Analysis of Old Engine Driver
Robert William Service 1874 – 1958
For five and twenty years I've run
A famous train;
But now my spell of speed is done,
No more I'll strain
My sight along the treadless tracks,
The gleamy rails:
My hand upon the throttle slacks,
My vision fails.
No more I'll urge my steed of steel
Through hostile nights;
No more the mastery I'll feel
Of monster might.
I'll miss the hiss of giant steam,
The clank, the roar;
The agony of brakes that scream
I'll hear no more.
Oh I have held within my hand
A million lives;
And now my son takes command
And proudly drives;
While from my cottage wistfully
I watch his train,
And wave and wave and seem to see
Myself again.
Scheme | ABABCDCD EXEXFGFG HXHXIBIX |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 11010111 0101 11111111 1111 1101011 011 11010101 1101 11111111 1101 11010011 1101 11011101 0101 01001111 1111 11110111 0101 0111101 0101 11110100 1111 01010111 101 |
Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
Characters | 726 |
Words | 121 |
Sentences | 5 |
Stanzas | 3 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8, 8 |
Lines Amount | 24 |
Letters per line (avg) | 20 |
Words per line (avg) | 5 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 160 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 40 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 38 sec read
- 85 Views
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"Old Engine Driver" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 3 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/32339/old-engine-driver>.
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