Analysis of The Dream
Robert William Service 1874 – 1958
Said Will: "I'll stay and till the land."
Said Jack: "I'll sail the sea."
So one went forth kit-bag in hand,
The other ploughed the lea.
They met again at Christmas-tide,
And wistful were the two.
Said Jack: "you're lucky here to bide."
Said Will: "I envy you."
"For in your eyes a light I see
Of tropic shores agleam."
Said Jack: "You need not envy me,
For still you have the Dream.
"The Dream that lured me out to sea;
'Twas bright as paradise;
Far fairer than the memory
You see within my eyes.
So if my foolish urge you share
In foreign lands to roam,
Take up my kit-bag waiting there
And I will stay at home."
* * * * * * * *
Yet while the years have fated Will
To sow the sober loam,
The eyes of Jack are starry still,
High-riding hills of foam.
Scheme | ABAB CDCD BEBE BXBX FGFG HGHG |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Tetractys (20%) |
Metre | 11110101 111101 11111101 010101 11011101 010001 11110111 111101 10110111 110101 11111101 111101 01111111 11110 11010100 110111 11110111 010111 11111101 011111 1 11011101 110101 01111101 110111 |
Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
Characters | 766 |
Words | 158 |
Sentences | 12 |
Stanzas | 7 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 1, 4 |
Lines Amount | 25 |
Letters per line (avg) | 22 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 78 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 24 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 46 sec read
- 88 Views
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