Analysis of Song Of The Sardine



A fat man sat in an orchestra stall and his cheeks were wet with tears,
As he gazed at the primadonna tall, whom he hadn't seen in years.
"Oh don't you remember" he murmured low "that Spring in Montparnasse,
When hand in hand we used to go to our nightly singing class.
Ah me those days so gay and glad, so full of hope and cheer.
And that little super that we had of tinned sardines and beer.
When you looked so like a little queen with your proud and haughty air,
That I took from the box the last sardine and I twined it in your hair."

Alas I am only a stockbroker now while you are high and great,
The laurels of fame adorn your brow while on you Princes wait.
And as I sit so sadly here and list to your thrilling tones,
You cannot remember I sadly fear if my name is Smith or jones.
Yet Oh those days of long ago, when I had scarce a sou.
And as my bitter tears down flow I think again of you.
And once again I seem to see that mad of sweet sixteen,
Within whose tresses tenderly I twined that bright sardine.

Chorus:
        Oh that sardine in your hair, I can see it shining there,
        As I took it from its box, And I twined it in your locks.
        Silver sardine in your hair. Like a jewel rich and rare,
        Oh that little silver sardine in your hair.


Scheme AXAXBBCC DDEEAXFF XCXCC
Poetic Form
Metre 01110110010110111 11110111110101 11101011011101 1101111111010101 11111101111101 011010111110101 1111101011110101 11110101010111011 0111100101111101 010110111111101 011111010111101 11001011011111111 11111101111101 01110111110111 01011111111101 01110100111101 10 11010111111101 11111110111011 10010111010101 11101001011
Closest metre Iambic heptameter
Characters 1,270
Words 254
Sentences 14
Stanzas 3
Stanza Lengths 8, 8, 5
Lines Amount 21
Letters per line (avg) 46
Words per line (avg) 12
Letters per stanza (avg) 319
Words per stanza (avg) 84
Font size:
 

Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

1:16 min read
50

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

    "Song Of The Sardine" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 27 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/32445/song-of-the-sardine>.

    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!

    April 2024

    Poetry Contest

    Join our monthly contest for an opportunity to win cash prizes and attain global acclaim for your talent.
    3
    days
    10
    hours
    31
    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?

    »
    Roald Dahl wrote: "The animal I really dig, above all others is the..."
    A dog
    B pig
    C cat
    D horse