Analysis of Where Is David, the Next King of Israel?
Vachel Lindsay 1879 (Springfield) – 1931 (Springfield)
Where is David? . . . O God's people,
Saul has passed, the good and great.
Mourn for Saul the first-anointed —
Head and shoulders o'er the state.
He was found among the Prophets:
Judge and monarch, merged in one.
But the wars of Saul are ended
And the works of Saul are done.
Where is David, ruddy shepherd,
God's boy-king for Israel?
Mystic, ardent, dowered with beauty,
Singing where still waters dwell?
Prophet, find that destined minstrel
Wandering on the range to-day,
Driving sheep and crooning softly
Psalms that cannot pass away.
"David waits," the prophet answers,
"In a black notorious den,
In a cave upon the border
With four hundred outlaw men.
"He is fair, and loved of women,
Mighty-hearted, born to sing:
Thieving, weeping, erring, praying,
Radiant royal rebel-king.
"He will come with harp and psaltry,
Quell his troop of convict swine,
Quell his mad-dog roaring rascals,
Witching them with words divine —
"They will ram the walls of Zion!
They will win us Salem hill,
All for David, Shepherd David —
Singing like a mountain rill!"
Scheme | ABCB XDCD XAEX AFEF XGHG DIII HJXJ DKXK |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain (75%) |
Metre | 11101110 1110101 11101010 10101001 11101010 101101 10111110 0011111 11101010 1111100 10101110 1011101 10111010 10010111 10101010 1110101 10101010 00101001 00101010 111011 11101110 1010111 10101010 10010101 1111101 1111101 11111010 1011101 11101110 1111101 11101010 1010101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,061 |
Words | 181 |
Sentences | 16 |
Stanzas | 8 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 32 |
Letters per line (avg) | 25 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 101 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 23 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 54 sec read
- 89 Views
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"Where Is David, the Next King of Israel?" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 1 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/37443/where-is-david%2C-the-next-king-of-israel%3F>.
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