Profane Poet

Read 'Profane Poet' by 'Robert William Service' and provide your summary and literary analysis in the comments section below.

Profane Poet by Robert William Service

 Oh how it would enable me
 To titillate my vanity
If you should choose to label me
 A Poet of Profanity!
For I've been known with vulgar slang
 To stoke the Sacred Fire,
And even used a word like 'hang',
 Suggesting ire.

Yea, I've been slyly told, although
 It savours of inanity,
In print the ladies often show
 A failing for profanity.
So to delight the dears I try,
 And often in the past
In fabricating sonnets I
 Have fulminated: 'Blast!'

I know I shock the sober folk
 Who doubt my lyric sanity,
And readers of my rhyme provoke
 By publishing profanity,
But oh a hale and hearty curse
 Is very dear to me,
And so I end this bit of verse
 With d-- and d-- and d--!

Form: Light Verse Comments

Comments About This Poem

Share your interpretation, favorite passage, or thoughts about this famous poem. Please provide an in-depth and meaningful comment.

  • What do you think the poet was trying to say?
  • Which line had the biggest impact on you?
  • How does this poem relate to modern life?
  • What literary devices did you notice?
No comments have been posted yet. Be the first to share your thoughts.
Get a Premium Membership
Turn off ads, get more exposure for your poetry, and get more features with a Premium Membership.
Book: Diverse Voices: The Poetry of Human Rights and the Pursuit of Peace