Analysis of The Anniversary
Robert William Service 1874 – 1958
"This bunch of violets," he said,
"Is for my daughter dear.
Since that glad morn when she was wed
It is today a year.
She lives atop this flight of stairs--
Please give an arm to me:
If we can take her unawares
How glad she'll be!"
We climbed the stairs; the flight was four,
Our steps were stiff and slow;
But as he reached his daughter's door
His eyes were all aglow.
Joylike he raised his hand to knock,
Then sore distressed was I,
For from the silence like a shock
I heard a cry.
A drunken curse, a sob of woe . . .
His withered face grew grey.
"I think," said he, "we'd better go
And come another day."
And as he went a block with me,
Walking with weary feet,
His violets, I sighed to see,
Bestrewed the street.
Scheme | ABABCDCD EFEFGHGH FIFIDJDJ |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 11110011 111101 11111111 110101 11011111 111111 1111001 1111 11010111 1010101 11111101 110101 1111111 110111 11010101 1101 01010111 110111 11111101 010101 01110111 101101 11001111 101 |
Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
Characters | 842 |
Words | 146 |
Sentences | 12 |
Stanzas | 3 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8, 8 |
Lines Amount | 24 |
Letters per line (avg) | 22 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 178 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 48 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 43 sec read
- 80 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"The Anniversary" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/32471/the-anniversary>.
Discuss this Robert William Service poem analysis with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In