Analysis of Grumpy Grandpa
Robert William Service 1874 – 1958
Grand-daughter of the Painted Nails,
As if they had been dipped in gore,
I'd like to set you lugging pails
And make you scrub the kitchen floor.
I'm old and crotchety of course,
And on this point my patience fails;
I'd sue my old girl for divorce
If she showed up with painted nails.
Grand-daughter of the Painted Nails,
Like to a Jezebel are you;
Do you expect to snare the males
With talons of such bloody hue?
I could forgive your smudging lips,
Your scarlet cheek that powder veils,
But not your sanguine finger-tips . . .
Don't paw me with your painted nails.
Grand-daughter of the Painted Nails,
Were I the sire of maidens ten,
I'd curse them over hills and dales,
And hold them to the scorn of men
If they had claws of crimson dye;
Aye, though they sang like nightingales,
Unto the welkin I would cry:
"Avaunt, ye hags with Painted Nails!"
Scheme | Ababcaca Adadeaea Afafgaga |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 11010101 11111101 11111101 01110101 11010011 01111101 11111101 11111101 11010101 110111 11011101 11011101 1101111 11011101 11110101 11111101 11010101 010101101 11110101 01110111 11111101 111111 1001111 1111101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 831 |
Words | 157 |
Sentences | 9 |
Stanzas | 3 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8, 8 |
Lines Amount | 24 |
Letters per line (avg) | 27 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 218 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 52 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 48 sec read
- 68 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"Grumpy Grandpa" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 3 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/32160/grumpy-grandpa>.
Discuss this Robert William Service poem analysis with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In