Analysis of Gangrene
Robert William Service 1874 – 1958
So often in the mid of night
I wake me in my bed
With utter panic of affright
To find my feet are dead;
And pace the floor to easy my pain
And make them live again.
The folks at home are so discreet;
They see me walk and walk
To keep the blood-flow in my feet,
And though they never talk
I've heard them whisper: 'Mother may
Have them cut off some day.'
Cut off my feet! I'd rather die . . .
And yet the years of pain,
When in the darkness I will lie
And pray to God in vain,
Thinking in agony: Oh why
Can doctors not annul our breath
In honourable death?
Scheme | ABABCX DEDEFF GCGCGHH |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 11000111 111011 1101011 111111 010111011 011101 01111101 111101 11011011 011101 11110101 111111 11111101 010111 10010111 011101 10010011 110110101 011 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 635 |
Words | 117 |
Sentences | 8 |
Stanzas | 3 |
Stanza Lengths | 6, 6, 7 |
Lines Amount | 19 |
Letters per line (avg) | 22 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 140 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 39 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 35 sec read
- 244 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"Gangrene" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/32141/gangrene>.
Discuss this Robert William Service poem analysis with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In