Analysis of A New Song to an Old Tune
William Ernest Henley 1849 (Gloucester) – 1903 (Woking)
SONS of Shannon, Tamar, Trent,
Men of the Lothians, Men of Kent,
Essex, Wessex, shore and shire,
Mates of the net, the mine, the fire,
Lads of the wheel and desk and loom,
Noble and trader, squire and groom,
Come where the bugles of England play,
'Over the hills and far away!'
Southern Cross and Polar Star --
Here are the Britons bred afar;
Serry, O serry them, fierce and keen,
Under the flag of the Empress-Queen;
Shoulder to shoulder down the track,
Where, to the unretreating Jack,
The victor bugles of England play,
'Over the hills and far away!'
What if the best of our wages be
An empty sleeve, a stiff-set knee,
A crutch for the rest of life -- who cares,
So long as the One Flag floats and dares?
So long as the One Race dares and grows?
Death -- what is death but God's own rose?
Let but the bugles of England play,
'Over the hills and far away!'
Scheme | aaxxbbcC ddeeffcC gghhiicC |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 111011 1101111 1010101 110101010 11010101 10010101 110101101 10010101 1010101 11010101 1111101 100110101 10110101 11011 010101101 10010101 1101110101 11010111 011011111 111011101 111011101 11111111 110101101 10010101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 843 |
Words | 169 |
Sentences | 7 |
Stanzas | 3 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8, 8 |
Lines Amount | 24 |
Letters per line (avg) | 27 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 215 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 55 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 28, 2023
- 50 sec read
- 96 Views
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"A New Song to an Old Tune" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 14 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/40428/a-new-song-to-an-old-tune>.
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