Candle Hat Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis
Rhyme Scheme: AAABC BDE FGAH IGJ GA KLM CD AA NOPQR| In most self portraits it is the face that dominates | A |
| Cezanne is a pair of eyes swimming in brushstrokes | A |
| Van Gogh stares out of a halo of swirling darkness | A |
| Rembrant looks relieved as if he were taking a breather | B |
| from painting The Blinding of Sampson | C |
| - | |
| But in this one Goya stands well back from the mirror | B |
| and is seen posed in the clutter of his studio | D |
| addressing a canvas tilted back on a tall easel | E |
| - | |
| He appears to be smiling out at us as if he knew | F |
| we would be amused by the extraordinary hat on his head | G |
| which is fitted around the brim with candle holders | A |
| a device that allowed him to work into the night | H |
| - | |
| You can only wonder what it would be like | I |
| to be wearing such a chandelier on your head | G |
| as if you were a walking dining room or concert hall | J |
| - | |
| But once you see this hat there is no need to read | G |
| any biography of Goya or to memorize his dates | A |
| - | |
| To understand Goya you only have to imagine him | K |
| lighting the candles one by one then placing | L |
| the hat on his head ready for a night of work | M |
| - | |
| Imagine him surprising his wife with his new invention | C |
| the laughing like a birthday cake when she saw the glow | D |
| - | |
| Imagine him flickering through the rooms of his house | A |
| with all the shadows flying across the walls | A |
| - | |
| Imagine a lost traveler knocking on his door | N |
| one dark night in the hill country of Spain | O |
| Come in he would say I was just painting myself | P |
| as he stood in the doorway holding up the wand of a brush | Q |
| illuminated in the blaze of his famous candle hat | R |
Billy Collins
(1)
Poem topics: , Print This Poem , Rhyme Scheme
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