Analysis of Inscription to Western Australia

John Boyle O'Reilly 1844 (Dowth) – 1890 (Boston)



Nation of sun and sin,
Thy flowers and crimes are red,
And thy heart is sore within
While the glory crowns thy head.
Land of the songless birds,
What was thine ancient crime,
Burning through lapse of time
Like a prophet' s cursing words!

Aloes and myrrh and tears
Mix in thy bitter wine: -
Drink, while the cup is thine,
Drink, for the draught is sign
Of thy reign in the coming years.


Scheme ABABCDDC XEEEX
Poetic Form
Metre 101101 1100111 0111101 1010111 11011 111101 101111 10101101 10101 101101 110111 110111 11100101
Closest metre Iambic trimeter
Characters 392
Words 76
Sentences 4
Stanzas 2
Stanza Lengths 8, 5
Lines Amount 13
Letters per line (avg) 23
Words per line (avg) 6
Letters per stanza (avg) 150
Words per stanza (avg) 37
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

22 sec read
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John Boyle O'Reilly

John Boyle O'Reilly was an Irish-born poet, journalist and fiction writer. more…

All John Boyle O'Reilly poems | John Boyle O'Reilly Books

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