A Parlourmaid Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis
Rhyme Scheme: ABACDEDBFGFHAIAJKLML NLOABBPQPQBDBDRLRLRS RA| 'I want a parlourmaid ' | A |
| 'Well let me see | B |
| If you were God what kind of maid she'd be ' | A |
| 'She would be tall | C |
| She would be fair | D |
| She would have slender limbs | E |
| A delicate air | D |
| And yet for all her beauty | B |
| She would walk | F |
| Among my guests unseen | G |
| And through their talk | F |
| Her voice would be the sweet voice of a bird | H |
| Not listened to though heard ' | A |
| 'And now I know the girl you have in mind | I |
| Tell me her duties if you'd be so kind ' | A |
| 'Why yes | J |
| She must know names of wines | K |
| And never taste them | L |
| Must handle fragile cups | M |
| And never break them | L |
| Must fill my rooms with flowers | N |
| And never wear them | L |
| Must serve my daughter's secrets | O |
| And not share them ' | A |
| 'Madam you are no God that's plain to see | B |
| I'll just repeat what you have said to me | B |
| You say your maid must look in Helen fashion | P |
| Golden and white | Q |
| And yet her loveliness inspire no passion | P |
| Give no delight | Q |
| Your intimate goods of home must owe their beauty | B |
| To this girl's care | D |
| But she'll not overstep her path of duty | B |
| Nor seek to share | D |
| Through loving or enjoying or possessing | R |
| The least of them | L |
| Why she's not human by your own confessing | R |
| And you condemn | L |
| Your rational self in every word you're speaking | R |
| Please understand | S |
| You'll find the hollow maiden you are seeking | R |
| In fairyland ' | A |
Lesbia Harford
(1)
Poem topics: , Print This Poem , Rhyme Scheme
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