Analysis of The Old General
Robert William Service 1874 – 1958
Little Annabelle to please,
(Lacking grace, I grant),
Grandpa down on hands and knees
Plays the elephant.
Annabelle shrieks with delight,
Bouncing up and down,
On his back and holding tight
To his dressing gown.
As they roll and bowl along,
Round and round the room,
There is sunshine and a song
'Spite December gloom.
Yet we hear not Grandpa's groans,
Hushed his beard inside,
As his old rheumatic bones
Ache with every stride.
He has known his golden days,
Soldiered with the best;
And to prove the people's praise
Medals bright his breast.
Yet though his renown we chant,
How we love him well
When he plays the elephant
Just for Annabelle!
Scheme | ABACDEDE FGFGHIHI JKJKBXCX |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1010011 10111 111101 10100 1001101 10101 1110101 11101 1110101 10101 111001 10101 111111 11101 1110101 111001 1111101 1101 0110101 10111 1110111 11111 1110100 11100 |
Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
Characters | 687 |
Words | 115 |
Sentences | 7 |
Stanzas | 3 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8, 8 |
Lines Amount | 24 |
Letters per line (avg) | 21 |
Words per line (avg) | 5 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 169 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 38 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 35 sec read
- 39 Views
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