Analysis of The Investiture
Siegfried Sassoon 1886 (Matfield) – 1967 (Heytesbury)
GOD with a Roll of Honour in His hand
Sits welcoming the heroes who have died,
While sorrowless angels ranked on either side
Stand easy in Elysium’s meadow-land.
Then you come shyly through the garden gate,
Wearing a blood-soaked bandage on your head;
And God says something kind because you’re dead,
And homesick, discontented with your fate.
If I were there we’d snowball Death with skulls;
Or ride away to hunt in Devil’s Wood
With ghosts of puppies that we walked of old.
But you’re alone; and solitude annuls
Our earthly jokes; and strangely wise and good
You roam forlorn along the streets of gold.
Scheme | ABBACDDC EFGEFG |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 110111011 1100010111 111011101 1100111 1111010101 1001110111 0111010111 01010111 110111111 1101110101 1111011111 11010101 10101010101 1101010111 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 620 |
Words | 107 |
Sentences | 5 |
Stanzas | 2 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 6 |
Lines Amount | 14 |
Letters per line (avg) | 34 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 241 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 53 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 32 sec read
- 61 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"The Investiture" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/34952/the-investiture>.
Discuss this Siegfried Sassoon poem analysis with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In