Analysis of Elementalist



Could Fate ordain a lot for me
           Beyond all human ills,
I think that I would choose to be
           A shephard of the hills;
With shaggy cloak and cape where skies
           Eternally are blue
How I would stare with quiet eyes
                    At passing you!

And you would stare at static me,
           Beside my patient flock;
And I would watch you silently,
           A one with time and rock.
Then foreign farings you would chart,
           And fly with fearsome wings,
While I would bide to be a part
           Of elemental things.

Yet strangely I would have it so,
           Since I am kin to these,--
To heather heath and bloom ablow,
           And peaks and piney trees.
As diamond star at evenfall,
           And pearly morning mist
Sing in my veins, myself I call
           An Elementalist.

So as in city dirt and din
           I push a grubby pen,
And toil, my bed and board to win,
           I hate the haunts of men.
Beyond brick wall I seem to see
           Fern dells and rocky rills . . .
O crazy dream! O God, to be
           A shephard of the hills!


Scheme abaBcdcd aeaefgfg xhdhdxxf ijijabaB
Poetic Form
Metre 11010111 011101 11111111 010101 11010111 010011 11111101 1101 01111101 011101 01111100 011101 1101111 011101 11111101 10101 11011111 111111 1101011 01011 110111 010101 1011111 11 11010101 110101 01110111 110111 01111111 110101 11011111 010101
Closest metre Iambic trimeter
Characters 1,090
Words 184
Sentences 12
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 8, 8, 8, 8
Lines Amount 32
Letters per line (avg) 22
Words per line (avg) 6
Letters per stanza (avg) 174
Words per stanza (avg) 46
Font size:
 

Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

55 sec read
124

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

    "Elementalist" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 30 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/32096/elementalist>.

    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!

    More poems by

    Robert William Service

    »

    April 2024

    Poetry Contest

    Join our monthly contest for an opportunity to win cash prizes and attain global acclaim for your talent.
    0
    days
    4
    hours
    1
    minute

    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?

    »
    Which of these poets was not American?
    A Rudyard Kipling
    B Emily Dickinson
    C Ezra Pound
    D Walt Whitman