Analysis of A Woman Commends Her Little Son

Katharine Tynan 1861 (Ireland) – 1931



To the aid of my little son
I call all the magnalities --
Archangel, Dominion,
Powers and Principalities.

Mary without a stain,
Joseph that was her spouse,
All God's women and men,
Out of His glorious House.

The Twelve Apostles by him:
Matthew and Mark and John,
Luke, the Evangelists nigh him,
So he fight not alone.

Patrick, Columcille, Bride --
The Saints of the Irish nation;
Keiran, Kevin beside,
In the death and the desolation.

Listen, ye soldier saints,
Sebastian, Ignatius, Joan,
Be by his side; if he faints,
Strengthen my little son.

In the Side of Christ I lay him,
In the Wound that the spear made;
In the pierced Hands I stay him,
So I am not afraid.

On the knees of the Blessed Mary
And in the fold of her arm,
Refuge and sanctuary
Where he shall take no harm.

To the Wound in the Heart of Christ,
To the Trinity Three in One,
To the Blood spilled out, unpriced,
For love of my little son.


Scheme ABAB XBXB CXCD EAEA BDBA CFCF GHGH XAEA
Poetic Form Quatrain  (75%)
Metre 10111101 11101 10010 1000100 100101 101101 111001 1111001 0101011 100101 10010011 111101 1011 01101010 11001 00100010 101101 0100101 1111111 101101 00111111 0011011 0011111 111101 10110110 0001101 100100 111111 10100111 10100101 101111 1111101
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 881
Words 172
Sentences 9
Stanzas 8
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4
Lines Amount 32
Letters per line (avg) 22
Words per line (avg) 5
Letters per stanza (avg) 87
Words per stanza (avg) 21
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 08, 2023

51 sec read
77

Katharine Tynan

Katharine Tynan was an Irish-born writer, known mainly for her novels and poetry. more…

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