Analysis of Negress In Notre Dame
Robert William Service 1874 – 1958
When I attended Mass today
A coloured maid sat down by me,
And as I watched her kneel and pray,
Her reverence was good to see.
For whether there may be or no'
A merciful and mighty God,
The love for Him is like a glow
That glorifies the meanest clod.
And then a starched and snotty dame
Who sat the other side of me
Said: "Monsieur, is it not a shame
Such things should be allowed to be?
In my homeland, I'm proud to say,
We know to handle niggers right,
And wouldn't let a black wench pray
And worship God beside a white."
Her tone so tart bewilderd me,
For I am just a simple man.
A friend in every one I see,
Though yellow, brown or black and tan.
For I would father children five
With any comely coloured maid,
And lush with any man alive,
Of any race, of any shade.
Religion may be false or true,
The Churches may be wrong or right,
But if there be the Faith in you
It can be like a shining light.
And though I lack not piety
And pray my best, I'm sure that God
To that black wench and not to me
Would give his most approving nod.
Aye, you may scrub him day and night,
You'll never change a nigger's hide;
But maybe he is just as white,
(Or even more) than you...inside.
Scheme | ABABCDCA EBEBAFAF BGBGHIHI JFJFBDBD FXFA |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 11010101 01011111 01110101 01001111 11011111 01000101 01111101 1100101 0101011 11010111 10111101 11110111 0111111 11110101 01010111 01010101 011111 11110101 010100111 11011101 11110101 11010101 01110101 11011101 01011111 01011111 11110101 11110101 01111100 01111111 11110111 11110101 11111101 11010101 11011111 110111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,148 |
Words | 241 |
Sentences | 12 |
Stanzas | 5 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8, 8, 8, 4 |
Lines Amount | 36 |
Letters per line (avg) | 25 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 179 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 47 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:13 min read
- 110 Views
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"Negress In Notre Dame" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/32321/negress-in-notre-dame>.
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