Analysis of Anti-Profanity
Robert William Service 1874 – 1958
I do not swear because I am
A sweet and sober guy;
I cannot vent a single damn
However hard I try.
And in viruperative way,
Though I recall it well,
I never, never, never say
A naughty word like hell.
To rouse my wrath you need not try,
I'm milder than a lamb;
However you may rile me I
Refuse to say: Goddam!
In circumstances fury-fraught
My tongue is always civil,
And though you goad me I will not
Consign you to the divvle.
An no, I never, never swear;
Profanity don't pay;
To cuss won't get you anywhere,
(And neither will to pray.)
And so all blasphemy I stem.
When milk of kindness curds:
But though I never utter them -
Gosh! how I know the words.
Scheme | ABABCDCD BABAXXXD ECECFGFG |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 11110111 010101 11010101 10111 0011 11111 11010101 010111 11111111 110101 1011111 01111 0100101 111110 01111111 011101 11110101 010011 1111110 010111 01110011 111101 11110101 111101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 640 |
Words | 132 |
Sentences | 9 |
Stanzas | 3 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8, 8 |
Lines Amount | 24 |
Letters per line (avg) | 21 |
Words per line (avg) | 5 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 166 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 43 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 40 sec read
- 64 Views
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"Anti-Profanity" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 27 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/31984/anti-profanity>.
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