Analysis of The Knightly Guerdon
William Makepeace Thackeray 1811 – 1863
Untrue to my Ulric I never could be,
I vow by the saints and the blessed Marie,
Since the desolate hour when we stood by the shore,
And your dark galley waited to carry you o'er:
My faith then I plighted, my love I confess'd,
As I gave you the BATTLE-AXE marked with your crest!
When the bold barons met in my father's old hall,
Was not Edith the flower of the banquet and ball?
In the festival hour, on the lips of your bride,
Was there ever a smile save with THEE at my side?
Alone in my turret I loved to sit best,
To blazon your BANNER and broider your crest.
The knights were assembled, the tourney was gay!
Sir Ulric rode first in the warrior-melee.
In the dire battle-hour, when the tourney was done,
And you gave to another the wreath you had won!
Though I never reproached thee, cold, cold was my breast,
As I thought of that BATTLE-AXE, ah! and that crest!
But away with remembrance, no more will I pine
That others usurped for a time what was mine!
There's a FESTIVAL HOUR for my Ulric and me:
Once more, as of old, shall he bend at my knee;
Once more by the side of the knight I love best
Shall I blazon his BANNER and broider his crest.
Scheme | AAXXBB CCDDBB EEFFBB GGAABB |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 01111011011 1110100101 1010010111101 0111010110110 1111111101 111101011111 101101011011 1110010101001 0010010101111 111001111111 01011011111 111100111 01001001011 11011001001 0011010101011 011101001111 11101111111 111111011011 101101011111 1101101111 1010010111001 11111111111 11101101111 1111100111 |
Closest metre | Iambic hexameter |
Characters | 1,134 |
Words | 227 |
Sentences | 12 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 6, 6, 6, 6 |
Lines Amount | 24 |
Letters per line (avg) | 37 |
Words per line (avg) | 9 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 221 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 56 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:09 min read
- 106 Views
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"The Knightly Guerdon" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 4 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/41049/the-knightly-guerdon>.
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