrought in the pre-historic times.
My seventh cup of tea was done,
My seventh glass of wine begun,
Then of her coming
I was aware, nor shall forget
How she and that brown sherry set
My brains a-humming;
Well should I be rewarded soon
For all the weary afternoon.
Her eyes looked vaguely into mine
Without as much as half a sign
Of recognition.
My heart, my heart! the blow was sore,
But you have often been before
In this condition;
As said the bard of old, those eyes
Are not my only Paradise.[G]
Scheme | AABCCBDD EEFGGFHH IICJJCXX KKCLLCMM XXNEENOO BBPQQPRR SSBTTBXP |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 11100101 11010101 1010 01010111 01010100 01010 11011101 110100101 11110101 11010101 11110 110101001 11111101 11010 11110001 11010101 1111011 01110101 0100 11111111 11110101 00110 11010111 01110101 1100111 1101101 11010 01011010 011111010 1010 11010111 11110101 01111111 11110111 11010 111100101 01110101 10010 11011101 10010101 11011111 11011101 11010 11011101 11011101 11010 11110101 1101001 01110011 01111101 1010 11110111 11110101 01010 11011111 111101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,571 |
Words | 323 |
Sentences | 18 |
Stanzas | 7 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8 |
Lines Amount | 56 |
Letters per line (avg) | 22 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 177 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 45 |
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Submitted on August 03, 2020
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:36 min read
- 9 Views
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"A Garden Party in the Temple" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 9 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/55738/a-garden-party-in-the-temple>.
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