Analysis of Birds Of A Feather
Robert William Service 1874 – 1958
Of bosom friends I've had but seven,
Despite my years are ripe;
I hope they're now enjoying Heaven,
Although they're not the type;
Nor, candidly, no more am I,
Though overdue to die.
For looking back I see that they
Were weak and wasteful men;
They loved a sultry jest alway,
And women now and then.
They smoked and gambled, soused and swore,
--Yet no one was a bore.
'Tis strange I took to lads like these,
On whom the good should frown;
Yet all with poetry would please
To wash his wassail down;
Their temples touched the starry way,
But O what feet of clay!
Well, all are dust, of fame bereft;
They bore a cruel cross,
And I, the canny one, am left,--
Yet as I grieve their loss,
I deem, because they loved me well,
They'll welcome me in Hell.
Scheme | ABABCC DEXEFF GHGHDD IJIJKK |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 110111110 011111 111101010 11101 11001111 110111 11011111 010101 1101011 010101 11010101 111101 11111111 110111 11110011 11111 11010101 111111 11111101 110101 01010111 111111 11011111 110101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 874 |
Words | 146 |
Sentences | 6 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 6, 6, 6, 6 |
Lines Amount | 24 |
Letters per line (avg) | 24 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 141 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 36 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 45 sec read
- 163 Views
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"Birds Of A Feather" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 14 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/32019/birds-of-a-feather>.
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