Analysis of The Prisoner
Robert William Service 1874 – 1958
Upspoke the culprit at the bar,
Conducting his own case:
'Your Lordship, I have gone to far,
But grant me of your grace.
As I was passing by a shop
I saw my arm go out,
And though I begged of it to stop,
It stole beyond a doubt.
'But why should my whole body be
Condemned to dungeon grim,
For what in fact was only the
Transgression of a limb?
So here before the Court I stand,
And beg in Justice' name:
Please penalise my arm and hand,
But not my frame.'
Outspoke the Judge with voice of ice,
Although a smile he hid:
'Quite right! You should not pay the price
For what one member did.
Your reasoning I must admit;
Your arm should gaol expect . . .
Three months! And if you follow it
The Court does not object.'
The culprit smiled with sudden charm,
Then to the Court's dismay,
Quickly removed a wooden arm
And went away.
Scheme | ABABCDCD XEXEFGFG HIHIJKJK LMLM |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1010101 010111 1111111 111111 11110101 111111 01111111 110101 11111101 011101 11011100 010101 11010111 010101 111101 1111 1011111 10111 11111101 111101 11001101 111101 11011101 011110 01011101 110101 10010101 0101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 953 |
Words | 163 |
Sentences | 13 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8, 8, 4 |
Lines Amount | 28 |
Letters per line (avg) | 22 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 157 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 41 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 48 sec read
- 54 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"The Prisoner" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/32620/the-prisoner>.
Discuss this Robert William Service poem analysis with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In