Analysis of Ballade Of The Summer Term
Andrew Lang 1844 (Selkirk, Scottish Borders) – 1912 (Banchory)
When Lent and Responsions are ended,
When May with fritillaries waits,
When the flower of the chestnut is splendid,
When drags are at all of the gates
(Those drags the philosopher 'slates'
With a scorn that is truly sublime),
Life wins from the grasp of the Fates
Sweet hours and the fleetest of time!
When wickets are bowl'd and defended,
When Isis is glad with 'the Eights,'
When music and sunset are blended,
When Youth and the summer are mates,
When Freshmen are heedless of 'Greats,'
And when note-books are cover'd with rhyme,
Ah, these are the hours that one rates -
Sweet hours and the fleetest of time!
When the brow of the Dean is unbended
At luncheons and mild tete-a-tetes,
When the Tutor's in love, nor offended
By blunders in tenses or dates;
When bouquets are purchased of Bates,
When the bells in their melody chime,
When unheeded the Lecturer prates -
Sweet hours and the fleetest of time!
Reformers of Schools and of States,
Is mirth so tremendous a crime?
Ah! spare what grim pedantry hates -
Sweet hours and the fleetest of time!
Scheme | ababbcbC ababbcbC ababbcbC bcbC |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Ballade |
Metre | 1101110 11111 1010101110 11111101 11001001 101111001 11101101 11000111 110110010 11011101 11001110 11001011 1101111 011111011 111010111 11000111 10110111 11001101 101011010 1100111 10111011 101011001 101001001 11000111 01011011 11101001 11111001 11000111 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,037 |
Words | 192 |
Sentences | 8 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8, 8, 4 |
Lines Amount | 28 |
Letters per line (avg) | 29 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 206 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 47 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 57 sec read
- 39 Views
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"Ballade Of The Summer Term" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/2768/ballade-of-the-summer-term>.
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