Analysis of Pedlar
Robert William Service 1874 – 1958
Pedlar's coming down the street,
Housewives beat a swift retreat.
Don't you answer to the bell;
Heedless what she has to sell.
Just discreetly go inside.
We must hang a board, I fear:
PEDLARS NOT PERMITTED HERE.
I'm trying to sell what nobody wants to buy;
They turn me away, but still I try and try.
My arms are aching and my feet are sore;
Heartsick and worn I drag from door to door.
I ring bells, meekly knock, hold out my tray,
But no one answers, so I go away.
I am so weary; oh, I want to cry,
Trying to sell what no one wants to buy.
I do not blame them. Maybe in their place
I'd slam the door shut in a pedlar's face.
I don not know; perhaps I'd raise their hopes
By looking at their pens and envelopes,
Their pins and needles, pencils, spools of thread,
Cheap tawdry stuff, before I shake my head
And go back to my cosy kitchen nook
Without another thought or backward look.
I would not see their pain nor hear their sigh,
Trying to sell what no one wants to buy.
I know I am a nuisance. I can see
They only buy because they pity me.
They may . . . I've had a cottage of my own,
A husband, children - now I am alone,
Friendless in all the world. The bitter years
Have crushed me, robbed me of my dears.
All, all I've lost, my only wish to die,
Selling my trash that no one wants to buy.
Pedlar's beating a retreat -
Poor old thing, her face is sweet,
her figure frail, her hair snow-white;
Dogone it! Every door's shut tight. . . .
"Say, Ma, how much for all you've got?
Hell, here's ten bucks . . . I'll take the lot.
Go, get yourself a proper feed,
A little of the rest you need.
I've got a mother looks like you -
I'd hate her doing what you do. . . .
No, don't get sloppy, can the mush,
Praying for me - all that slush;
But please don't come again this way,
Ten bucks is all I draw a day."
Scheme | aabbxxx ccddeecC ffgghhiicC jjkkxfcc aallmmnnooppee |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 110101 110101 1110101 111111 1010101 1110111 110101 1101111111 11101111101 1111001111 101111111 1111011111 1111011101 1111011111 1011111111 1111110011 110110011 1111011111 110111010 1101010111 1101011111 0111110101 0101011101 1111111111 1011111111 1111010111 1101011101 1111010111 0101011101 101010101 11111111 1111110111 1011111111 110001 1110111 01010111 11100111 11111111 11111101 11010101 01010111 11010111 11010111 11110101 1011111 11110111 11111101 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,765 |
Words | 359 |
Sentences | 37 |
Stanzas | 5 |
Stanza Lengths | 7, 8, 10, 8, 14 |
Lines Amount | 47 |
Letters per line (avg) | 28 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 267 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 74 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:52 min read
- 113 Views
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"Pedlar" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/32356/pedlar>.
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