Analysis of The Palace
Robert William Service 1874 – 1958
Grimy men with picks and shovels
Who in darkness sweat unseen,
Climb from out your lousy hovels,
Build a palace for the Queen;
Praise the powers that be for giving
You a chance to make a living.
Yet it would be better far
Could you build with cosy lure
Skyey tenements where are
Rabbit-warrens of the poor;
With a hope bright as a gem
Some day you might live in them.
Could the Queen just say: 'A score
Of rich palaces have I.
Do not make me any more,--
Raise a hostel heaven-high;
House the hundreds who have need,
To their misery give heed.'
Could she make this gesture fine
To the pit where labour grovels,
Mother hearts would cease to pine,
Weary men would wave their shovels.
All would cry with hope serene:
'Little children, bless the Queen!'
Scheme | ABABCC DXDXEE FGFGHH IAIABB |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 10111010 1010101 11111010 1010101 101011110 10111010 1111101 1111101 110011 1010101 1011101 1111101 1011101 1110011 1111101 1010101 1010111 1110011 1111101 101111 1011111 10111110 1111101 1010101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 793 |
Words | 144 |
Sentences | 7 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 6, 6, 6, 6 |
Lines Amount | 24 |
Letters per line (avg) | 24 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 146 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 35 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 42 sec read
- 123 Views
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