Analysis of No Beer, No Work
Ellis Parker Butler 1869 (Muscatine) – 1937 (Williamsville)
The shades of night was fallin’ slow
As through New York a guy did go
And nail on ev’ry barroom door
A card that this here motter bore:
'No beer, no work.'
His brow was sad, his mouth was dry;
It was the first day of July,
And where, all parched and scorched it hung,
These words was stenciled on his tongue:
'No beer, no work.'
'Oh, stay,' the maiden said, 'and sup
This malted milk from this here cup.'
A shudder passed through that there guy,
But with a moan he made reply:
'No beer, no work.'
At break of day, as through the town
The milkman put milk bottles down,
Onto one stoop a sort of snore
Was heard, and then was heard no more—
'No beer, no work.'
The poor old guy plumb dead was found
And planted in the buryin’ ground,
Still graspin’ in his hand of ice
Them placards with this sad device:
'No beer, no work.'
Scheme | aabbC ddeeC ffddC ggbbC hhiiC |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 01111101 11110111 011111 01111101 1111 11111111 1101111 01110111 11110111 1111 11010101 11011111 01011111 11011101 1111 11111101 0111101 10110111 11011111 1111 01111111 0100011 1101111 11011101 1111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 815 |
Words | 171 |
Sentences | 7 |
Stanzas | 5 |
Stanza Lengths | 5, 5, 5, 5, 5 |
Lines Amount | 25 |
Letters per line (avg) | 25 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 123 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 32 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 20, 2023
- 49 sec read
- 63 Views
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"No Beer, No Work" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 23 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/11055/no-beer%2C-no-work>.
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