Analysis of The Boy Patriot
James Whitcomb Riley 1849 (Greenfield) – 1916 (Indianapolis)
I want to be a Soldier!--
A Soldier!--
A Soldier!--
I want to be a Soldier, with a sabre in my hand
Or a little carbine rifle, or a musket on my shoulder,
Or just a snare-drum, snarling in the middle of the band;
I want to hear, high overhead, The Old Flag flap her wings
While all the Army, following, in chorus cheers and sings;
I want to hear the tramp and jar
Of patriots a million,
As gayly dancing off to war
As dancing a cotillion.
_I want to be a Soldier!_--
_A Soldier!_--
_A Soldier!_--
_I want to be a Soldier, with a sabre in my hand_
_Or a little carbine rifle, or a musket on my shoulder_,
_Or just a snare-drum, snarling in the middle of the band_.
I want to see the battle!--
The battle!--
The battle!--
I want to see the battle, and be in it to the end;--
I want to hear the cannon clear their throats and catch the prattle
Of all the pretty compliments the enemy can send!--
And then I know my wits will go,--and where I _should'nt_ be--
Well, there's the spot, in any fight, that you may search for me.
So, when our foes have had their fill,
Though I'm among the dying,
To see The Old Flag flying still,
I'll laugh to leave her flying!
_I want to be a Soldier!_--
_A Soldier!_--
_A Soldier!_--
_I want to be a Soldier, with a sabre in my hand_
_Or a little carbine rifle, or a musket on my shoulder_,
_Or just a snare-drum, snarling in the middle of the band_.
Scheme | aAAbabccxdxd AAABAB eEEfefgghihi AAABAB |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1111010 010 010 11110101010011 101011010101110 11011100010101 11111101011101 11010100010101 11110101 1100010 1110111 11001 111101 11 11 11110101010011 10101101010111 11011100010101 1111010 010 010 11110100101101 111101011101010 11010100010011 0111111101111 11010101111111 111011111 1101010 11011101 1111010 111101 11 11 11110101010011 10101101010111 11011100010101 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,352 |
Words | 289 |
Sentences | 19 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 12, 6, 12, 6 |
Lines Amount | 36 |
Letters per line (avg) | 28 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 256 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 68 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:27 min read
- 59 Views
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"The Boy Patriot" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/21040/the-boy-patriot>.
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