Analysis of Billy Collins steals from another poet’s work (but gentlemanly)
You are the bread and the knife.
You are the goblet and the wine…
You are the sun
Over the pregnant pasture.
You are the birds
Playing over the Town Square.
But…
Also NOT like the smell of the rose
Not at all like that.
Not like the velveteen blanket
To the touch, why
I feel your hands, hesitantly.
Somewhat like that pigeon
Perched on the general’s head
Or the odd person
Under the bridge.
Repeating a phrase, like a mantra.
The comparisons keep getting worse
And more hilarious
For the listeners.
Title of poem: Litany.
Scheme | XX AXXX BXXBXCAXAXX XXXC |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1101001 11010001 1101 1001010 1101 1010011 1 101101101 11111 110110 1011 11111000 111110 1101001 10110 1001 010011010 001001101 010100 10100 10110100 |
Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
Characters | 562 |
Words | 113 |
Sentences | 11 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 2, 4, 11, 4 |
Lines Amount | 21 |
Letters per line (avg) | 20 |
Words per line (avg) | 5 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 103 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 24 |
About this poem
All in good humour. Takes the love poet’s long established comparison format. You are the this; you are the that.
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Written on March 21, 2023
Submitted by dougb.19255 on March 21, 2023
Modified by dougb.19255 on March 21, 2023
- 33 sec read
- 18 Views
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"Billy Collins steals from another poet’s work (but gentlemanly)" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 23 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/154460/billy-collins-steals-from-another-poet%E2%80%99s-work-%28but-gentlemanly%29>.
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