Analysis of The Foresters
William Watson 1858 (Burley in Wharfedale) – 1935 (Rottingdean)
Clear as of old the great voice rings to-day,
While Sherwood's oak-leaves twine with Aldworth's bay:
The voice of him the master and the sire
Of one whole age and legion of the lyre,
Who sang his morning-song when Coleridge still
Uttered dark oracles from Highgate Hill,
And with new-launchèd argosies of rhyme
Gilds and makes brave this sombreing tide of time.
Far be the hour when lesser brows shall wear
The laurel glorious from that wintry hair-
When he, the sovereign of our lyric day,
In Charon's shallop must be rowed away,
And hear, scarce heeding, 'mid the plash of oar,
The
ave atque vale
from the shore!
To him nor tender nor heroic muse
Did her divine confederacy refuse:
To all its moods the lyre of life he strung,
And notes of death fell deathless from his tongue.
Himself the Merlin of his magic strain,
He bade old glories break in gloom again;
And so exempted from oblivious doom,
Through him these days shall fadeless break in bloom.
Scheme | AAXXBBCCDDAAEXXE FFGGXXHH |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1111011111 11111111 01110100010 1111010101 1111011101 101100111 01111111 101111111 11010110111 01010011101 11010110101 01111101 0111010111 0 111 101 1111010101 10010100001 1111011111 011111111 0101011101 1111010101 01010101001 111111101 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 939 |
Words | 172 |
Sentences | 5 |
Stanzas | 2 |
Stanza Lengths | 16, 8 |
Lines Amount | 24 |
Letters per line (avg) | 31 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 377 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 85 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 52 sec read
- 110 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"The Foresters" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/42031/the-foresters>.
Discuss this William Watson 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