Analysis of Shiloh - A Requiem
Herman Melville 1819 – 1891
Skimming lightly, wheeling still,
The swallows fly low
Over the field in clouded days,
The forest-field of Shiloh --
Over the field where April rain
Solaced the parched one stretched in pain
Through the pause of night
That followed the Sunday fight
Around the church of Shiloh--
The church so lone, the log-built one,
That echoed to many a parting groan
And natural prayer
Of dying foemen mingled there --
Foemen at morn, but friends at eve --
Fame or country least their care:
(What like a bullet can undeceive!)
But now they lie low,
While over them the swallows skim,
And all is hushed at Shiloh.
Scheme | ABCBDDEEBFGHHIHIBJB |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1010101 01011 10010101 0101110 10011101 1011101 10111 110011 0101110 01110111 1101100101 01001 1101101 1111111 1110111 1101011 11111 11010101 0111110 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 589 |
Words | 110 |
Sentences | 3 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 19 |
Lines Amount | 19 |
Letters per line (avg) | 25 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 470 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 107 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 33 sec read
- 147 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"Shiloh - A Requiem" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/19099/shiloh---a-requiem>.
Discuss this Herman Melville poem analysis with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In