Analysis of The Dead-beat
Wilfred Owen 1893 (Oswestry) – 1918 (Sambre–Oise Canal)
He dropped, - more sullenly than wearily,
Lay stupid like a cod, heavy like meat,
And none of us could kick him to his feet;
-just blinked at my revolver, blearily;
- Didn't appear to know a war was on,
Or see the blasted trench at which he stared.
'I'll do 'em in,' he whined. 'If this hand's spared,
I'll murder them, I will.'
A low voice said,
'It's Blighty, p'raps, he sees; his pluck's all gone,
Dreaming of all the valiant, that aren't dead:
Bold uncles, smiling ministerially;
Maybe his brave young wife, getting her fun
In some new home, improved materially.
It's not these stiffs have crazed him; nor the Hun.'
We sent him down at last, out of the way.
Unwounded; - stout lad, too, before that strafe.
Malingering? Stretcher-bearers winked, 'Not half!'
Next day I heard the Doc's well-whiskied laugh:
'That scum you sent last night soon died. Hooray!'
Scheme | ABBAXCCX DXDAEAE FXG GF |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Tetractys (25%) |
Metre | 11111100 1101011011 0111111111 11110101 1001110111 1101011111 1110111111 110111 0111 1111111111 10110101101 110101 1011111001 01110101000 1111111101 1111111101 11110111 11010111 111101111 1111111101 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 868 |
Words | 160 |
Sentences | 12 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 7, 3, 2 |
Lines Amount | 20 |
Letters per line (avg) | 32 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 160 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 38 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on May 01, 2023
- 49 sec read
- 150 Views
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