Analysis of Prologue

James McIntyre 1828 (Forres) – 1906



My friends, we sing Canadian themes,
For in them we proudly glory;
Her lakes, her rivers and her streams,
Worthy of renown in story.
And in these leaves we hope is strewn
Some wheat among the chaff
And maple boughs, by rude axe hewn
Where one may find a rustic staff
To help him o'er the rugged lines.
Some see no beauties near to home,
But do admire the distant far -
They always love abroad to roam,
View glory in but far off star;
But, let it never be forgot
That distant hills, when closer seen,
Are after all a barren spot -
Not like your own hills, clad in green.
You'll find they are but idle dreams,
To search for happiness afar:
At home there's lovely lakes and streams,
Remain content now where you are.
At us we hope you will not rage
Because we sing of local charms
In each varied town and village,
As well as round our rural farms.
But our address it must be brief,
So we bid you now all adieu;
But, of our book, pray read each leaf,
Until the whole you have gone through;
Each one doth know it is not wise,
Though our song may not be vocal,
Chants of our home for to despise,
But prize them 'cause they are local.


Scheme ABABCDCDEFGFGHIHIAGAGJKLKMNMNOPOP
Poetic Form
Metre 111101001 10111010 01010001 10101010 00111111 110101 01011111 11110101 111100101 11110111 11010101 1110111 11001111 11110101 11011101 11010101 11111101 11111101 11110001 11110101 01101111 11111111 01111101 01101010 111110101 11011111 11111101 111011111 01011111 11111111 110111110 111011101 11111110
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 1,103
Words 224
Sentences 7
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 33
Lines Amount 33
Letters per line (avg) 26
Words per line (avg) 7
Letters per stanza (avg) 868
Words per stanza (avg) 222
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

1:08 min read
53

James McIntyre

James McIntyre, minstrel performer, vaudeville and theatrical actor, and a partner in the famous blackface tramp comedy duo act McIntyre and Heath. more…

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