Analysis of Address To The Tooth-Ache
Robert Burns 1759 (Alloway) – 1796 (Dumfries)
My curse upon your venom'd stang,
That shoots my tortur'd gums alang;
And thro' my lugs gies mony a twang,
Wi' gnawing vengeance;
Tearing my nerves wi' bitter pang,
Like racking engines!
When fevers burn, or ague freezes,
Rheumatics gnaw, or cholic squeezes;
Our neighbors' sympathy may ease us,
Wi' pitying moan;
But thee -- thou hell o' a' diseases --
They mock our groan!
Adown my beard the slavers trickle!
I throw the wee stools o'er the mickle,
As round the fire the giglets keckle,
To see me loup;
While raving mad, I wish a heckle
Were in their doup.
O' a' the num'rous human dools,
Ill har'sts, daft bargains, cutty-stools,
Or worthy friends rak'd i' the mools,
Sad sight to see !
The tricks o' knaves, or fash o' fools,
Thou bear'st the gree.
Where'er that place be priests ca' hell,
Whence a' the tones o' mis'ry yell,
And rankd plagues their numbers tell,
In dreadfu' raw,
Thou, Tooth-ache, surely bear'st the bell
Amang them a'!
O thou grim, mischief-making chiel,
That gars the notes of discord squeel,
Till daft mankiud aft dance a reel
In gore a shoe-thick; --
Gie a' the foes o' Scotland's weal
A towmond's Tooth-ache!
Scheme | AAXBAX CCXDXD EEEFEF BGBXGH IIIHIX EEXXEX |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1101111 1111011 011111001 11010 10111101 11010 11011110 111110 1010100111 11001 111110010 11101 1110110 1101110010 11010011 1111 110111010 0011 1001101 11110101 11011101 1111 01111111 11101 10111111 1001111 01111101 011 111101101 110 11110101 11011101 1111101 01011 10011101 0111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,170 |
Words | 203 |
Sentences | 9 |
Stanzas | 6 |
Stanza Lengths | 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6 |
Lines Amount | 36 |
Letters per line (avg) | 24 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 142 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 34 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 14, 2023
- 1:04 min read
- 268 Views
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"Address To The Tooth-Ache" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/30459/address-to-the-tooth-ache>.
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