The Super
Robert William Service 1874 – 1958
When I was with a Shakespeare show
I played the part of Guildenstern,
Or Rosenkrantz - at least I know
It wasn't difficult to learn;
By Reader, do not at me scoff,
For futhermore I should explain
I was the understudy of
The understudy of the Dane.
Oh how it crabbed me just to think
They barred me from that role divine;
And how I longed to have them drink
A cup of slightly poisoned wine!
At every night with struts and rants
I strove my quid a week to earn,
And put my soul in Rosenkrantz -
Or was it haply, Guildenstern.
Alas! I might have spared by breath,
I never played the noble Dane;
And yet when Irving staged Macbeth
I bore a tree of Dunsinane,
And yearned for that barn-storming day,
Of hopes and dreams and patchy pants,
When Guildenstern I'd proudly play -
Or was, maybe, Rosenkrantz?
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 19, 2023
- 46 sec read
- 132 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | ABABXBXB CBCBDBDB EBEBFDFD |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 782 |
Words | 153 |
Stanzas | 3 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8, 8 |
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"The Super" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 12 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/32661/the-super>.
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