Analysis of What turned the Germans Back
Katharine Tynan 1861 (Ireland) – 1931
WHAT turned the German myriads back
From Paris whither they had won?
The sword dropped from their hold grown slack;
Children of Attila the Hun,
Like Attila, went backward driven
By a young shepherdess of Heaven.
A shepherdess is Genevieve,
And though her flock should wander light,
This shepherdess is quick to save
The black, the speckled and the white.
She takes her golden crook and goes
And deals destruction to its foes.
She who turned Attila back, so slim,
A shepherdess that keeps the flock,
Waited as once she did for him,
Slight as a reed or her own crook;
'Turn back in God's Name!' They went back.
The tide is stemmed for her sweet sake.
White Genevieve upon her hill
Prays, and the German hosts retreat.
She plucks the Robes of Heaven still
That Heaven give victory for defeat;
And keeps her motley flock in sight,
The black, the speckled and the white.
Scheme | ababbb xcxCdd exexax fgfgcC |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1101011 11010111 01111111 10101001 101011010 1011110 01110 01011101 111111 01010001 11010101 01010111 111010111 011101 10111111 11011011 11011111 01111011 1100101 10010101 11011101 1101100101 01010101 01010001 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 867 |
Words | 158 |
Sentences | 10 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 6, 6, 6, 6 |
Lines Amount | 24 |
Letters per line (avg) | 29 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 171 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 39 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 47 sec read
- 49 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"What turned the Germans Back" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 16 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/25094/what-turned-the-germans-back>.
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