Analysis of Asleep
Wilfred Owen 1893 (Oswestry) – 1918 (Sambre–Oise Canal)
Under his helmet, up against his pack,
After so many days of work and waking,
Sleep took him by the brow and laid him back.
There, in the happy no-time of his sleeping,
Death took him by the heart. There heaved a quaking
Of the aborted life within him leaping,
Then chest and sleepy arms once more fell slack.
And soon the slow, stray blood came creeping
From the intruding lead, like ants on track.
Whether his deeper sleep lie shaded by the shaking
Of great wings, and the thoughts that hung the stars,
High-pillowed on calm pillows of God's making,
Above these clouds, these rains, these sleets of lead,
And these winds' scimitars,
-Or whether yet his thin and sodden head
Confuses more and more with the low mould,
His hair being one with the grey grass
Of finished fields, and wire-scrags rusty-old,
Who knows? Who hopes? Who troubles? Let it pass!
He sleeps. He sleeps less tremulous, less cold,
Than we who wake, and waking say Alas!
Scheme | ABA BBBA BA BCBDCDEFEFEF |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1011010111 10110111010 1111010111 10010111110 11110111010 10010101110 1101011111 010111110 1001011111 1011011101010 1110011101 1111101110 0111111111 0111 1101110101 0101011011 111011011 11010101101 1111110111 1111110011 1111010101 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 928 |
Words | 171 |
Sentences | 11 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 3, 4, 2, 12 |
Lines Amount | 21 |
Letters per line (avg) | 35 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 184 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 42 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 02, 2023
- 51 sec read
- 224 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"Asleep" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/38496/asleep>.
Discuss this Wilfred Owen poem analysis with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In