Analysis of The Judgement



The Judge looked down, his face was grim,
          He scratched his ear;
The gangster's moll looked up at him
          With eyes of fear.
She thought: 'This guy in velvet gown,
          With balding pate,
Who now on me is looking down,
          Can seal my fate.'

The Judge thought: 'Fifteen years or ten
          I might decree.
Just let me say the word and then
          Go home to tea.
But then this poor wretch might not be
          So long alive . . .'
So with surprise he heard that he
          Was saying 'Five'.

The Judge went home. His daughter's child
          Was five that day;
And with sweet gifts around her piled
          She laughed in play.
Then mused the Judge: 'Life oft bestows
          Such evil odds.
May he who human mercy shows
          Not count on God's?'


Scheme AXAXBCBC DEDEEFEF GHGHIJIJ
Poetic Form
Metre 01111111 1111 0111111 1111 11110101 1101 11111101 1111 01101111 1101 11110101 1111 11111111 1101 11011111 1101 01111101 1111 01110101 1101 11011101 1101 11110101 1111
Closest metre Iambic trimeter
Characters 778
Words 134
Sentences 13
Stanzas 3
Stanza Lengths 8, 8, 8
Lines Amount 24
Letters per line (avg) 21
Words per line (avg) 6
Letters per stanza (avg) 170
Words per stanza (avg) 44
Font size:
 

Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

40 sec read
43

Robert William Service

Robert William Service was a poet and writer sometimes referred to as the Bard of the Yukon He is best-known for his writings on the Canadian North including the poems The Shooting of Dan McGrew The Law of the Yukon and The Cremation of Sam McGee His writing was so expressive that his readers took him for a hard-bitten old Klondike prospector not the later-arriving bank clerk he actually was Robert William Service was born 16 January 1874 in Preston England but also lived in Scotland before emigrating to Canada in 1894 Service went to the Yukon Territory in 1904 as a bank clerk and became famous for his poems about this region which are mostly in his first two books of poetry He wrote quite a bit of prose as well and worked as a reporter for some time but those writings are not nearly as well known as his poems He travelled around the world quite a bit and narrowly escaped from France at the beginning of the Second World War during which time he lived in Hollywood California He died 11 September 1958 in France Incidentally he played himself in a movie called The Spoilers starring John Wayne and Marlene Dietrich more…

All Robert William Service poems | Robert William Service Books

7 fans

Discuss this Robert William Service poem analysis with the community:

0 Comments

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "The Judgement" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/32562/the-judgement>.

    Become a member!

    Join our community of poets and poetry lovers to share your work and offer feedback and encouragement to writers all over the world!

    More poems by

    Robert William Service

    »

    April 2024

    Poetry Contest

    Join our monthly contest for an opportunity to win cash prizes and attain global acclaim for your talent.
    2
    days
    11
    hours
    34
    minutes

    Special Program

    Earn Rewards!

    Unlock exciting rewards such as a free mug and free contest pass by commenting on fellow members' poems today!

    Browse Poetry.com

    Quiz

    Are you a poetry master?

    »
    Repeated use of words for effect and emphasis is called ________.
    A rhyme
    B assonance
    C repetition
    D rhythm