Analysis of Perfection
Robert William Service 1874 – 1958
If I could practise what I preach,
Of fellows there would few be finer;
If I were true to what I teach
My life would be a lot diviner.
If I would act the way I speak,
Of halo I might be a winner:
The spirit wills, the flesh is weak,--
I'm just a simple sinner.
Six days I stray,--on number seven
I try to be a little better,
And stake a tiny claim on Heaven
By clinging close to gospel letter.
My pew I occupy on Sunday,
And though I draw the line at snoring,
I must admit I long for Monday,
And find the sermon boring.
Although from godly grace I fall,
For sensed with sin my every act is,
'Twere better not to preach at all,
Then I would have no need to practice.
So Sabbath day I'll sneak away,
And though the Church grieve my defection,
In sunny woodland I will pray:
"God save us from Perfection!"
Scheme | ABABCBCB DBDBEFXF GXGXEDED |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1111111 110111110 11011111 1111011 11110111 110111010 01010111 1101010 111111010 111101010 010101110 110111010 1111011 011101110 110111110 0101010 1110111 1111110011 11011111 111111110 11011101 010111010 0101111 1111010 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 823 |
Words | 166 |
Sentences | 7 |
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) | 54 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 50 sec read
- 89 Views
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"Perfection" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 6 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/32357/perfection>.
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