Analysis of At a Calvary Near the Ancre

Wilfred Owen 1893 (Oswestry) – 1918 (Sambre–Oise Canal)



One ever hangs where shelled roads part.
In this war He too lost a limb,
But His disciples hide apart;
And now the Soldiers bear with Him.

Near Golgotha strolls many a priest,
And in their faces there is pride
That they were flesh-marked by the Beast
By whom the gentle Christ's denied

The scribes on all the people shove
And bawl allegiance to the state,
But they who love the greater love
Lay down their life; they do not hate


Scheme ABAB CDCD EFEF
Poetic Form Traditional rhyme
Quatrain 
Metre 11011111 01111101 11010101 01010111 1111001 00110111 11011101 11010101 01110101 01010101 11110101 11111111
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 436
Words 83
Sentences 3
Stanzas 3
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4
Lines Amount 12
Letters per line (avg) 28
Words per line (avg) 7
Letters per stanza (avg) 113
Words per stanza (avg) 27
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 31, 2023

25 sec read
448

Wilfred Owen

Wilfred Edward Salter Owen MC was an English poet and soldier, one of the leading poets of the First World War. more…

All Wilfred Owen poems | Wilfred Owen Books

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