Analysis of Abraham Lincoln Walks at Midnight
Vachel Lindsay 1879 (Springfield) – 1931 (Springfield)
It is portentous, and a thing of state
That here at midnight, in our little town
A mourning figure walks, and will not rest,
Near the old court-house pacing up and down.
Or by his homestead, or in shadowed yards
He lingers where his children used to play,
Or through the market, on the well-worn stones
He stalks until the dawn-stars burn away.
A bronzed, lank man! His suit of ancient black,
A famous high top-hat and plain worn shawl
Make him the quaint great figure that men love,
The prairie-lawyer, master of us all.
He cannot sleep upon his hillside now.
He is among us: -- as in times before!
And we who toss and lie awake for long
Breathe deep, and start, to see him pass the door.
His head is bowed. He thinks on men and kings.
Yea, when the sick world cries, how can he sleep?
Too many peasants fight, they know not why,
Too many homesteads in black terror weep.
The sins of all the war-lords burn his heart.
He sees the dreadnaughts scouring every main.
He carries on his shawl-wrapped shoulders now
The bitterness, the folly and the pain.
He cannot rest until a spirit-dawn
Shall come; -- the shining hope of Europe free;
The league of sober folk, the Workers' Earth,
Bringing long peace to Cornwall, Alp and Sea.
It breaks his heart that kings must murder still,
That all his hours of travail here for men
Seem yet in vain. And who will bring white peace
That he may sleep upon his hill again?
Scheme | XAXA XBXB XCXC DEXE XFXF XGDG XHXH XIXI |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain |
Metre | 1101000111 1111010101 0101010111 1011110101 111110101 1101110111 1101010111 1101011101 0111111101 0101110111 1101110111 0101010111 110101111 1101110101 0111010111 1101111101 1111111101 1101111111 1101011111 110101101 0111011111 11011001001 1101111101 0100010001 1101010101 1101011101 0111010101 1011110101 1111111101 11110101111 1101011111 1111011101 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,383 |
Words | 264 |
Sentences | 18 |
Stanzas | 8 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 32 |
Letters per line (avg) | 34 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 136 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 33 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:19 min read
- 151 Views
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"Abraham Lincoln Walks at Midnight" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 23 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/37259/abraham-lincoln-walks-at-midnight>.
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