Analysis of The Invective of Achilles--V. 225
George Meredith 1828 (Portsmouth, Hampshire) – 1909 (Box Hill, Surrey)
'Bibber besotted, with scowl of a cur, having heart of a deer, thou!
Never to join to thy warriors armed for the press of the conflict,
Never for ambush forth with the princeliest sons of Achaia
Dared thy soul, for to thee that thing would have looked as a death-stroke.
Sooth, more easy it seems, down the lengthened array of Achaians,
Snatch at the prize of the one whose voice has been lifted against thee.
Ravening king of the folk, for that thou hast thy rule over abjects;
Else, son of Atreus, now were this outrage on me thy last one.
Nay, but I tell thee, and I do swear a big oath on it likewise:
Yea, by the sceptre here, and it surely bears branches and leaf-buds
Never again, since first it was lopped from its trunk on the mountains,
No more sprouting; for round it all clean has the sharp metal clipped off
Leaves and the bark; ay, verify now do the sons of Achaia,
Guardian hands of the counsels of Zeus, pronouncing the judgement,
Hold it aloft; so now unto thee shall the oath have its portent;
Loud will the cry for Achilles burst from the sons of Achaia
Throughout the army, and thou chafe powerless, though in an anguish,
How to give succour when vast crops down under man-slaying Hector
Tumble expiring; and thou deep in thee shalt tear at thy heart-strings,
Rage-wrung, thou, that in nought thou didst honour the flower of Achaians.'
Scheme | ABCDEFEGEEEHCIJCCKEE |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 11111011011011 10111110011011010 10111101111 111111111111011 11101110100111 1101101111110011 11101111111101 1111101111111 111110111011111 1101010110110011 1001111111111010 1110111111011011 1001110110111 1001101011010010 1101111011011110 11011010110111 0101001110010110 111111111011010 1001001101111111 11110111101011 |
Closest metre | Iambic octameter |
Characters | 1,344 |
Words | 251 |
Sentences | 6 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 20 |
Lines Amount | 20 |
Letters per line (avg) | 53 |
Words per line (avg) | 12 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 1,062 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 248 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:15 min read
- 116 Views
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"The Invective of Achilles--V. 225" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 13 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/15623/the-invective-of-achilles--v.-225>.
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