Analysis of The Pirate Charlatan, a trick or treat tale



“The Pirate Charlatan”,
   a trick or treat tale

Sneaked aboard a pirate ship,
a charlatan sailed a stormy sea
Cutlass fastened to his hip,
striped breeches donned from waist to knee

Gold hoop dangled from an ear,
a black patch sat upon one eye
Loyal parrot ever near,
helped him pass long sea hours by

He stowed himself in bilge of stink,
while mateys plundered silver and gold
Tasty grog all day he’d drink,
that kept him warm from damp and cold

There he languored without harm,
but missed by pillagers up on deck
Soon discovered with alarm,
they grabbed him by his hairy neck

Cast into the dreaded brig,
he waited for the morning’s lashing
Thinking over what he did,
he shook about the gory gashing

Morning came and then it went,
hushed quiet lurked from up on high
In silence, many hours spent-
what next occurred he knew not why:

As the ship moored close to land,
fair lady pirates paid him visit
They gently took his trembling hands,
and led him out in jovial spirit

Good fortune though he thought he’d found,
hoodwinked was he by their devious prank
Gagged, and tight his hands they bound,
and walked him off the perilous plank!

Before he died, late lesson learned:
charlatans hide in sly disguise-
He his own true self he spurned,
dooming him to his drowned demise


Scheme XX ABAB XCXC DEDE FGFG XXXD HCHC XIXI JKJK LMLM
Poetic Form
Metre 010100 01111 1010101 010010101 1010111 1111111 1110111 01110111 1010101 11111101 11010111 11101001 1011111 11111101 111011 111100111 1010101 11111101 1010101 110101010 1010111 11010101 1010111 11011111 01010101 11011111 1011111 110101110 110111001 0111010010 11011111 111111001 1011111 011101001 01111101 10010101 1111111 10111101
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 1,293
Words 260
Sentences 2
Stanzas 10
Stanza Lengths 2, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4
Lines Amount 38
Letters per line (avg) 27
Words per line (avg) 6
Letters per stanza (avg) 101
Words per stanza (avg) 23

About this poem

“The Pirate Charlatan” is a fun-spirited Halloween story with a simple but important message: be true to yourself, or suffer the consequences!

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Written on October 19, 2023

Submitted by susan.brumel on October 20, 2023

1:18 min read
67

Susan Mayer Brumel

I am a retired hospice social worker, who began writing poems about 2 years ago. I am married, a mom of two sons, a Bernese Mountain Dog, and grandma of two grandchildren who are the loves of my life. A lover of all animals and most people, I enjoy spending time in nature, long walks, and reading Pablo Neruda, Blake, William Carlos Williams, James Joyce, Mary Oliver, Emily Dickinson, Maya Angelou, Leonard Cohen, and more. Baudelaire tells us to ‘be drunk’ on something every day; I am drunk on poetry and intend never to be sober! more…

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    "The Pirate Charlatan, a trick or treat tale" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 11 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/173174/the-pirate-charlatan%2C-a-trick-or-treat-tale>.

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    What is the term for the continuation of a sentence without a pause beyond the end of a line, couplet, or stanza.
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