Analysis of Sea Change
Robert William Service 1874 – 1958
I saw a Priest in beetle black
Come to our golden beach,
And I was taken sore aback
Lest he should choose to preach
And chide me for my only wear,
A "Gee" string and a brassière.
And then I saw him shyly doff
And fold his grim soutane,
And one by one his clothes take off,
Until like any man
He stood in bathing trunks, a sight
To thrill a maiden with delight.
For he was framed and fashioned like
Apollo Belvedere;
I felt my heart like cymbal strike
Beneath my brassière.
And then the flounce of foam he broke,
And disappeared with flashing stroke.
We met. 'Twas in the billows roll.
Oh how he sang with joy;
But not a hymn, - a merry troll
With gusto of a boy.
I looked, and lo! the priest was gone,
And in his place a laughing faun. . . .
Today confession I have made.
The Father's face was stern,
And I was glad that in the shade
Mine he could not discern . . .
He gave me grace - but oh the bliss,
The salty passion of his kiss!
Scheme | ABABXC DEDEFF GXGCHH IJIJEE KEKELL |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Etheree (27%) Tetractys (20%) |
Metre | 11010101 1110101 01110101 111111 01111101 0110011 01111101 01111 01111111 011101 11010101 11010101 11110101 01001 11111101 01111 01011111 0011101 11100101 111111 11010101 11101 11010111 00110101 01010111 010111 01111001 111101 11111101 01010111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 914 |
Words | 187 |
Sentences | 18 |
Stanzas | 5 |
Stanza Lengths | 6, 6, 6, 6, 6 |
Lines Amount | 30 |
Letters per line (avg) | 24 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 141 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 38 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on May 01, 2023
- 56 sec read
- 138 Views
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"Sea Change" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 6 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/32422/sea-change>.
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