Analysis of Intolerance
Robert William Service 1874 – 1958
I have no brief for gambling, nay
The notion I express
That money earned 's the only way
To pay for happiness.
With cards and dice I do not hold;
By betting I've been bit:
Conclusion: to get honest gold
You've got to sweat for it.
Though there be evil in strong drink
It's brought me heaps of fun;
And now, with some reserve, I think
My toping days are done.
Though at teetotal cranks I laugh,
Yet being sound and hale,
I find the best of drinks to quaff
Is good old Adam's ale.
I do not like your moralist,
Who with a righteous grin
Informs you o'er a pounding fist:
"Unchastity is sin."
I don't believe it, but I grant,
By every human test,
From parson, pimp and maiden aunt,
Morality is best.
Yet what a bore our lives would be
If we lived as we should;
It's such a blessing to be free,
And not be over-good.
I value virtues great and small,
As I in life advance:
But O the greatest sin of all
I count--INTOLERANCE.
Scheme | AXAXBCBC DEDEFGFG HIHIJKJK LMLMNXNX |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 111111001 010101 110110101 111100 11011111 110111 01011101 111111 11110011 111111 01110111 11111 111111 110101 11011111 111101 11111100 110101 011100101 111 11011111 1100101 11010101 010011 110110111 111111 11010111 011101 11010101 110101 11010111 110100 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,048 |
Words | 183 |
Sentences | 9 |
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) | 175 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 45 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 14, 2023
- 56 sec read
- 78 Views
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"Intolerance" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 1 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/32190/intolerance>.
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