Analysis of Mactavish
Robert William Service 1874 – 1958
I do not write for love of pelf,
Nor lust for phantom fame;
I do not rhyme to please myself,
Nor yet to win acclaim:
No, strange to say it is my plan,
What gifts I have, to lavish
Upon a simple working man
MACTAVISH.
For that's the rather smeary name,
Of dreary toil a hinter,
That heads the galley proofs that came
This morning from my printer;
My patient pencil much they need,
Yet how my eyes they ravish,
As at the top of each I read:
MACTAVISH.
Who is the meek and modest man,
Who puffs no doubt a pipe,
And has my manuscript to scan,
And put in magic type?
Somehow I'm glad that he is not
Iberian or Slavish -
I hail him as a brother Scot,
MACTAVISH.
I do not want to bore him with
My work, I make it snappy;
For even though his name were Smith,
I'd like him to be happy.
I hope, because I'm stumped for rhyme,
He will not think me knavish,
If I should call him just this time:
MACTAVISH.
Forgive me, Friend Mactavish. I
No doubt have cost you curses;
I'm sorry for you as you try
To put my type in verses;
And though new names I know you by,
When of new books creator,
I'll always look on you as my
COLLABORATOR.
Scheme | ababcdcD bebexdxD cfcfgdgD xhxhidiD jxexjeje |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Etheree (28%) Tetractys (20%) |
Metre | 11111111 111101 1111111 111101 11111111 1111110 01010101 010 1101011 110101 11010111 1101110 11010111 111111 11011111 010 11010101 111101 0111011 010101 1111111 0100110 11110101 010 11111111 1111110 11011101 1111110 11011111 111111 11111111 010 01110101 1111110 11011111 1111010 01111111 1111010 1111111 0100 |
Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
Characters | 1,128 |
Words | 228 |
Sentences | 9 |
Stanzas | 5 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8, 8, 8, 8 |
Lines Amount | 40 |
Letters per line (avg) | 21 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 170 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 45 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 14, 2023
- 1:10 min read
- 78 Views
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"Mactavish" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 30 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/32232/mactavish>.
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