Analysis of Prayer of a Soldier in France
Joyce Kilmer 1886 (New Brunswick) – 1918 (Seringes-et-Nesles)
1 My shoulders ache beneath my pack
2 (Lie easier, Cross, upon His back).
3 I march with feet that burn and smart
4 (Tread, Holy Feet, upon my heart).
5 Men shout at me who may not speak
6 (They scourged Thy back and smote Thy cheek).
7 I may not lift a hand to clear
8 My eyes of salty drops that sear.
9 (Then shall my fickle soul forget
10 Thy agony of Bloody Sweat?)
11 My rifle hand is stiff and numb
12 (From Thy pierced palm red rivers come).
13 Lord, Thou didst suffer more for me
14 Than all the hosts of land and sea.
15 So let me render back again
16 This millionth of Thy gift. Amen.
Scheme | AA BB CC DD EE FF GG HH |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Couplet |
Metre | 11010111 110010111 11111101 11010111 11111111 11110111 11110111 11110111 11110101 11001101 11011101 11111101 11110111 11011101 11110101 11011101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 638 |
Words | 128 |
Sentences | 10 |
Stanzas | 8 |
Stanza Lengths | 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2 |
Lines Amount | 16 |
Letters per line (avg) | 28 |
Words per line (avg) | 11 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 56 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 22 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 21, 2023
- 38 sec read
- 224 Views
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