Analysis of At The Sound Of The Drum

Edith Nesbit 1858 (Kennington, Surrey ) – 1924 (New Romney, Kent)



ARE you going for a soldier with your curly yellow hair,
And a scarlet coat instead of the smock you used to wear?
Are you going to drive the foe as you used to drive the plough?
Are you going for a soldier now?

I am going for a soldier, and my tunic is of red
And I'm tired of woman's chatter, and I'll hear the drum instead;
I will break the fighting line as you broke your plighted vow,
For I'm going for a soldier now.

For a soldier, for a soldier are you sure that you will go,
To hear the drums a-beating and to hear the bugles blow?
I'll make you sweeter music, for I'll swear another vow--
Are you going for a soldier now?

I am going for a soldier if you'd twenty vows to make;
You must get another sweetheart, with another heart to break,
For I'm sick of lies and women and the harrow and the plough,
And I'm going for a soldier now!


Scheme aabB ccbb ddbB eebb
Poetic Form Quatrain 
Metre 111010101110101 00101011011111 111011011111101 111010101 111010100110111 0110110100110101 1110101111111 111010101 101010101111111 11010100110101 11110101110101 111010101 111010101110111 11101011010111 111110100010001 011010101
Closest metre Iambic heptameter
Characters 850
Words 172
Sentences 8
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4
Lines Amount 16
Letters per line (avg) 40
Words per line (avg) 11
Letters per stanza (avg) 161
Words per stanza (avg) 43
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

54 sec read
56

Edith Nesbit

Edith Nesbit (married name Edith Bland) was an English author and poet; she published her books for children under the name of E. Nesbit. She wrote or collaborated on more than 60 books of children's literature. She was also a political activist and co-founded the Fabian Society, a socialist organisation later affiliated to the Labour Party. more…

All Edith Nesbit poems | Edith Nesbit Books

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