Analysis of Poor Peter
Robert William Service 1874 – 1958
Blind Peter Piper used to play
All up and down the city;
I'd often meet him on my way,
And throw a coin for pity.
But all amid his sparkling tones
His ear was quick as any
To catch upon the cobble-stones
The jingle of my penny.
And as upon a day that shone
He piped a merry measure:
"How well you play!" I chanced to say;
Poor Peter glowed with pleasure.
You'd think the words of praise I spoke
Were all the pay he needed;
The artist in the player woke,
The penny lay unheeded.
Now Winter's here; the wind is shrill,
His coat is thin and tattered;
Yet hark! he's playing trill on trill
As if his music mattered.
And somehow though the city looks
Soaked through and through with shadows,
He makes you think of singing brooks
And larks and sunny meadows.
Poor chap! he often starves, they say;
Well, well, I can believe it;
For when you chuck a coin his way
He'll let some street-boy thieve it.
I fear he freezes in the night;
My praise I've long repented,
Yet look! his face is all alight . . .
Blind Peter seems contented.
Scheme | ABABCBCB XDADEFEG HIHIJKJK ALALMGMF |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 11010111 1101010 11011111 0101110 11011101 1111110 11010101 0101110 01010111 1101010 11111111 1101110 11011111 0101110 01000101 0101010 11010111 1111010 11110111 1111010 0110101 110111 11111101 010101 11110111 1111011 11110111 1111111 11110001 1111010 11111101 1101010 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 999 |
Words | 198 |
Sentences | 16 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8, 8, 8 |
Lines Amount | 32 |
Letters per line (avg) | 24 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 196 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 50 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:00 min read
- 86 Views
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"Poor Peter" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 6 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/32370/poor-peter>.
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