Analysis of The Sewing-Girl
Robert William Service 1874 – 1958
The humble garret where I dwell
Is in that Quarter called the Latin;
It isn't spacious -- truth to tell,
There's hardly room to swing a cat in.
But what of that! It's there I fight
For food and fame, my Muse inviting,
And all the day and half the night
You'll find me writing, writing, writing.
Now, it was in the month of May
As, wrestling with a rhyme rheumatic,
I chanced to look across the way,
And lo! within a neighbor attic,
A hand drew back the window shade,
And there, a picture glad and glowing,
I saw a sweet and slender maid,
And she was sewing, sewing, sewing.
So poor the room, so small, so scant,
Yet somehow oh, so bright and airy.
There was a pink geranium plant,
Likewise a very pert canary.
And in the maiden's heart it seemed
Some fount of gladness must be springing,
For as alone I sadly dreamed
I heard her singing, singing, singing.
God love her! how it cheered me then
To see her there so brave and pretty;
So she with needle, I with pen,
We slaved and sang above the city.
And as across my streams of ink
I watched her from a poet's distance,
She stitched and sang . . . I scarcely think
She was aware of my existence.
And then one day she sang no more.
That put me out, there's no denying.
I looked -- she labored as before,
But, bless me! she was crying, crying.
Her poor canary chirped in vain;
Her pink geranium drooped in sorrow;
"Of course," said I, "she'll sing again.
Maybe," I sighed, "she will to-morrow."
Poor child; 'twas finished with her song:
Day after day her tears were flowing;
And as I wondered what was wrong
She pined and peaked above her sewing.
And then one day the blind she drew,
Ah! though I sought with vain endeavor
To pierce the darkness, well I knew
My sewing-girl had gone for ever.
And as I sit alone to-night
My eyes unto her room are turning . . .
I'd give the sum of all I write
Once more to see her candle burning,
Once more to glimpse her happy face,
And while my rhymes of cheer I'm ringing,
Across the sunny sweep of space
To hear her singing, singing, singing.
Scheme | AXAXBCBC DEDEFCFC GHGHICIC JHJHKLKL MCMCXNJN OCOCPQPQ BCBCRCRC |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 01010111 101101010 11010111 110111010 11111111 110111010 01010101 111101010 11100111 110101010 11110101 010101010 01110101 010101010 11010101 011101010 11011111 11111010 110101001 10101010 0001111 11111110 11011101 110101010 11011111 110111010 11110111 110101010 01011111 110101010 11011101 110111010 01111111 111111010 11110101 111111010 01010101 0101001010 11111101 101111110 11110101 110101010 01110111 110101010 01110111 111111010 11010111 110111110 01110111 111001110 11011111 111101010 11110101 011111110 01010111 110101010 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,978 |
Words | 390 |
Sentences | 28 |
Stanzas | 7 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8 |
Lines Amount | 56 |
Letters per line (avg) | 27 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 219 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 56 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:59 min read
- 120 Views
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"The Sewing-Girl" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 27 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/32642/the-sewing-girl>.
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