Analysis of The Eagle of the Blue
Herman Melville 1819 – 1891
ALOFT he guards the starry folds
Who is the brother of the star;
The bird whose joy is in the wind
Exulteth in the war.
No painted plume—a sober hue,
His beauty is his power;
That eager calm of gaze intent
Foresees the Sibyl’s hour.
Austere, he crowns the swaying perch,
Flapped by the angry flag;
The hurricane from the battery sings,
But his claw has known the crag.
Amid the scream of shells, his scream
Runs shrilling; and the glare
Of eyes that brave the blinding sun
The volleyed flame can bear.
The pride of quenchless strength is his—
Strength which, though chained, avails;
The very rebel looks and thrills—
The anchored Emblem hails.
Though scarred in many a furious fray,
No deadly hurt he knew;
Well may we think his years are charmed—
The Eagle of the Blue.
Scheme | AXXX BCXC XDXD XEXE XAXX XBXB |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain (67%) |
Metre | 01110101 11010101 01111001 1001 11010101 1101110 11011101 010110 01110101 110101 010101001 1111101 01011111 11001 11110101 01111 0111111 11111 01010101 010101 1101001001 110111 11111111 010101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 769 |
Words | 142 |
Sentences | 7 |
Stanzas | 6 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 24 |
Letters per line (avg) | 25 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 101 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 23 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 07, 2023
- 42 sec read
- 37 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"The Eagle of the Blue" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/19109/the-eagle-of-the-blue>.
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