Analysis of Soldier Boy
Robert William Service 1874 – 1958
My soldier boy has crossed the sea
To fight the foeman;
But he'll come back to make of me
And honest woman.
So I am singing all day long,
Despite blood-shedding;
For though I know he's done me wrong,
We'll end by wedding.
My soldier boy is home again,
So bold and scathless;
But oh, my heart is numb with pain
Because he's faithless.
He's brought with him a French Mam'selle;
They plan a marriage;
Maybe I'll go - no one will know
Of my miscarriage.
My soldier boy has made his choice,
She'll hold him to it;
I tell myself that I rejoice,
May he not rue it.
But oh, that starry month of May,
Love-words wild spoken!
I stand alone and make no moan . . .
My heart is broken.
Scheme | ABABCDCD BABAXXBX EFEFXBBB |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 11011101 1101 11111111 01010 11110111 01110 11111111 11110 11011101 1101 11111111 0111 11110111 11010 10111111 11010 11011111 11111 1111101 11111 11110111 11110 11010111 11110 |
Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
Characters | 753 |
Words | 132 |
Sentences | 11 |
Stanzas | 3 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8, 8 |
Lines Amount | 24 |
Letters per line (avg) | 21 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 168 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 44 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 42 sec read
- 98 Views
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"Soldier Boy" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/32442/soldier-boy>.
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