Analysis of The Pathfinders
Vance Palmer 1885 (Bundaberg) – 1959 (Kew)
Night, and a bitter sky, and strange birds crying,
The wan trees whisper and the winds make moan,
Here where in ultimate peace their bones are lying
In gaunt waste places that they made their own,
Beyond the ploughed lands where the corn is sown.
Death, and untrodden ways, and night before them,
From sheltering homes and friendly hearths they came;
Far from the mouldering dust of those that bore them
They rest in silence now and know no fame,
No proud stone speaks, no waters lip the name.
Brave and undaunted hearts, eyes lit with laughter,
Minds that outran the ancient doubts and fears,
They blazed the track for legions following after,
And bared new treasure to the hungry years,
Till spent with strife they sank amongst the spears.
Slow sinks the glowing flame and fades the ember,
No bright star flickers and the woods are stark,
But still our children's children will remember
The swift forerunners, bearers of the ark,
Who lit the beacons in the uncharted dark.
Rich towns shall flourish on the hills that hold them,
Bright dreams shall quicken from their wandering dust,
And till the end our reverent minds shall fold them
In storied chambers free from moth and rust:
The fealty pledged, the kingdom given in trust.
Scheme | ABABB CDCDD EFEFF EGEGG CHCHH |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Tetractys (20%) |
Metre | 10010101110 0111000111 110100111110 0111011111 0101110111 101101011 11001010111 1101111111 1101010111 1111110101 10010111110 1101010101 110111010010 0111010101 1111110101 11010101010 1111000111 111010101010 011010101 11010000101 11110101111 11110111001 0101101001111 0101011101 010010101001 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,340 |
Words | 216 |
Sentences | 6 |
Stanzas | 5 |
Stanza Lengths | 5, 5, 5, 5, 5 |
Lines Amount | 25 |
Letters per line (avg) | 39 |
Words per line (avg) | 9 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 197 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 43 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 20, 2023
- 1:05 min read
- 63 Views
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"The Pathfinders" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 30 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/37458/the-pathfinders>.
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