Analysis of Retired
Robert William Service 1874 – 1958
I used to sing, when I was young,
The joy of idleness;
But now I'm grey I hold my tongue,
For frankly I confess
If I had not some job to do
I would be bored to death;
So I must toil until I'm through
With this asthmatic breath.
Where others slothfully would brood
beg for little chores,
To peel potatoes, chop the wood,
And even scrub the floors.
When slightly useful I can be,
I'm happy as a bboy;
Dish-washing is a boon to me,
And brushing boots a joy.
The young folks tell me: "Grandpa, please,
Don't be so manual;
You certainly have earned your ease -
Why don't you rest a spell?"
Say I: I'll have a heap of rest
On my sepulchral shelf;
So now please let me do my best
To justify myself."
For one must strive or one will die,
And work's our dearest friend;
God meant it so, and that is why
I'll toil unto the end.
I thank the Lord I'm full of beans,
So let me heft a hoe,
And I will don my garden jeans
And help the beans to grow.
Scheme | AXAXBCBC XDXDEEEX FXFXGHGH IJIJKLKL |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 11111111 011100 11111111 110101 11111111 111111 11110111 110101 110111 11101 11010101 010101 11010111 110101 11010111 010101 0111111 111100 11001111 111101 11110111 1111 11111111 1101 11111111 0110101 11110111 111001 11011111 111101 01111101 010111 |
Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
Characters | 920 |
Words | 195 |
Sentences | 8 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8, 8, 8 |
Lines Amount | 32 |
Letters per line (avg) | 22 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 175 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 48 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:00 min read
- 123 Views
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"Retired" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 11 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/32397/retired>.
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