Analysis of The Pretty Lady
Robert William Service 1874 – 1958
He asked the lady in the train
If he might smoke: she smiled consent.
So lighting his cigar and fain
To talk he puffed away content,
Reflecting: how delightful are
Fair dame and fine cigar.
Then from his bulging wallet he
A photograph with pride displayed,
His charming wife and children three,
When suddenly he was dismayed
To hear her say: 'These notes you've got,--
I want the lot.'
He scarcely could believe his ears.
He laughed: 'The money isn't mine.
To pay it back would take me years,
And so politely I decline.
Madame, I think you speak in fun:
Have you a gun?'
She smiled. 'No weapon have I got,
Only my virtue, but I swear
If you don't hand me out the lot
I'll rip my blouse, let down my hair,
Denounce you as a fiend accurst . . .'
He told her: 'Do your worst.'
She did. Her silken gown she tore,
Let down her locks and pulled the cord
That stopped the train, and from the floor
She greeted engineer and guard:
'I fought and fought in vain,' she cried.
'Save me,--I'm terrified!'
The man was calm; he stood aloof.
Said he: 'Her game you understand;
But if you doubt, behold the proof
Of innocence is in my hand.'
And as they stared into the car
They saw his logic in a flash . . .
Aloft he held a lit cigar
With two inches of ash.
Scheme | ABABCC DEDEFF GHGHII FJFJBX KXKXLL MNMNCOCO |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 11010001 11111101 11010101 11110110 01010101 110101 11110101 0101101 11010101 11001101 11011111 1101 11010111 11010101 11111111 01010101 10111101 1101 11110111 10110111 11111101 11111111 0111011 110111 11010111 11010101 11010101 11010101 11010111 11110 01111101 1101101 11110101 11001011 01110101 11110001 01110101 111011 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,303 |
Words | 247 |
Sentences | 22 |
Stanzas | 6 |
Stanza Lengths | 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 8 |
Lines Amount | 38 |
Letters per line (avg) | 25 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 155 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 40 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:13 min read
- 104 Views
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"The Pretty Lady" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 30 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/32619/the-pretty-lady>.
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