The men that dont fit it by robert service
There's a race of men that don't fit in,
A race that can't stay still;
So they break the hearts of kith and kin,
And they roam the world at will.
They range the field and they rove the flood,
And they climb the mountain's crest;
Theirs is the curse of the gypsy blood,
And they don't know how to rest.
If they just went straight they might go far;
They are strong and brave and true;
But they're always tired of the things that are,
And they want the strange and new.
They say: "Could I find my proper groove,
What a deep mark I would make!"
So they chop and change, and each fresh move
Is only a fresh mistake.
And each forgets, as he strips and runs
With a brilliant, fitful pace,
It's the steady, quiet, plodding ones
Who win in the lifelong race.
And each forgets that his youth has fled,
Forgets that his prime is past,
Till he stands one day, with a hope that's dead,
In the glare of the truth at last.
He has failed, he has failed; he has missed his chance;
He has just done things by half.
Life's been a jolly good joke on him,
And now is the time to laugh.
Ha, ha! He is one of the Legion Lost;
He was never meant to win;
He's a rolling stone, and it's bred in the bone;
He's a man who won't fit in.
A race that can't stay still;
So they break the hearts of kith and kin,
And they roam the world at will.
They range the field and they rove the flood,
And they climb the mountain's crest;
Theirs is the curse of the gypsy blood,
And they don't know how to rest.
If they just went straight they might go far;
They are strong and brave and true;
But they're always tired of the things that are,
And they want the strange and new.
They say: "Could I find my proper groove,
What a deep mark I would make!"
So they chop and change, and each fresh move
Is only a fresh mistake.
And each forgets, as he strips and runs
With a brilliant, fitful pace,
It's the steady, quiet, plodding ones
Who win in the lifelong race.
And each forgets that his youth has fled,
Forgets that his prime is past,
Till he stands one day, with a hope that's dead,
In the glare of the truth at last.
He has failed, he has failed; he has missed his chance;
He has just done things by half.
Life's been a jolly good joke on him,
And now is the time to laugh.
Ha, ha! He is one of the Legion Lost;
He was never meant to win;
He's a rolling stone, and it's bred in the bone;
He's a man who won't fit in.
Robert William Service was born 1874 January 16 in Preston, Lancashire, England. At the age of 5 he was forced to go live with his paternal grandfather, where he was said to have composed his first verse. At the age of nine he moved to Glasgow with his parents, from there he went to high school and lived out a normal life. At the age of 21 he moved to British Columbia, Canada where he remained for his whole life.
I know he is a reliable source because he is famous, and I personally have heard his poems before. He is also known as the bard of the Yukon. He has many published books on and about his poetry. I also got this poem from a published book that I got from my teacher.
I choose this poem because it uses metaphors instead of directly saying what he means. This whole poem is made up of metaphors, the author is talking about a race of men but what his is really saying is the is a group of people who don’t fit into the social pyramid and are bullied because they don’t know where they fit in. This poem fits with my theme because it is discussing the people who are left out and excluded.
The poetic form of this poem is ABAB, this a classic rhyming scheme where lines 1 and 3 rhyme and lines 2 and 4 rhyme. It can be overused but I think it works very well with this poem. It creates a nice flow to the poem but I think if any other poetic form was used it would be just as effective.
The literary devices in this poem are extremely prominent because the entire poem is made of metaphors. A few examples of this are;
“He’s a rolling stone” this is a metaphor because he is not literally a rolling stone. He is just comparing himself to one.
The entire poem is an extended metaphor. The poem is taking about a race, which if you won would allow you to fit in and be accepted as normal.
“And its bred into the bone” this is an example of a hyperbole. Being different and not fitting in is not literally born in your bones, but in the way it is referred to it is something that’s part of you, something that you cant get rid of.
These literary devices make the poem more effective because they help the author and poem come across smoother and reinforce the main point of the poem.
I know he is a reliable source because he is famous, and I personally have heard his poems before. He is also known as the bard of the Yukon. He has many published books on and about his poetry. I also got this poem from a published book that I got from my teacher.
I choose this poem because it uses metaphors instead of directly saying what he means. This whole poem is made up of metaphors, the author is talking about a race of men but what his is really saying is the is a group of people who don’t fit into the social pyramid and are bullied because they don’t know where they fit in. This poem fits with my theme because it is discussing the people who are left out and excluded.
The poetic form of this poem is ABAB, this a classic rhyming scheme where lines 1 and 3 rhyme and lines 2 and 4 rhyme. It can be overused but I think it works very well with this poem. It creates a nice flow to the poem but I think if any other poetic form was used it would be just as effective.
The literary devices in this poem are extremely prominent because the entire poem is made of metaphors. A few examples of this are;
“He’s a rolling stone” this is a metaphor because he is not literally a rolling stone. He is just comparing himself to one.
The entire poem is an extended metaphor. The poem is taking about a race, which if you won would allow you to fit in and be accepted as normal.
“And its bred into the bone” this is an example of a hyperbole. Being different and not fitting in is not literally born in your bones, but in the way it is referred to it is something that’s part of you, something that you cant get rid of.
These literary devices make the poem more effective because they help the author and poem come across smoother and reinforce the main point of the poem.