Analysis of The Battle of the Bight

William Watson 1858 (Burley in Wharfedale) – 1935 (Rottingdean)



Had I the fabled herb
That brought to life the dead,
Whom would I dare disturb
In his eternal bed?
Great Grenville would I wake,
And with glad tidings make
The soul of mighty Drake
Heave up a glorying head.

As rose the misty sun,
Our men the North Sea scanned,
And each rejoicing gun
Welcomed a Foe at hand,
And thundering its delight,
Opened its mouth outright,
And bit them in the Bight,
The Bight of Helgoland.

With Captains who could each
Do aught but yield or flee;
With guns that spake the speech
Shall keep this Kingdom free;
We hammered to their doom
Four Giants mid the gloom,
And one to a fiercer tomb
Sent blazing down the sea.

Sleep on, O Drake, sleep well,
In days not wholly dire!
Grenville, whom nought could quell,
Unquenched is still thy fire.
And thou that hadst no peer,
Nelson! thou need'st not fear:
Thy sons and heirs are here,
Nor shall they shame their sire.


Scheme ABABCCCB DEDEFFFB GHGHIIIH JXJKLLXK
Poetic Form
Metre 110101 111101 111101 010101 11111 011101 011101 11011 110101 1010111 010101 100111 0100101 101111 011001 0111 110111 111111 111101 111101 110111 110101 0110101 110101 111111 011101 11111 111110 011111 1011111 110111 1111110
Closest metre Iambic trimeter
Characters 859
Words 167
Sentences 9
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 8, 8, 8, 8
Lines Amount 32
Letters per line (avg) 22
Words per line (avg) 5
Letters per stanza (avg) 173
Words per stanza (avg) 41
Font size:
 

Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

50 sec read
92

William Watson

William Watson, was a surgeon in the 105th Regiment of Pennsylvania Volunteers during the American Civil War. more…

All William Watson poems | William Watson Books

0 fans

Discuss this William Watson poem analysis with the community:

0 Comments

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "The Battle of the Bight" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/42025/the-battle-of-the-bight>.

    Become a member!

    Join our community of poets and poetry lovers to share your work and offer feedback and encouragement to writers all over the world!

    April 2024

    Poetry Contest

    Join our monthly contest for an opportunity to win cash prizes and attain global acclaim for your talent.
    1
    day
    15
    hours
    56
    minutes

    Special Program

    Earn Rewards!

    Unlock exciting rewards such as a free mug and free contest pass by commenting on fellow members' poems today!

    Browse Poetry.com

    Quiz

    Are you a poetry master?

    »
    Which of these poets was not American?
    A Rudyard Kipling
    B Walt Whitman
    C Emily Dickinson
    D Ezra Pound