Analysis of The Race Of Banquo

Robert Southey 1774 (Bristol) – 1843 (London)



Fly, son of Banquo! Fleance, fly!
Leave thy guilty sire to die.
O'er the heath the stripling fled,
The wild storm howling round his head.
Fear mightier thro' the shades of night
Urged his feet, and wing'd his flight;
And still he heard his father cry
Fly, son of Banquo! Fleance, fly.

Fly, son of Banquo! Fleance, fly
Leave thy guilty sire to die.
On every blast was heard the moan
The anguish'd shriek, the death-fraught groan;
Loathly night-hags join the yell
And see--the midnight rites of Hell.

Forms of magic! spare my life!
Shield me from the murderer's knife!
Before me dim in lurid light
Float the phantoms of the night--
Behind I hear my Father cry,
Fly, son of Banquo--Fleance, fly!

Parent of the sceptred race,
Fearless tread the circled space:
Fearless Fleance venture near--
Sire of monarchs--spurn at fear.

Sisters with prophetic breath
Pour we now the dirge of Death!


Scheme AAbbccaA AAddee ffccaa gghh ii
Poetic Form
Metre 111111 11101011 10010101 01110111 110010111 1110111 01111101 111111 111111 11101011 110011101 01010111 111101 0101111 1110111 11101001 01110101 1010101 01111101 111111 101011 1010101 101101 1011111 1010101 1110111
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 865
Words 155
Sentences 16
Stanzas 5
Stanza Lengths 8, 6, 6, 4, 2
Lines Amount 26
Letters per line (avg) 26
Words per line (avg) 6
Letters per stanza (avg) 136
Words per stanza (avg) 31
Font size:
 

Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

47 sec read
67

Robert Southey

Robert Southey was an English poet of the Romantic school, one of the so-called "Lake Poets", and Poet Laureate for 30 years from 1813 to his death in 1843. more…

All Robert Southey poems | Robert Southey Books

0 fans

Discuss this Robert Southey poem analysis with the community:

0 Comments

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "The Race Of Banquo" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 7 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/31897/the-race-of-banquo>.

    Become a member!

    Join our community of poets and poetry lovers to share your work and offer feedback and encouragement to writers all over the world!

    May 2024

    Poetry Contest

    Join our monthly contest for an opportunity to win cash prizes and attain global acclaim for your talent.
    24
    days
    22
    hours
    30
    minutes

    Special Program

    Earn Rewards!

    Unlock exciting rewards such as a free mug and free contest pass by commenting on fellow members' poems today!

    Browse Poetry.com

    Quiz

    Are you a poetry master?

    »
    Which of the following was the last to evolve?
    A Tragedy
    B Dithyramb
    C Epic poetry
    D Invective