Analysis of The Dying Bard
Sir Walter Scott 1771 (College Wynd, Edinburgh) – 1832 (Abbotsford, Roxburghshire)
I.
Dinas Emlinn, lament; for the moment is nigh,
When mute in the woodlands thine echoes shall die:
No more by sweet Teivi Cadwallon shall rave,
And mix his wild notes with the wild dashing wave.
II.
In spring and in autumn thy glories of shade
Unhonour'd shall flourish, unhonour'd shall fade;
For soon shall be lifeless the eye and the tongue,
That view'd them with rapture, with rapture that sung.
III.
Thy sons, Dinas Emlinn, may march in their pride,
And chase the proud Saxon from Prestatyn's side;
But where is the harp shall give life to their name?
And where is the bard shall give heroes their fame?
IV.
And oh, Dinas Emlinn! thy daughters so fair,
Who heave the white bosom, and wave the dark hair;
What tuneful enthusiast shall worship their eye,
When half of their charms with Cadwallon shall die?
V.
Then adieu, silver Teivi! I quit thy loved scene,
To join the dim choir of the bards who have been;
With Lewarch, and Meilor, and Merlin the Old,
And sage Taliessin, high harping to hold.
VI.
And Adieu, Dinas Emlinn! still green be thy shades,
Unconquer'd thy warriors, and matchless thy maids!
And thou, whose faint warblings my weakness can tell,
Farewell, my loved Harp! my last treasure, farewell!
Scheme | AAABB ACCDD AEEFF BGGAA XXXHH AIIJJ |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Tetractys (20%) |
Metre | 1 1101101011 1100111011 11111111 01111101101 1 01001011011 1110111 11111001001 11111011011 1 111111011 010110111 11101111111 01101111011 1 011111011 11011001011 11001011011 111111111 1 10110111111 110110101111 110101001 01111011 1 0011111111 111000111 0111111011 111111101 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,194 |
Words | 217 |
Sentences | 19 |
Stanzas | 6 |
Stanza Lengths | 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5 |
Lines Amount | 30 |
Letters per line (avg) | 32 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 158 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 36 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 25, 2023
- 1:06 min read
- 36 Views
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