Analysis of To Lucasta on Going to the War - For the Fourth Time
Robert Graves 1895 (Wimbledon) – 1985 (Deià)
It doesn’t matter what’s the cause,
What wrong they say we’re righting,
A curse for treaties, bonds and laws,
When we’re to do the fighting!
And since we lads are proud and true,
What else remains to do?
Lucasta, when to France your man
Returns his fourth time, hating war,
Yet laughs as calmly as he can
And flings an oath, but says no more,
That is not courage, that’s not fear—
Lucasta he’s a Fusilier,
And his pride sends him here.
Let statesmen bluster, bark and bray,
And so decide who started
This bloody war, and who’s to pay,
But he must be stout-hearted,
Must sit and stake with quiet breath,
Playing at cards with Death.
Don’t plume yourself he fights for you;
It is no courage, love, or hate,
But let us do the things we do;
It’s pride that makes the heart be great;
It is not anger, no, nor fear—
Lucasta he’s a Fusilier,
And his pride keeps him here.
Scheme | xaxabbcdcdeBf ghghiibjbjeBf |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1110001 111101 01110101 1011010 01111101 110111 111111 01111101 11110111 01111111 11110111 1101 011111 11010101 011110 11010111 1111110 11011101 101111 11011111 11110111 11110111 11110111 11110111 1101 011111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 891 |
Words | 166 |
Sentences | 6 |
Stanzas | 2 |
Stanza Lengths | 13, 13 |
Lines Amount | 26 |
Letters per line (avg) | 25 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 328 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 82 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 14, 2023
- 49 sec read
- 157 Views
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