Analysis of The Old School Clock
John Boyle O'Reilly 1844 (Dowth) – 1890 (Boston)
'Twas a quaint old clock with a quaint old face,
and great iron weights and chain.
It stopped when it liked, and before it struck
it creaked as if 'twere in pain.
It had seen many years, and it seemed to say,
'I'm one of the real old stock',
To the youthful fry, who with reverence looked
on the face of the old school clock.
What a terrible frown did the old clock wear
to the truant who timidly cast
An anxious eye on those merciless hands,
that for him had been moving too fast!
But its frown soon changed, for it loved to smile
on the thoughtless, noisy flock,
And it creaked and whirred, and struck with glee,
Did that genial, good humoured old clock.
Well, years had passed, and my mind was filled
with the world, its cares and ways,
When again I stood in that little school
where I passed my boyhood days.
My old friend was gone! And there hung a thing
that my sorrow seemed to mock,
As I gazed with a tear and a softened heart
at a new-fashioned Yankee clock.
'Tis the way of the world. Old friends pass away
and fresh faces arise in their stead.
But still 'mid the din and bustle of life
we cherish fond thoughts of the dead.
Yes, dearly those memories cling round my heart,
and bravely withstand Time's rude shock;
But not one is more dear or more hallowed to me
than the face of that old school clock.
Scheme | XAXABCXCXDXDXCECXFXFXCGC BHXHGCEC |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1011110111 0110101 1111100111 1111101 11110101111 1110111 10101111001 10110111 10100110111 101011001 1101111001 111111011 1111111111 1010101 011010111 11101111 111101111 1011101 1011101101 111111 1111101101 1110111 11110100101 10110101 10110111101 011001011 1110101011 11011101 11011001111 01001111 111111111011 10111111 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,349 |
Words | 255 |
Sentences | 13 |
Stanzas | 2 |
Stanza Lengths | 24, 8 |
Lines Amount | 32 |
Letters per line (avg) | 32 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 509 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 127 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 08, 2023
- 1:17 min read
- 95 Views
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"The Old School Clock" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/22067/the-old-school-clock>.
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