Analysis of The Husband-Confessor
La Fontaine 1621 (Château-Thierry, Champagne) – 1695 (Neuilly-sur-Seine, Île-de-France)
WHEN Francis (named the first) o'er Frenchmen reign'd,
In Italy young Arthur laurels gained,
And oft such daring valour showed in fight,
With ev'ry honour he was made a knight;
The monarch placed the spur upon his heel,
That all around his proper worth might feel.
Then household deities at home he sought,
Where--not at prayers his beauteous dame he caught:
He'd left her, truly, quite dissolv'd in tears;
But now the belle had bid adieu to fears;
And oft was dancing joyously around,
With all the company that could be found.
GALLANTS in crowds Sir Arthur soon perceived;
At sight of these the knight was sorely grieved;
And, turning in his mind how best to act;
Cried he, Can this be truly held a fact,
That I've been worthy while I'd fame in view,
Of cuckoldom at home, and knighthood too?
It ought to be but half:--the truth let's know;
From constancy the purest blessings flow.
Then like a father-confessor he dressed,
And took his seat where priests their flock confessed.
His lady absolution sought that day,
And on her knees before him 'gan to pray;
The minor sins were told with downcast eyes,
And then for hearing those of larger size,
The husband-confessor prepared his ears:--
Said she, Good father, ('mid a flood of tears),
My bed receives, (the fault I fear's not slight,)
A gentleman, a parson, and a knight.
Still more had followed, but, by rage o'ercome,
Sir Arthur cut the thread, and she was mum;
Though, doubtless, had the fair been let proceed,
Quite long her Litany had been decreed.
THe husband, in a rage, exclaimed, thou jade,
A parson, say'st thou? t'whom dost think thou'st made
This curst confession?--To my spouse, cried she,
I saw you enter here, and came with glee,
Supposing you'd a trick to raise surprise;
Howe'er 'tis strange that one so very wise,
The riddle should not fully comprehend:--
A KNIGHT, the king created you, my friend;
A GENTLEMAN, your rank was long ago;
A PARSON, you have made yourself you know.
Good heav'ns! exclaimed the knight, 'tis very clear,
And I a blockhead surely must appear
Scheme | AABBCCXXDEFF GGHHIIJJKKLLMMEDBBNNOO PPQQMMRRJJSS |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 11010110101 0100110101 011101101 11111101 011010111 1101110111 111001111 111111111 1101010101 1101110111 01110101 1101001111 101110101 1111011101 0100111111 1111110101 1111011101 1111011 1111110111 1100010101 11010111 0111111101 110010111 0101011111 010101111 0111011101 01010111 1111010111 1101011111 0100010001 111101111 1101010111 1101011101 1101001101 0100010111 0101111111111 1101011111 1111010111 0101011101 1011111101 010111001 0101010111 0100111101 0101110111 1101011101 010110101 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 2,002 |
Words | 364 |
Sentences | 12 |
Stanzas | 3 |
Stanza Lengths | 12, 22, 12 |
Lines Amount | 46 |
Letters per line (avg) | 34 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 524 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 119 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:54 min read
- 48 Views
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"The Husband-Confessor" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 11 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/25361/the-husband-confessor>.
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