Analysis of Birds of Prey
Claude McKay 1889 (Clarendon Parish) – 1948 (Chicago)
Their shadow dims the sunshine of our day,
As they go lumbering across the sky,
Squawking in joy of feeling safe on high,
Beating their heavy wings of owlish gray.
They scare the singing birds of earth away
As, greed-impelled, they circle threateningly,
Watching the toilers with malignant eye,
From their exclusive haven--birds of prey.
They swoop down for the spoil in certain might,
And fasten in our bleeding flesh their claws.
They beat us to surrender weak with fright,
And tugging and tearing without let or pause,
They flap their hideous wings in grim delight,
And stuff our gory hearts into their maws.
Scheme | ABBAACBADEDEDE |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 111011101 1111000101 1001110111 101101111 1101011101 11011101000 100110101 1101010111 1111010101 01001010111 1111010111 01001001111 11110010101 01101010111 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 619 |
Words | 106 |
Sentences | 5 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 14 |
Lines Amount | 14 |
Letters per line (avg) | 35 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 490 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 104 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 27, 2023
- 31 sec read
- 251 Views
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"Birds of Prey" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/6847/birds-of-prey>.
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