Analysis of William Francis Bartlett
John Greenleaf Whittier 1807 (Haverhill) – 1892 (Hampton Falls)
Oh, well may Essex sit forlorn
Beside her sea-blown shore;
Her well beloved, her noblest born,
Is hers in life no more!
No lapse of years can render less
Her memory's sacred claim;
No fountain of forgetfulness
Can wet the lips of Fame.
A grief alike to wound and heal,
A thought to soothe and pain,
The sad, sweet pride that mothers feel
To her must still remain.
Good men and true she has not lacked,
And brave men yet shall be;
The perfect flower, the crowning fact,
Of all her years was he!
As Galahad pure, as Merlin sage,
What worthier knight was found
To grace in Arthur's golden age
The fabled Table Round?
A voice, the battle's trumpet-note,
To welcome and restore;
A hand, that all unwilling smote,
To heal and build once more;
A soul of fire, a tender heart
Too warm for hate, he knew
The generous victor's graceful part
To sheathe the sword he drew.
When Earth, as if on evil dreams,
Looks back upon her wars,
And the white light of Christ outstreams
From the red disk of Mars,
His fame who led the stormy van
Of battle well may cease,
But never that which crowns the man
Whose victory was Peace.
Mourn, Essex, on thy sea-blown shore
Thy beautiful and brave,
Whose failing hand the olive bore,
Whose dying lips forgave!
Let age lament the youthful chief,
And tender eyes be dim;
The tears are more of joy than grief
That fall for one like him!
Scheme | ABAB CDCD EFEF GHGH IJIJ XBGB KLKL XXCX MNMN BOBO PQPQ |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain (91%) |
Metre | 11110101 010111 01010101 100111 11111101 01101 11011 110111 01011101 011101 01111101 101101 11011111 011111 001100101 110111 11011101 1100111 11010101 010101 01010101 110001 01110101 110111 011100101 111111 010010101 110111 11111101 110101 0011111 101111 11110101 110111 11011101 110011 11011111 110001 11010101 110101 11010101 010111 01111111 111111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,319 |
Words | 255 |
Sentences | 10 |
Stanzas | 11 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 44 |
Letters per line (avg) | 24 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 96 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 23 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:17 min read
- 59 Views
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"William Francis Bartlett" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 8 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/23284/william-francis-bartlett>.
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