Analysis of At Eighty Years
Robert William Service 1874 – 1958
As nothingness draws near
How I can see
Inexorably clear
My vanity.
My sum of worthiness
Always so small,
Dwindles from less to less
To none at all.
As grisly destiny
Claims me at last,
How grievous seem to me
Sins of my past!
How keen a conscience edge
Can come to be!
How pitiless the dredge
Of memory!
Ye proud ones of the earth
Who count your gains,
What cherish you of worth
For all your pains?
E'er death shall slam the door,
Will you, like me,
Face fate and count the score--
FUTILITY.
Scheme | ABABXCXC BDBDEBEB FGFGHBHB |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 110011 1111 010001 1100 111100 111 101111 1111 110100 1111 110111 1111 110101 1111 110001 1100 111101 1111 110111 1111 1011101 1111 110101 0100 |
Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
Characters | 597 |
Words | 97 |
Sentences | 8 |
Stanzas | 3 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8, 8 |
Lines Amount | 24 |
Letters per line (avg) | 16 |
Words per line (avg) | 4 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 127 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 32 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 06, 2023
- 29 sec read
- 52 Views
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"At Eighty Years" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 10 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/31989/at-eighty-years>.
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