Analysis of Young Fellow My Lad
"Where are you going, Young Fellow My Lad,
On this glittering morn of May?"
"I'm going to join the Colours, Dad;
They're looking for men, they say."
"But you're only a boy, Young Fellow My Lad;
You aren't obliged to go."
"I'm seventeen and a quarter, Dad,
And ever so strong, you know."
* * * *
"So you're off to France, Young Fellow My Lad,
And you're looking so fit and bright."
"I'm terribly sorry to leave you, Dad,
But I feel that I'm doing right."
"God bless you and keep you, Young Fellow My Lad,
You're all of my life, you know."
"Don't worry. I'll soon be back, dear Dad,
And I'm awfully proud to go."
* * * *
"Why don't you write, Young Fellow My Lad?
I watch for the post each day;
And I miss you so, and I'm awfully sad,
And it's months since you went away.
And I've had the fire in the parlour lit,
And I'm keeping it burning bright
Till my boy comes home; and here I sit
Into the quiet night.
* * * *
"What is the matter, Young Fellow My Lad?
No letter again to-day.
Why did the postman look so sad,
And sigh as he turned away?
I hear them tell that we've gained new ground,
But a terrible price we've paid:
God grant, my boy, that you're safe and sound;
But oh I'm afraid, afraid."
* * * *
"They've told me the truth, Young Fellow My Lad:
You'll never come back again:
(Oh God! the dreams and the dreams I've had,
and the hopes I've nursed in vain!)
For you passed in the night, Young Fellow My Lad,
And you proved in the cruel test
Of the screaming shell and the battle hell
That my boy was one of the best.
"So you'll live, you'll live, Young Fellow My Lad,
In the gleam of the evening star,
In the wood-note wild and the laugh of the child,
In all sweet things that are.
And you'll never die, my wonderful boy,
While life is noble and true;
For all our beauty and hope and joy
We will owe to our lads like you."
Scheme | ABABACAC ADADACAC ABABEDED ABABFGFG AXAXAHXHAIXIJKJK |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1111011011 11100111 11011011 1101111 11100111011 1100111 110100101 0101111 1 1111111011 01101101 1100101111 11111101 11101111011 1111111 110111111 0110111 1 111111011 1110111 0111101101 01111101 01101000101 01101101 111110111 010101 1 1101011011 1100111 11010111 0111101 111111111 10100111 111111101 1110101 1 1110111011 1101101 110100111 0011101 11100111011 01100101 1010100101 11111101 1111111011 00110101 00111001101 011111 0110111001 1111001 1110100101 111110111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,926 |
Words | 380 |
Sentences | 22 |
Stanzas | 9 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 1, 8, 1, 8, 1, 8, 1, 16 |
Lines Amount | 52 |
Letters per line (avg) | 25 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 147 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 41 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 26, 2023
- 1:59 min read
- 162 Views
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"Young Fellow My Lad" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 14 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/32766/young-fellow-my-lad>.
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