Analysis of Celebates
Robert William Service 1874 – 1958
They must not wed the Doctor said,
For they were far from strong,
And children of their marriage bed
Might not live overlong.
And yet each eve I saw them pass
With rapt and eager air,
As fit a seeming lad and lass
As ought to pair.
For twenty years I went away
And scoured the China Sea,
Then homing came and found that they
Were still sweet company.
The Doctor and the Priest had banned
Three times their wedding ties,
Yet they were walking hand in hand,
Love in their eyes.
And then I went away again
For years another score,
And sailored all the Spanish Main
Ere I returned once more;
And now I see them pass my gate,
So slow and stooped and grey,
And when I asked them: "Why not mate?"
"We do," they say.
"No priest and village bells we need,
No Doctor to approve;
The Lord has wedded us indeed
With everlasting love.
How wonderful to understand
The working of His will!
Lo! We are walking hand in hand,
And sweethearts still."
Scheme | ABABCDCD EFEFGHGH XIXIJEJE KXKXGLGL |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 11110101 110111 01011101 1111 01111111 110101 11010101 1111 11011101 0100101 11010111 011100 01000111 111101 11010101 1011 01110101 110101 0110101 110111 01111111 110101 01111111 1111 11010111 110101 01110101 10101 1100101 010111 11110101 011 |
Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
Characters | 1,050 |
Words | 183 |
Sentences | 11 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8, 8, 8 |
Lines Amount | 32 |
Letters per line (avg) | 23 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 181 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 45 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 54 sec read
- 62 Views
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"Celebates" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 6 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/32042/celebates>.
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