Analysis of The Little Knight in Green
Katharine Lee Bates 1859 (Falmouth) – 1929 (Wellesley)
WHAT fragrant-footed comer
Is stepping o’er my head?
Behold, my queen! the Summer!
Who deems her warriors dead.
Now rise, ye knights of many fights,
From out your sleep profound!
Make sharp your spears, my gallant peers,
And prick the frozen ground.
Before the White Host harm her,
We ’ll hurry to her aid;
We ’ll don our elfin armor,
And every tiny blade
Shall bear atop a dewy drop,
The life-blood of the frost,
Till from their king the order ring:
“Fall back! the day is lost.”
Now shame to knighthood, brothers!
Must Summer plead in vain?
And shall I wait till others
My crown of sunshine gain?
Alone this day I ’ll dare the fray,
Alone the victory win;
In me my queen shall find, I ween,
A sturdy paladin.
To battle! Ho! King Winter
Hath rushed on me apace,—
My fragile blade doth splinter
Beneath his icy mace.
I stagger back. I yield—alack!
I fall. My senses pass.
Woe worth the chance for doughtiest lance
Of all the House of Grass!
Last hope my heart gives over.
But hark! a shout of cheer!
Don Daisy and Count Clover,
Sir Buttercup, are here!
Behold! behold! with shield of gold
Prince Dandelion comes.
Lord Bumble-Bee beats valiantly
His rolling battle-drums.
My brothers leave their slumbers
And lead the van of war;
Before our swelling numbers
The foes are driven far.
The day’s our own; but, overthrown,
A little Knight in green,
I kiss her feet and deem it sweet
To perish for my queen.
Scheme | ABABCDXD AEAEXFGF HIHIXJIJ AKAKGLXL AXAXXMXM CXHXXNXN |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1101010 110111 0111010 1101001 11111101 111101 11111101 010101 0101110 1110101 111101010 0100101 11010101 011101 11110101 110111 111110 110101 0111110 11111 011111101 0101001 01111111 010100 1101110 111101 1101110 011101 1101111 111101 1101111 110111 1111110 110111 1100110 11011 01011111 11001 11011100 110101 110111 010111 01101010 011101 01101101 010101 11010111 110111 |
Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
Characters | 1,389 |
Words | 259 |
Sentences | 31 |
Stanzas | 6 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8 |
Lines Amount | 48 |
Letters per line (avg) | 23 |
Words per line (avg) | 5 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 180 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 43 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:17 min read
- 108 Views
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