Form and Meter
Sometimes poets like to mess around with the rhyme or the rhythm of their poems. We here at Shmoop thinks that's cool, but sometimes you can really wear yourself out trying to figure it out. Not...
Speaker
We imagine the speaker of this poem as a kind of melodramatic actor. We can just see this guy – a little tubby, maybe a goatee, some heavy stage makeup, knee-pants, and a ruffly shirt. He's a re...
Setting
Ever been to see The Phantom of the Opera? If so, you'll know exactly what we're talking about when we say that we imagine this poem taking place in a big old cavern of a theater, filled with cobw...
Sound Check
We hear two sounds running through this poem, two rhythms, two tones that intermingle and reinforce each other. We picked musical instruments to capture the spirit of each, but let's see if you ca...
What's Up With the Title?
Well, Robert Service is a pretty straightforward guy, and here he basically just tells us what this poem is about: the end of a year. Still, that's important. The title sets our expectations for...
Calling Card
Robert Service wrote poems for people everywhere to love, memorize, treasure, and pass onto their kids. This isn't poetry to twist your brain into knots or to write a long, dry book about. This i...
Tough-o-Meter
There are some quick shifts in this poem, and it can be a little hard to figure out the slightly wacky central metaphor. With a little hand up from Shmoop, though, we think this should be an easy...
Trivia
An apple variety was named after Robert Service in 1908, but apparently it was lousy. Can't really blame him for that, though, can we? (source)Robert Service wrote 45 books of poetry. 45! (s...
Steaminess Rating
Sorry folks. Nothing steamy here at all – not even a glimmer.