Analysis of Battle Of Corruna
William Lisle Bowles 1762 (King's Sutton) – 1850
The tide of fate rolls on!--heart-pierced and pale,
The gallant soldier lies, nor aught avail,
The shield, the sword, the spirit of the brave,
From rapine's armed hand thy vales to save,
Land of illustrious heroes, who, of yore,
Drenched the same plains with the invader's gore,
Stood frowning, in the front of death, and hurled
Defiance to the conquerors of the world!
Oh, when we hear the agonising tale
Of those who, faint, and fugitive, and pale,
Saw hourly, harassed through their long retreat,
Some worn companion sinking at their feet,
Yet even in danger and from toil more bold,
Back on their gathering foes the tide of battle rolled;--
While tears of pity mingle with applause,
On the dread scene in silence let us pause;
Yes, pause, and ask, Is not thy awful hand
Stretched out, O God, o'er a devoted land,
Whose vales of beauty Nature spread in vain,
Where misery moaned on the uncultured plain,
Where Bigotry went by with jealous scowl,
Where Superstition muttered in his cowl;
Whilst o'er the Inquisition's dismal holds,
Its horrid banner waved in bleeding folds!
And dost thou thus, Lord of all might, fulfil
With wreck and tempests thy eternal will,
Shatter the arms in which weak kingdoms trust,
And strew their scattered ensigns in the dust?
Oh, if no human wisdom may withstand
The terrors, Lord, of thy uplifted hand;
If the dark tide no prowess can control,
Yet nearer, charged with dread commission, roll;
Still may my country's ark majestic ride,
Though sole, yet safe, on the conflicting tide;
Till hushed be the wild rocking of the blast,
And the red storm of death be overpast!
Scheme | AABBCCDDAAEEFFGGHHIIJJKKALMMHHNNOOPD |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 0111111101 0101011101 0101010101 11111111 11010010111 10111011 1100011101 01010100101 1111011 1111010001 1100111101 1101010111 11001001111 1111001011101 1111010101 1011010111 1101111101 11111000101 1111010101 110011011 1100111101 101010011 11001101 1101010101 011111111 110110101 1001011101 011101001 1111010101 0101111001 1011110101 1101110101 1111010101 1111100101 1110110101 00111111 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,575 |
Words | 282 |
Sentences | 6 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 36 |
Lines Amount | 36 |
Letters per line (avg) | 35 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 1,256 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 278 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:26 min read
- 101 Views
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"Battle Of Corruna" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 14 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/40860/battle-of-corruna>.
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