Analysis of The Angler

Marvin D. Maslen 1944 (Colorado)



A freckled-face kid with a pole and a line
     A rusted old hook and a whole lot a time
Early one morning, before it got hot
     Arose to go fishin' at his favorite spot.
Now to ketch him a fish, he first needed bait
     So he stopped to dig worms at the old garden gate.
Into an old can, half full of soil
     Went each wrigglin' find of this morning's toil
Ready and eager, he set off at a trot
     Soon to discover his pole was forgot!
So, back he did run, his old rod to fetch
     All the while dreamin' of the fish he'd soon ketch!
At last at the river, he wasted no time
     And set about castin' that rotten old line.
No sooner settled on the bank where he lay
     Than a tug on the line meant a fish there to play.
Now the boy pulled hard, but that fish, he did too
     And the contest grew fiercer, as such struggles do.
Soon, it was plain to the boy and he thought
     A fish that big sure ought to be caught!
Still, a strange mixture of sadness and pride
     Made the boy want to run off and hide.
So, when--with a snap!--that old line did part
     A new kind of feeling warmed the lad's heart.
He turned from the river and with a wide grin
     Whispered softly,  "goodbye", to his slippery old
     friend


Scheme ABCCDDEECCFFBAGGHHICJJKKLMN
Poetic Form
Metre 01011101001 01011001101 1011001111 01111111001 11110111101 111111101101 011111111 111111101 10010111101 1101011101 1111111111 1011101111 11101011011 0101111011 11010101111 101101101111 10111111111 001011011101 1111101011 011111111 1011011001 101111101 1110111111 0111101011 11101001011 10101111001 1
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 1,231
Words 248
Sentences 12
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 27
Lines Amount 27
Letters per line (avg) 33
Words per line (avg) 9
Letters per stanza (avg) 884
Words per stanza (avg) 237

About this poem

My first job out of college provided me with many idle hours. Somehow, I began writing stuff down and decided to try a little poetry. I have no idea where the inspiration came from. This is one of my earlier attempts.

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Written on 1978

Submitted by Marv44 on July 05, 2023

1:15 min read
646

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