Analysis of Old Boy Scout
Robert William Service 1874 – 1958
A bonny bird I found today
Mired in a melt of tar;
Its silky breast was silver-grey,
Its wings were cinnabar.
So still it lay right in the way
Of every passing car.
Yet as I gently sought to pry
It loose, it glared at me;
You would have thought its foe was I,
It pecked so viciously;
So fiercely fought, as soft I sought
From death to set it free.
Its pinions pitifully frail
I wrested from the muck;
I feared the feathers of its tail
Would never come unstuck.
. . . The jewel-bright it flashed in flight -
Oh how I wished it luck!
With happiness my heart was light,
To see how fair it flew;
To do my good deed I delight,
As grey-haired scouts should do;
Yet oh my bright reward's to write
This simple rhyme for you!
Scheme | ABABAB CDCDXD EFEFGF GHGHGH |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 01011101 100111 11011101 11010 11111001 1100101 11110111 111111 11111111 111100 11011111 111111 1110001 110101 11010111 110101 01011101 111111 11001111 111111 11111101 111111 1111111 110111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 702 |
Words | 142 |
Sentences | 10 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 6, 6, 6, 6 |
Lines Amount | 24 |
Letters per line (avg) | 23 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 137 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 36 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 42 sec read
- 108 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"Old Boy Scout" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 18 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/32334/old-boy-scout>.
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