Analysis of Let Me Die a Youngman's Death



Let me die a youngman's death
not a clean and inbetween
the sheets holywater death
not a famous-last-words
peaceful out of breath death

When I'm 73
and in constant good tumour
may I be mown down at dawn
by a bright red sports car
on my way home
from an allnight party

Or when I'm 91
with silver hair
and sitting in a barber's chair
may rival gangsters
with hamfisted tommyguns burst in
and give me a short back and insides

Or when I'm 104
and banned from the Cavern
may my mistress
catching me in bed with her daughter
and fearing for her son
cut me up into little pieces
and throw away every piece but one

Let me die a youngman's death
not a free from sin tiptoe in
candle wax and waning death
not a curtains drawn by angels borne
'what a nice way to go' death


Scheme Abaxa cdbdxx cddxbx cbxdbxb Ababa
Poetic Form
Metre 111011 10101 0111 101011 101111 11 001011 1111111 101111 1111 11110 111 1101 01000101 11010 11110 011011001 111 011010 1110 101011010 010101 111011010 0101100111 111011 1011110 1010101 101011101 1011111
Closest metre Iambic trimeter
Characters 733
Words 150
Sentences 1
Stanzas 5
Stanza Lengths 5, 6, 6, 7, 5
Lines Amount 29
Letters per line (avg) 21
Words per line (avg) 5
Letters per stanza (avg) 120
Words per stanza (avg) 30
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Submitted by RobertHaigh on July 08, 2020

Modified on May 03, 2023

46 sec read
2,093

Roger McGough

Roger McGough was born in Liverpool and educated at St Mary's College and the University of Hull. He has been a writer for many years, and his numerous collections have established him as one of the most distinctive and powerful voices in contemporary poetry. more…

All Roger McGough poems | Roger McGough Books

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