Analysis of The Riders
Katharine Tynan 1861 (Ireland) – 1931
RHEIMS is down in fire and smoke,
The hour of God is at the stroke.
Round and round the ruined place,-
Jesu, Mary, give us grace!
There are two riders clad in mail,
Silver as the moon pale.
One is tall as a knight's spear,
The younger one is lowlier.
Small and slim and like a maid-
Steeds and riders cast no shade.
Who are then these cavaliers?
There was a sound as Heaven dropt tears.
Who are these that ride so light,
Soundless in the flaming light,
Where Rheims burns, that was given
By France to Mary, Queen of Heaven?
O our Rheims, our Rheims is down,
Naught is left of her renown.
Hist! what sound is in the breeze,
Like the sighing of forest trees?
Or a great wind, or an army,
Or the waves of the wild sea?
The tall knight rides fierce and fast
To the sound of a trumpet-blast.
The little knight in fire and flame,
Slender and soft as a dame,
Rides and is not far behind:
His long hair floats on the wind.
And ever the tramp of chivalry
Comes like the sound of the sea.
This is Michael rides abroad,
Prince of the army of God,
And this like a lily arrayed,
Is Joan, the blessed Maid.
Rheims is down in fire and smoke
And the hour of God's at the stroke.
Scheme | Aa bb cc dd ee xx ff gg hh ii jj kk ll mm jj xx ee Aa |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 11101001 010111101 1010101 110111 11110101 101011 1111011 010111 1010101 1010111 111101 110111011 1111111 100101 1111110 111101110 110110111 1111001 1111001 10101101 10111110 1011011 0111101 10110101 010101001 1001101 1011101 1111101 010011100 1101101 1110101 1101011 01101001 11011 11101001 001011101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,135 |
Words | 233 |
Sentences | 18 |
Stanzas | 18 |
Stanza Lengths | 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2 |
Lines Amount | 36 |
Letters per line (avg) | 25 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 49 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 13 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:10 min read
- 39 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"The Riders" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 16 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/25065/the-riders>.
Discuss this Katharine Tynan poem analysis with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In