Analysis of The Flash at Midnight
James Montgomery 1771 (Irvine) – 1854
The flash at midnight! - 'twas a light
That gave the blind a moment's sight
Then sank in tenfold gloom;
Loud, deep, and long, the thunder broke,
The deaf ear instantly awoke,
Then closed as in the tomb:
An angel might have passed my bed,
Sounded the trump of God, and fled.
So life appears; - a sudden birth,
A glance revealing heaven and earth
It is - and it is not!
So fame the poet's hope deceives,
Who sings for after time, and leaves
A name - to be forgot,
Life - is a lightning-flash of breath;
Fame - but a thunder clap at death.
Scheme | AABCCBDD EEFGGFHH |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 0111101 11010101 11011 11010101 01110001 111001 11011111 10011101 11010101 010101001 110111 1101011 11110101 011101 11010111 11010111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 529 |
Words | 108 |
Sentences | 5 |
Stanzas | 2 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8 |
Lines Amount | 16 |
Letters per line (avg) | 25 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 201 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 53 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 30, 2023
- 33 sec read
- 96 Views
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