Analysis of The Convalescent Gripster
Eugene Field 1850 (St. Louis) – 1895 (Chicago)
The gods let slip that fiendish grip
Upon me last week Sunday--
No fiercer storm than racked my form
E'er swept the Bay of Fundy;
But now, good-by
To drugs, say I--
Good-by to gnawing sorrow;
I am up to-day,
And, whoop, hooray!
I'm going out to-morrow!
What aches and pain in bones and brain
I had I need not mention;
It seemed to me such pangs must be
Old Satan's own invention;
Albeit I
Was sure I'd die,
The doctor reassured me--
And, true enough,
With his vile stuff,
He ultimately cured me.
As there I lay in bed all day,
How fair outside looked to me!
A smile so mild old Nature smiled
It seemed to warm clean through me.
In chastened mood
The scene I viewed,
Inventing, sadly solus,
Fantastic rhymes
Between the times
I had to take a bolus.
Of quinine slugs and other drugs
I guess I took a million--
Such drugs as serve to set each nerve
To dancing a cotillon;
The doctors say
The only way
To rout the grip instanter
Is to pour in
All kinds of sin--
Similibus curantur!
'Twas hard; and yet I'll soon forget
Those ills and cures distressing;
One's future lies 'neath gorgeous skies
When one is convalescing!
So now, good-by
To drugs say I--
Good-by, thou phantom Sorrow!
I am up to-day,
And, whoop, hooray!
I'm going out to-morrow.
Scheme | xaxabBcAAC defebbfggf afxfhhiiii iexdaacjjc xkikbBcAAC |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Etheree (28%) Tetractys (20%) |
Metre | 01111101 011111 11011111 1010111 1111 1111 1111010 11111 0101 1101110 11010101 1111110 11111111 111010 0101 1111 010011 0101 1111 1100011 11110111 1111111 01111101 1111111 0101 0111 010101 0101 0101 1111010 1110101 1111010 11111111 11001 0101 0101 11011 1110 1111 11 11011101 1101010 11011101 1111 1111 1111 1111010 11111 0101 1101110 |
Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
Characters | 1,197 |
Words | 234 |
Sentences | 12 |
Stanzas | 5 |
Stanza Lengths | 10, 10, 10, 10, 10 |
Lines Amount | 50 |
Letters per line (avg) | 19 |
Words per line (avg) | 5 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 188 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 46 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:12 min read
- 88 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"The Convalescent Gripster" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 11 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/13059/the-convalescent-gripster>.
Discuss this Eugene Field poem analysis with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In