Analysis of Minora Sidera

Sir Henry Newbolt 1862 (Bilston, Staffordshire) – 1938 (Kensington, London)



Sitting at times over a hearth that burns
With dull domestic glow,
My thought, leaving the book, gratefully turns
To you who planned it so.

Not of the great only you deigned to tell---
The stars by which we steer---
But lights out of the night that flashed, and fell
Tonight again, are here.

Such as were those, dogs of an elder day,
Who sacked the golden ports,
And those later who dared grapple their prey
Beneath the harbour forts:

Some with flag at the fore, sweeping the world
To find an equal fight,
And some who joined war to their trade, and hurled
Ships of the line in flight.

Whether their fame centuries long should ring
They cared not over-much,
But cared greatly to serve God and the king,
And keep the Nelson touch;

And fought to build Britain above the tide
Of wars and windy fate;
And passed content, leaving to us the pride
Of lives obscurely great.


Scheme ABAB CXCX DEDE FGFG HIHI JKJK
Poetic Form Quatrain  (83%)
Metre 1011100111 110101 1110011001 111111 1101101111 011111 1111011101 010111 1101111101 110101 0110111011 010101 1111011001 111101 0111111101 110101 1011100111 111101 1110111001 010101 0111100101 110101 0110101101 1111
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 851
Words 162
Sentences 5
Stanzas 6
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4
Lines Amount 24
Letters per line (avg) 28
Words per line (avg) 7
Letters per stanza (avg) 113
Words per stanza (avg) 27
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

48 sec read
75

Sir Henry Newbolt

Sir Henry John Newbolt, CH was an English poet, novelist and historian. He also had a very powerful role as a government adviser, particularly on Irish issues and with regard to the study of English in England. He is perhaps best remembered for his poems "Vitaï Lampada" and "Drake's Drum". more…

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