Analysis of The Burial of Mr. Gladstone
William Topaz McGonagall 1825 – 1902 (Greyfriars Parish, Edinburgh)
Alas! the people now do sigh and moan
For the loss of Wm. Ewart Gladstone,
Who was a very great politician and a moral man,
And to gainsay it there's few people can.
'Twas in the year of 1898, and on the 19th of May,
When his soul took its flight for ever and aye,
And his body was interred in Westminster Abbey;
But I hope his soul has gone to that Heavenly shore,
Where all trials and troubles cease for evermore.
He was a man of great intellect and genius bright,
And ever faithful to his Queen by day and by night,
And always foremost in a political fight;
And for his services to mankind, God will him requite.
The funeral procession was affecting to see,
Thousands of people were assembled there, of every degree;
And it was almost eleven o'clock when the procession left Westminster Hall,
And the friends of the deceased were present- physicians and all.
A large force of police was also present there,
And in the faces of the spectators there was a pitiful air,
Yet they were orderly in every way,
And newspaper boys were selling publications without delay.
Present in the procession was Lord Playfair,
And Bailie Walcot was also there,
Also Mr Macpherson of Edinboro-
And all seemingly to be in profound sorrow.
The supporters of the coffin were the Earl Rosebery,
And the Right Honourable Earl of Kimberley,
And the Right Honourable Sir W. Vernon he was there,
And His Royal Highness the Duke of York, I do declare.
George Armitstead, Esq., was there also,
And Lord Rendal, with his heart full of woe;
And the Right Honourable Duke of Rutland,
And the Right Honourable Arthur J. Balfour, on the right hand;
Likewise the noble Marquis of Salisbury,
And His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, of high degree.
And immediately behind the coffin was Lord Pembroke,
The representative of Her Majesty, and the Duke of Norfolk,
Carrying aloft a beautiful short wand,
The insignia of his high, courtly office, which looked very grand.
And when the procession arrived at the grave,
Mrs Gladstone was there,
And in her countenance was depicted a very grave air;
And the dear, good lady seemed to sigh and moan
For her departed, loving husband, Wm. Ewart Gladstone.
And on the opposite side of her stood Lord Pembroke,
And Lord Salisbury, who wore a skull cap and cloak;
Also the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Rutland,
And Mr Balfour and Lord Spencer, all looking very bland.
And the clergy were gathered about the head of the grave,
And the attention of the spectators the Dean did crave;
Then he said, "Man that is born of woman hath a short time to live,
But, Oh, Heavenly Father! do thou our sins forgive."
Then Mrs Gladstone and her two sons knelt down by the grave,
Then the Dean did the Lord's blessing crave,
While Mrs Gladstone and her some knelt,
While the spectators for them great pity felt.
The scene was very touching and profound,
To see all the mourners bending their heads to the ground,
And, after a minute's most silent prayer,
The leave-taking at the grave was affecting, I do declare.
Then Mrs Gladstone called on little Dorothy Drew,
And immediately the little girl to her grandmamma flew,
And they both left the grave with their heads bowed down,
While tears from their relatives fell to the ground.
Immortal Wm. Ewart Gladstone! I must conclude my muse,
And to write in praise of thee my pen does not refuse-
To tell the world, fearlessly, without the least dismay,
You were the greatest politician in your day.
Scheme | AABB CXDEE FFFF DDGG HHCC EHII EDHH IIJKDD LXXK MHHAA LLJK MMXX MMNN OOHH PPXO QQCC |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 0101011101 101110101 11010101000101 011111101 100110101111 11111111001 01101101010 1111111111001 11100101110 110111100101 0101011111011 0110001001 0111001111111 0100010101011 1011000101110001 011101001100101101 001100101001001 011101110101 00010101001101001 11010001001 01010100100101 1000010111 010101101 101001011000 011001100110 001010100011 001111100 0011110010111 01101001111101 1111110 011111111 00111110 0011101101011 101011100 01101001111101 00100001010111 0010010100001110 10001010011 00100111101011101 01001001101 10111 000100101001011 00111011101 10010101010101 010100110111 011001101101 100111001110 010100110110101 00100100101101 00010101000111 1111111110101111 11100101110101 1101001111101 101101101 11010011 10100111101 0111010001 1110101011101 0100101101 011010110101101 110111101001 00100001011011 01110111111 11111001101 01010101110111 0110111111101 11011010101 10010010011 |
Closest metre | Iambic hexameter |
Characters | 3,392 |
Words | 616 |
Sentences | 26 |
Stanzas | 16 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 5, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 6, 4, 5, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 68 |
Letters per line (avg) | 40 |
Words per line (avg) | 9 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 170 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 38 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 3:05 min read
- 113 Views
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"The Burial of Mr. Gladstone" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 8 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/41878/the-burial-of-mr.-gladstone>.
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