Analysis of Ring the Bell, Watchman!
Henry Clay Work 1832 (Middletown, Connecticut) – 1884 (Hartford, Connecticut)
High is the belfry the old sexton stands,
Grasping the rope with his thin bony hands;
Fix'd is his gaze, as by some magic spell,
Till he hears the distant murmmer,
Ring, ring the bell.
"Ring the bell, watchman! ring! ring! ring!
Yes, yes! the good news is now on the wing;
Yes, yes! they come, and with tidings to tell --
Glorious and blessed tidings --
Ring, ring the bell!"
Baring his long silver locks to the breeze,
First for a moment he drops on his knees;
Then with a rigor that few could excel,
Answers the welcome bidding,
Ring, ring the bell.
Hear! from the hilltop, the first signal gun
Thunders the word that some great deed is done;
Hear! thru' the valley the long echoes swell,
Ever and anon repeating,
Ring, ring the bell.
Bonfires are blazing and rockets ascend --
No meager triumphs such tokens portend;
Shout, shout! my brothers, for "all, all is well!"
'Tis the universal chorus,
Ring, ring the bell.
Scheme | aabxB ccbxB ddbcB eebcB ffbxB |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1101001101 1001111101 1111111101 1110101 1101 10110111 1101111101 1111011011 1000110 1101 1011101101 1101011111 1101011101 1001010 1101 110101101 1001111111 1101001101 1001010 1101 1011001001 1101011001 1111011111 1001010 1101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 902 |
Words | 171 |
Sentences | 16 |
Stanzas | 5 |
Stanza Lengths | 5, 5, 5, 5, 5 |
Lines Amount | 25 |
Letters per line (avg) | 28 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 139 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 33 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 19, 2023
- 51 sec read
- 64 Views
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"Ring the Bell, Watchman!" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/17284/ring-the-bell%2C-watchman%21>.
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