Analysis of On The Photograph Of A Corps Commander
Herman Melville 1819 – 1891
Ay, man is manly. Here you see
The warrior-carriage of the head,
And brave dilation of the frame;
And lighting all, the soul that led
In Spottsylvania's charge to victory,
Which justifies his fame.
A cheering picture. It is good
To look upon a Chief like this,
In whom the spirit moulds the form.
Here favoring Nature, oft remiss,
With eagle mien expressive has endued
A man to kindle strains that warm.
Trace back his lineage, and his sires,
Yeoman or noble, you shall find
Enrolled with men of Agincourt,
Heroes who shared great Harry's mind.
Down to us come the knightly Norman fires,
And front the Templars bore.
Nothing can lift the heart of man
Like manhood in a fellow-man.
The thought of heaven's great King afar
But humbles us--too weak to scan;
But manly greatness men can span,
And feel the bonds that draw.
Scheme | ABCBAC XDEDXE XFXFXX GGXGGX |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 11110111 010010101 01010101 01010111 0111100 11011 01010111 11010111 01010101 110010101 1101010101 01110111 111100011 10110111 0111110 10111101 11110101010 010101 10110111 1100101 011101101 11011111 11010111 010111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 803 |
Words | 148 |
Sentences | 10 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 6, 6, 6, 6 |
Lines Amount | 24 |
Letters per line (avg) | 27 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 161 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 37 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 15, 2023
- 45 sec read
- 59 Views
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"On The Photograph Of A Corps Commander" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 22 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/19092/on-the-photograph-of-a-corps-commander>.
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