Analysis of Horatio
Robert William Service 1874 – 1958
His portrait hung upon the wall.
Oh how at us he used to stare.
Each Sunday when I made my call! --
And when one day it wasn't there,
Quite quick I seemed to understand
The light was green to hold her hand.
Her eyes were amorously lit;
I knew she wouldn't mind at all.
Yet what I did was sit and sit
Seeing that blankness on the wall . . .
Horatio had a gentle face,--
How would my mug look in his place?
That oblong of wall-paper wan!
And while she prattled prettily
I sensed the red light going on,
So I refused a cup of tea,
And took my gold-topped cane and hat--
My going seemed to leave her flat.
Horatio was a decent guy,
And when she ravished from her heart
A damsite better man than I,
She seemed to me,--well, just a tart:
Her lack of tact I can't explain.
His picture,--is it hung again?
Scheme | ABABCC DADAEE FAFXGG HIHIXX |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 11010101 11111111 1111111 01111101 1111101 01111101 01011 11110111 11111101 1011101 01010101 11111011 11011101 011101 11011101 11010111 01111101 11011101 01010101 0111101 0110111 11111101 01111101 11011101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 842 |
Words | 162 |
Sentences | 14 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 6, 6, 6, 6 |
Lines Amount | 24 |
Letters per line (avg) | 25 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 150 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 40 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 49 sec read
- 105 Views
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"Horatio" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/32172/horatio>.
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