Analysis of A Character
Robert William Service 1874 – 1958
How often do I wish I were
What people call a character;
A ripe and cherubic old chappie
Who lives to make his fellows happy;
With in his eyes a merry twinkle,
And round his lips a laughing wrinkle;
Who radiating hope and cheer
Grows kindlier with every year.
For this ideal let me strive,
And keep the lad in me alive;
Nor argument nor anger know,
But my own way serenly go;
The woes of men to understand,
Yet walk with humour hand in hand;
To love each day and wonder why
Folks are not so jocund as I.
So be you simple, decent, kind,
With gentle heart and quiet mind;
And if to righteous anger stung,
Restrain your temper and your toungue.
Let thought for others be your guide,
And patience triumph over pride . . .
With charity for those who err,
Live life so folks may say you were--
God bless your heart!--A Character.
Scheme | AABBCCDDEEFFGGHH IIJJKKXAA |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Tetractys (20%) |
Metre | 11011110 11010100 010010110 111111010 101101010 011101010 1100101 1111001 1101111 01010101 11001101 111111 0111101 1111101 11110101 1111111 11110101 11010101 01110101 01110011 11110111 01010101 11001111 11111110 11110100 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 807 |
Words | 158 |
Sentences | 9 |
Stanzas | 2 |
Stanza Lengths | 16, 9 |
Lines Amount | 25 |
Letters per line (avg) | 25 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 319 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 79 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 47 sec read
- 146 Views
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"A Character" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 5 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/31946/a-character>.
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