Analysis of The Bread-Knife Ballad
Robert William Service 1874 – 1958
A little child was sitting Up on her mother's knee
And down down her cheeks the bitter tears did flow.
And as I sadly listened I heard this tender plea,
'Twas uttered in a voice so soft and low.
"Not guilty" said the Jury And the Judge said "Set her free,
But remember it must not occur again.
And next time you must listen to you little daughter's plea,"
Then all the Court did join in this refrain.
Chorus:
"Please Mother don't stab Father with the BREAD-KNIFE,
Remember 'twas a gift when you were wed.
But if you must stab Father with the BREAD-KNIFE,
Please Mother use another for the BREAD."
Scheme | ABAB AXAX XCDCD |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 0101110110101 01101010111 0111010111101 1100011101 11010100011101 10101110101 01111101110101 1101110101 10 11011101011 0101011101 11111101011 1101010101 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 634 |
Words | 115 |
Sentences | 7 |
Stanzas | 3 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 5 |
Lines Amount | 13 |
Letters per line (avg) | 35 |
Words per line (avg) | 9 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 154 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 37 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 27, 2023
- 34 sec read
- 91 Views
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"The Bread-Knife Ballad" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 11 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/32510/the-bread-knife-ballad>.
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