Analysis of The Only Son
Sir Henry Newbolt 1862 (Bilston, Staffordshire) – 1938 (Kensington, London)
O bitter wind toward the sunset blowing,
What of the dales tonight?
In yonder gray old hall what fires are glowing,
What ring of festal lights?
In the great window as the day was dwindling
I saw an old man stand;
His head was proudly held and his eyes kindling,
But the list shook in his hand.'
O wind of twilight, was there no word uttered,
No sound of joy or wail?
'A great fight and a good death,' he muttered;
'Trust him, he would not fail.''
What of the chamber dark where she was lying
For whom all life is done?
'Within her heart she rocks a dead child, crying
'My son, my little son.''
Scheme | AXAX ABAB CD CD AE AE |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1101010110 110101 010111110110 11111 001101011100 111111 11110101110 1011011 1111111110 111111 0110011110 111111 11010111110 111111 01011101110 111101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 586 |
Words | 122 |
Sentences | 8 |
Stanzas | 6 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 2, 2, 2, 2 |
Lines Amount | 16 |
Letters per line (avg) | 28 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 75 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 19 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 35 sec read
- 93 Views
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