Analysis of A Hero
Robert William Service 1874 – 1958
Three times I had the lust to kill,
To clutch a throat so young and fair,
And squeeze with all my might until
No breath of being lingered there.
Three times I drove the demon out,
Though on my brow was evil sweat. . . .
And yet I know beyond a doubt
He'll get me yet, he'll get me yet.
I know I'm mad, I ought to tell
The doctors, let them care for me,
Confine me in a padded cell
And never, never set me free;
But Oh how cruel that would be!
For I am young - and comely too . . .
Yet dim my demon I can see,
And there is but one thing to do.
Three times I beat the foul fiend back;
The fourth, I know he will prevail,
And so I'll seek the railway track
And lay my head upon the rail,
And sight the dark and distant train,
And hear its thunder louder roll,
Coming to crush my cursed brain . . .
Oh God, have mercy on my soul!
Scheme | ABABCDCD EFEFFGFG HIHIJKJK |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 11110111 11011101 01111101 11110101 11110101 11111101 01110101 11111111 11111111 01011111 01100101 01010111 11110111 11110101 11110111 01111111 11110111 01111101 0111011 01110101 01010101 01110101 1011111 11110111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 810 |
Words | 172 |
Sentences | 16 |
Stanzas | 3 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8, 8 |
Lines Amount | 24 |
Letters per line (avg) | 25 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 203 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 60 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 15, 2023
- 52 sec read
- 121 Views
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