Analysis of The Soldier's Christmas Eve
In a southern forest gloomy and old,
So lately the scene of a terrible fight,
A soldier, alone in the dark and cold,
Is keeping the watch tonight.
As he paces his round he sees the light
Of his comrades' campfire, gleaming far,
Through the dusky wood, and one bright star
Looks down with a twinkle of light and love
From the frosty sky that bends above.
Large, clear and bright in the far off skies
It twinkles and glimmers there alone
Like the blessed Bethlehem star that shone
On the sheperd's wondering eyes.
As he watches it slowly, sweetly rise
His heart is touched by its gentle ray.
And away, away,
His thoughts on the wings of fancy stray,
He forgets the night with its frosty air,
And cheerless blast, that every where
Moans loud through the branches black and bare,
He is thinking now of the little band
In his boyhood home, whose faces bright
Are beaming with happiness as they stand
Round the Christmas tree tonight,
And he seems to join with the happy throng
In each innocent game and mirthful song.
Ah! vision as bright as fairy land!
Like a broken dream, it will not stay,
He raises his weather-beaten hand
And dashes a tear away,
And he feels anew, all his terrible lot -
Exposed to the pestilence, snow and rain,
Enduring fatigue, and fever and pain.
And standing each day to be shot -
And all for what?
For what does he give his strength and life
in the deadly strife?
To defend the home where the loved ones are
From the fire and sword and the ravage of war,
To defend his home and the land of his birth,
To pride of the earth,
And solemnly sworn
To avenge her flag, by the traitors torn,
Of its ancient glory shamefully shorn.
Such thoughts through the soldiers mind have passed.
He feels no longer the chilling blast,
The driving sleet or the frozen ground.
For his blood is beating fiercly and fast
As he quickens his round.
He pines no longer for home and rest -
A patriot's spirit has warmed his breast.
Scheme | ABABBCCDDEFFE EGGGHHHIBIBJJ IGIGKLLKXMM CXNNOOOPPQPQRR |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 0010101001 11001101001 0100100101 1100101 1110111101 11110101 10110111 1110101101 101011101 110100111 110010101 10110111 1011001 1110110101 111111101 00101 111011101 1010111101 01111001 111010101 1110110101 01111101 1101100111 1010101 0111110101 011001011 110111101 101011111 110110101 0100101 01101111001 0110100101 0100101001 01011111 0111 111111101 00101 1010110111 101001001011 10111001111 11101 01001 1010110101 11101011 111010111 111100101 010110101 111110101 111011 111101101 0100101111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,885 |
Words | 361 |
Sentences | 16 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 13, 13, 11, 14 |
Lines Amount | 51 |
Letters per line (avg) | 30 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 379 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 90 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:49 min read
- 127 Views
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"The Soldier's Christmas Eve" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 16 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/3513/the-soldier%27s-christmas-eve>.
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