Analysis of Song To The Men Of England
Percy Bysshe Shelley 1792 (Horsham) – 1822 (Lerici)
I.
Men of England, wherefore plough
For the lords who lay ye low?
Wherefore weave with toil and care
The rich robes your tyrants wear?
II.
Wherefore feed and clothe and save,
From the cradle to the grave,
Those ungrateful drones who would
Drain your sweat -- nay, drink your blood?
III.
Wherefore, Bees of England, forge
Many a weapon, chain, and scourge,
That these stingless drones may spoil
The forced produce of your toil?
IV.
Have ye leisure, comfort, calm,
Shelter, food, love's gentle balm?
Or what is it ye buy so dear
With your pain and with your fear?
V.
The seed ye sow another reaps;
The wealth ye find another keeps;
The robes ye weave another wears;
The arms ye forge another bears.
VI.
Sow seed,-- but let no tyrant reap;
Find wealth,-- let no imposter heap;
Weave robes,-- let not the idle wear;
Forge arms, in your defence to bear.
VII.
Shrink to your cellars, holes, and cells;
In halls ye deck another dwells.
Why shake the chains ye wrought? Ye see
The steel ye tempered glance on ye.
VIII.
With plough and spade and hoe and loom,
Trace your grave, and build your tomb,
And weave your winding-sheet, till fair
England be your sepulchre!
Scheme | ABXCC ADDXX AXXEE BFFGG HIIJJ AKKCC BLLHH BMMCC |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Etheree (33%) |
Metre | 1 111011 1011111 111101 0111101 1 110101 1010101 1010111 1111111 1 111101 10010101 111111 0101111 1 1110101 1011101 11111111 1110111 1 01110101 01110101 01110101 01110101 1 11111101 111111 11110101 11010111 1 11110101 01110101 11011111 01110111 1 11010101 1110111 01110111 10111 |
Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
Characters | 1,125 |
Words | 214 |
Sentences | 21 |
Stanzas | 8 |
Stanza Lengths | 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5 |
Lines Amount | 40 |
Letters per line (avg) | 22 |
Words per line (avg) | 5 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 111 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 26 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 30, 2023
- 1:04 min read
- 327 Views
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"Song To The Men Of England" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/29221/song-to-the-men-of-england>.
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