Analysis of Gypsy Jill
Robert William Service 1874 – 1958
They're hanging Bill at eight o' clock,
And millions will applaud.
He killed, and so they have to kill,
Such is the will of God.
His brother Tom is on my bed
To keep me comforted.
I see his bleary, blotchy face,
I hear his sodden snore.
He plans that he can take Bill's place;
I felt worse than a whore
As in his arms I cried all night,
Thinking of poor Bill's plight.
I keep my eyes upon the clock;
It nears the stroke of eight.
I think how bravely Bill will walk
To meet his gallows fate . . .
His loaded gun is in the tent,--
I know now what he meant.
Though Tom is boastful he will wed
With me, no more to part,
I'll put a bullet through his head,
Another through my heart:
At eight, stone-dead we three will be,
--Bill, Tom and me.
Scheme | AXXXBX CDCDEE AFXFGG BHBHII |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 11011111 010101 11011111 110111 11011111 111100 11110101 111101 11111111 111101 10111111 101111 11110101 110111 11110111 111101 11011001 111111 11110111 111111 11010111 010111 11111111 1101 |
Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
Characters | 841 |
Words | 150 |
Sentences | 12 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 6, 6, 6, 6 |
Lines Amount | 24 |
Letters per line (avg) | 23 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 138 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 38 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 46 sec read
- 64 Views
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"Gypsy Jill" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/32161/gypsy-jill>.
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