Analysis of Comic Miseries
John Godfrey Saxe 1816 (Highgate) – 1887
My dear young friend, whose shining wit
Sets all the room a-blaze,
Don't think yourself a "happy dog,"
For all your merry ways;
But learn to wear a sober phiz,
Be stupid, if you can,
It's such a very serious thing
To be a funny man!
You're at an evening party, with
A group of pleasant folks, -
You venture quietly to crack
The least of little jokes, -
A lady doesn't catch the point,
And begs you to explain -
Alas for one that drops a jest
And takes it up again!
You're talking deep philosophy
With very special force,
To edify a clergyman
With suitable discourse, -
You think you've got him - when he calls
A friend across the way,
And begs you'll say that funny thing
You said the other day!
You drop a pretty jeu-de-mot
Into a neighbor's ears,
Who likes to give you credit for
The clever thing he hears,
And so he hawks your jest about,
The old authentic one,
Just breaking off the point of it,
And leaving out the pun!
By sudden change in politics,
Or sadder change in Polly,
You, lose your love, or loaves, and fall
A prey to melancholy,
While everybody marvels why
Your mirth is under ban, -
They think your very grief "a joke,"
You're such a funny man!
You follow up a stylish card
That bids you come and dine,
And bring along your freshest wit
(To pay for musty wine),
You're looking very dismal, when
My lady bounces in,
And wonders what you're thinking of
And why you don't begin!
You're telling to a knot of friends
A fancy-tale of woes
That cloud your matrimonial sky,
And banish all repose -
solemn lady overhears
The story of your strife,
And tells the town the pleasant news:
You quarrel with your wife!
My dear young friend, whose shining wit
Sets all the room a-blaze,
Don't think yourself "a happy dog,"
For all your merry ways;
But learn to wear a sober phiz,
Be stupid, if you can,
It's such a very serious thing
To be a funny man!
John G. Saxe.
Scheme | ABCBBDED xfxfxxxg hijixkek axxlxjaj xhxhmdxd xnangoxo xpmplqxq ABCBBDED x |
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Poetic Form | |
Metre | 11111101 110101 11010101 111101 11110101 110111 110101001 110101 11110101 011101 11010011 011101 01010101 011101 01111101 011101 11010100 110101 1100100 110010 11111111 010101 01111101 110101 11010111 010101 11111101 010111 01111101 010101 11010111 010101 1101010 1101010 11111101 011100 1100101 111101 11110101 110101 11010101 111101 01011101 111101 11010101 110100 01011101 011101 11010111 010111 11101001 010101 1010101 010111 01010101 110111 11111101 110101 11010101 111101 11110101 110111 110101001 110101 111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,829 |
Words | 367 |
Sentences | 11 |
Stanzas | 9 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 1 |
Lines Amount | 65 |
Letters per line (avg) | 22 |
Words per line (avg) | 5 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 158 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 40 |
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Submitted on August 03, 2020
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:53 min read
- 19 Views
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"Comic Miseries" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 19 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/55913/comic-miseries>.
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