Analysis of Two Men (J. L. And R. B.)
Robert William Service 1874 – 1958
In the Northland there were three
Pukka Pliers of the pen;
Two of them had Fame in fee
And were loud and lusty men;
By them like a shrimp was I -
Yet alas! they had to die.
Jack was genius through and through.
Who his future could foretell?
What we sweated blood to do
He would deem a bagatelle.
Yet in youth he had to die,
And an ancient man am I.
Rex was rugged as an oak;
Story-teller born was he.
First of writing, fighting folk,
How he lived prodigiously!
Better man he was than I,
Yet forlorn he had to die.
Jack was made of god-like stuff,
Born to battle for the right;
Rex of fighting had enough
When the gods destroyed his sight . . .
Craven heart - I wonder why
Lingering alone am I?
They were men of valiant breed,
Fit and fearless in the fight,
Who in every thought and deed
Burned the flame of life too bright.
Cowards live, while heroes die . . .
They have gone and - here am I.
Scheme | ABABCC DEDECC FAFACC GHGHCC IHIHCC |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Etheree (30%) |
Metre | 001101 110101 1111101 0010101 1110111 1011111 1110101 1110101 1110111 11101 1011111 0110111 1110111 1010111 1110101 1110100 1011111 1011111 1111111 1110101 1110101 1010111 1011101 1000111 1011101 1010001 10100101 1011111 1011101 1110111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 871 |
Words | 177 |
Sentences | 19 |
Stanzas | 5 |
Stanza Lengths | 6, 6, 6, 6, 6 |
Lines Amount | 30 |
Letters per line (avg) | 23 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 135 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 36 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 53 sec read
- 89 Views
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"Two Men (J. L. And R. B.)" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 6 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/32725/two-men-%28j.-l.-and-r.-b.%29>.
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