Analysis of Death of the Stag
James Thomson 1700 (Port Glasgow) – 1748 (London)
The stag, too, singled from the herd, where long
He ranged, the branching monarch of the shade,
Before the tempest drives. At first, in speed
He, sprightly, puts his faith, and, roused by fear,
Gives all his swift aerial soul to flight;
Against the breeze he darts, that way the more
To leave the lessening murderous cry behind:
He bursts the thickets, glances through the glades,
And plunges deep into the wildest wood:
If slow, yet sure, adhesive to the track,
Hot-steaming, up behind him come again
The inhuman rout, and from the shady depth
Expel him, circling through his every shift.
He sweeps the forest oft, and sobbing sees
The glades, mild opening to the golden day;
Where, in kind contest, with his butting friends
He wont to struggle, or his loves enjoy.
Oft in the full-descending flood he tries
To lose the scent, and lave his burning sides:
Oft seeks the herd; the watchful herd, alarm'd,
With selfish care avoids a brother's woe.
What shall he do? His once so vivid nerves,
So full of buoyant spirits, now no more
Inspire the course; but fainting breathless toil,
Sick, seizes on his heart: he stands at bay;
And puts his last weak refuge in despair.
The big round tears run down his dappled face;
He groans in anguish; while the growling pack,
Blood-happy, hang at his fair jutting chest,
And mark his beauteous chequer'd sides with gore.
Scheme | ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVFWOXYJZF |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Tetractys (20%) Etheree (20%) |
Metre | 0111010111 110101101 0101011101 1101110111 1111100111 0101111101 110100100101 1101010101 0101010101 1111010101 1101011101 00101010101 011100111001 1101010101 01110010101 1011011101 1111011101 1001010111 1101011101 1101010101 1101010101 1111111101 1111010111 0101110101 1101111111 0111110001 011111111 1101010101 1101111101 01111111 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,335 |
Words | 240 |
Sentences | 8 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 30 |
Lines Amount | 30 |
Letters per line (avg) | 35 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 1,059 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 238 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:12 min read
- 76 Views
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