Analysis of Kail Yard Bard



A very humble pen I ply
      Beneath a cottage thatch;
And in the sunny hours I try
      To till my cabbage patch;
And in the gloaming glad am I
             To lift the latch.

I do not plot to pile up pelf,
      With jowl and belly fat;
To simple song I give myself,
      And seek no gain at that:
Content if milk is on the shelf
             To feed the cat.

I joy that haleness I possess,
      Though fame has passed me by;
And see such gold of happiness
      A-shining in the sky,
I wonder who has won success,
             Proud men or I?

I do not grieve that I am poor,
      And by the world unknown;
Free as the wind, serene and sure,
      In peace I live alone.
'Tis better to be bard obscure
             Than King on Throne.


Scheme ABABAB CDCDCD EAXAEA XFGFGF
Poetic Form
Metre 01010111 010101 000101011 111101 00010111 1101 11111111 110101 1101111 011111 10111101 1101 1111101 111111 01111100 010001 11011101 1111 11111111 010101 11010101 011101 11011101 1111
Closest metre Iambic trimeter
Characters 740
Words 138
Sentences 6
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 6, 6, 6, 6
Lines Amount 24
Letters per line (avg) 20
Words per line (avg) 6
Letters per stanza (avg) 122
Words per stanza (avg) 34
Font size:
 

Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 19, 2023

41 sec read
197

Robert William Service

Robert William Service was a poet and writer sometimes referred to as the Bard of the Yukon He is best-known for his writings on the Canadian North including the poems The Shooting of Dan McGrew The Law of the Yukon and The Cremation of Sam McGee His writing was so expressive that his readers took him for a hard-bitten old Klondike prospector not the later-arriving bank clerk he actually was Robert William Service was born 16 January 1874 in Preston England but also lived in Scotland before emigrating to Canada in 1894 Service went to the Yukon Territory in 1904 as a bank clerk and became famous for his poems about this region which are mostly in his first two books of poetry He wrote quite a bit of prose as well and worked as a reporter for some time but those writings are not nearly as well known as his poems He travelled around the world quite a bit and narrowly escaped from France at the beginning of the Second World War during which time he lived in Hollywood California He died 11 September 1958 in France Incidentally he played himself in a movie called The Spoilers starring John Wayne and Marlene Dietrich more…

All Robert William Service poems | Robert William Service Books

7 fans

Discuss this Robert William Service poem analysis with the community:

0 Comments

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "Kail Yard Bard" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 8 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/32201/kail-yard-bard>.

    Become a member!

    Join our community of poets and poetry lovers to share your work and offer feedback and encouragement to writers all over the world!

    More poems by

    Robert William Service

    »

    May 2024

    Poetry Contest

    Join our monthly contest for an opportunity to win cash prizes and attain global acclaim for your talent.
    23
    days
    20
    hours
    25
    minutes

    Special Program

    Earn Rewards!

    Unlock exciting rewards such as a free mug and free contest pass by commenting on fellow members' poems today!

    Browse Poetry.com

    Quiz

    Are you a poetry master?

    »
    Who wrote the poem "Stopping by Woods On a Snowy Evening"?
    A Robert Frost
    B John Keats
    C Elizabeth Barrett Browning
    D William Shakespeare