Analysis of The Veteran
Paul Laurence Dunbar 1872 (Dayton) – 1906
UNDERNEATH the autumn sky,
Haltingly, the lines go by.
Ah, would steps were blithe and gay,
As when first they marched away,
Smile on lip and curl on brow,
Only white-faced gray-beards now,
Standing on life's outer verge,
E'en the marches sound a dirge.
Blow, you bugles, play, you fife,
Rattle, drums, for dearest life.
Let the flags wave freely so,
As the marching legions go,
Shout, hurrah and laugh and jest,
This is memory at its best.
(Did you notice at your quip,
That old comrade's quivering lip?)
Ah, I see them as they come,
Stumbling with the rumbling drum;
But a sight more sad to me
E'en than these ranks could be
Was that one with cane upraised
Who stood by and gazed and gazed,
Trembling, solemn, lips compressed,
Longing to be with the rest.
Did he dream of old alarms,
As he stood, 'presented arms '?
Did he think of field and camp
And the unremitting tramp
Mile on mile — the lonely guard
When he kept his midnight ward?
Did he dream of wounds and scars
In that bitter war of wars?
What of that? He stood and stands
In my memory — trembling hands,
Whitened beard and cane and all
As if waiting for the call
Once again: 'To arms, my sons,'
And his ears hear far-off guns,
Roll of cannon and the tread
Of the legions of the Dead!
Scheme | AABBCCDDEEFFGGHHIIJJGKGGLLMMNOPQRRSSTTUU |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Etheree (30%) |
Metre | 010101 1000111 1110101 1111101 1110111 1011111 1011101 11010101 1110111 1011101 1011101 1010101 1010101 11100111 1110111 1111001 1111111 100101001 1011111 1111111 111111 1110101 10010101 1011101 1111101 1110101 1111101 000101 1110101 111111 1111101 0110111 1111101 011001001 110101 1110101 1011111 0111111 1110001 1010101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,219 |
Words | 239 |
Sentences | 12 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 40 |
Lines Amount | 40 |
Letters per line (avg) | 24 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 952 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 235 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:12 min read
- 70 Views
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"The Veteran" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/28959/the-veteran>.
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