Analysis of The French Army In Russia, 1812-13
William Wordsworth 1770 (Wordsworth House) – 1850 (Cumberland)
HUMANITY, delighting to behold
A fond reflection of her own decay,
Hath painted Winter like a traveller old,
Propped on a staff, and, through the sullen day,
In hooded mantle, limping o'er the plain,
As though his weakness were disturbed by pain:
Or, if a juster fancy should allow
An undisputed symbol of command,
The chosen sceptre is a withered bough,
Infirmly grasped within a palsied hand.
These emblems suit the helpless and forlorn;
But mighty Winter the device shall scorn.
For he it was--dread Winter! who beset,
Flinging round van and rear his ghastly net,
That host, when from the regions of the Pole
They shrunk, insane ambition's barren goal--
That host, as huge and strong as e'er defied
Their God, and placed their trust in human pride!
As fathers persecute rebellious sons,
He smote the blossoms of their warrior youth;
He called on Frost's inexorable tooth
Life to consume in Manhood's firmest hold;
Nor spared the reverend blood that feebly runs;
For why--unless for liberty enrolled
And sacred home--ah! why should hoary Age be bold?
Fleet the Tartar's reinless steed,
But fleeter far the pinions of the Wind,
Which from Siberian caves the Monarch freed,
And sent him forth, with squadrons of his kind,
And bade the Snow their ample backs bestride,
And to the battle ride.
No pitying voice commands a halt,
No courage can repel the dire assault;
Distracted spiritless, benumbed, and blind,
Whole legions sink--and, in one instant, find
Burial and death: look for them--and descry,
When morn returns, beneath the clear blue sky,
A soundless waste, a trackless vacancy!
Scheme | ABABCCDEDEFF GGHHIIJKKAJAA LMLMAINNMMXXX |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 0100010101 0101010101 11010101001 1101010101 01010101001 1111000111 1101010101 101010101 0101010101 1101011 1101010001 1101000111 1111110101 1011011101 1111010101 11011101 11110111001 1101110101 110100101 11010111001 111110001 110101101 11010011101 1101110001 010111110111 10111 11101101 1101001011 0111110111 010111011 010101 110010101 1101010101 0101101 1101001101 1000111101 1101010111 01101100 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,560 |
Words | 267 |
Sentences | 9 |
Stanzas | 3 |
Stanza Lengths | 12, 13, 13 |
Lines Amount | 38 |
Letters per line (avg) | 33 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 418 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 88 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:21 min read
- 57 Views
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"The French Army In Russia, 1812-13" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/42351/the-french-army-in-russia%2C-1812-13>.
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