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
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

1:12 min read
88

Eugene Field

Eugene Field, Sr. was an American writer, best known for his children's poetry and humorous essays. more…

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