Analysis of Lost in the Prairie
William Topaz McGonagall 1825 – 1902 (Greyfriars Parish, Edinburgh)
In one of fhe States of America, some years ago,
There suddenly came on a violent storm of snow,
Which was nearly the death of a party of workmen,
Who had finished their day's work - nine or ten of them.
The distance was nearly twenty miles to their camp,
And with the thick falling snow their clothes felt damp,
As they set out for their camp, which was in a large grove,
And to reach it, manfully against the storm they strove.
The wind blew very hard, and the snow was falling fast,
Still, they plodded on, but felt a little downcast,
And the snow fell so fast they could scarcely see,
And they began to think they were lost on the wild prairie.
And they suddenly noticed marks of footsteps in the snow,
Which they found were their own tracks, as onward they did go,
Then they knew they were lost on the great prairie,
And what could they do in such a fearful extremity?
Then their hearts began to sink with woe,
In dread of having to pass the night in the snow,
And they cried, "Oh, God help us to find our way,
Or else we are lost on the lonely prairie."
And while they stood shivering with the cold,
One of the party a particular horse did behold,
Which was known by the name of Old Jack,
So to take off his bridle they were not slack.
When the horse was let free he threw up his head and tail,
Which seemed to say, "Follow ms, and ye will not fail.
So come on, boys, and follow me,
And I'll guide ye home safely."
And they cried, " Old Jack can show us the way,
So let's follow his tracks without dismay";
And with the falling snow they were chilled to the bone,
But the horse seemed to say, "I'll show ye home."
And at last they gave a shout of delight
When they saw their camp fire burning bright,
Which was to them a cheerful sight,
And they caressed Old Jack for guiding them home that night.
And they felt thankful to God for their safety,
And they danced around Old Jack with their hearts full of glee,
And Old Jack became a favourite from that day,
Because he saved them from being lost on the wild prairie.
Scheme | AAXX BBCC DDEE AAEE AAFE GGHH IIEE FFXX JJJJ EEFE |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain (60%) |
Metre | 01111101001101 1100110100111 1110011010110 111011111111 010110101111 01011011111 1111111110011 0111100010111 0111010011101 11101110101 00111111101 01011110110110 0110010111001 1110111110111 11110110110 01111010100100 111011111 011101101001 011111111101 11111101010 0111100101 11010001001101 111101111 11111101011 1011111111101 111110101111 11110101 0111110 0111111101 1110110101 010101101101 1011111111 0111101101 1111110101 11110101 0101111101111 01110111110 0110111111111 0110101111 01111110110110 |
Closest metre | Iambic hexameter |
Characters | 1,999 |
Words | 399 |
Sentences | 12 |
Stanzas | 10 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 40 |
Letters per line (avg) | 39 |
Words per line (avg) | 10 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 156 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 39 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:59 min read
- 33 Views
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"Lost in the Prairie" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 14 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/41840/lost-in-the-prairie>.
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