Analysis of Mafeking
Alfred Austin 1835 (Leeds) – 1913 (Ashford)
Once again, banners, fly!
Clang again, bells, on high,
Sounding to sea and sky,
Longer and louder,
Mafeking's glory with
Kimberley, Ladysmith,
Of our unconquered kith
Prouder and prouder.
Hemmed in for half a year,
Still with no succour near,
Nor word of hope to cheer
Wounded and dying,
Famished, and foiled of sleep
By the fierce cannon's leap,
They vowed still, still to keep
England's Flag flying.
Nor was their mettle shown
By male and strong alone,
But, as intrepid grown,
Fragile and tender,
Without or tear or sigh,
Echoed the brave old cry,
``We, too, would rather die,
Die than surrender.''
As pressed the foe more near,
Only with naked spear,
Ne'er knowing what to fear,
Parley, or blench meant,
Forward through shot and shell,
While still the foremost fell,
They with resistless yell
Stormed his entrenchment.
Then, when hope dawned at last,
And fled the foe, aghast
At the relieving blast
Heard in the melley,-
O our stout, stubborn kith!
Kimberley, Ladysmith,
Mafeking, wedded with
Lucknow and Delhi!
Sound for them martial lay!
Crown them with battle-bay,
Both those who died, and they
'Gainst death could wrestle:
Powell of endless fame,
All, all with equal claim,
And, of the storied name,
Gallant young Cecil!
Long as the waves shall roll,
Long as Fame guards her scroll,
And men through heart and soul
Thrill to true glory,
Their deed, from age to age,
Shall voice and verse engage,
Swelling the splendid page
Of England's Story.
Scheme | aaabcCcb dddefffe gggbaaab dddxhhhx iiijcCcj kkklmmml nnnjoooj |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 101101 101111 101101 10010 1101 1001 11011 10010 101101 11111 111111 10010 100111 101101 111111 10110 111101 110101 110101 10010 011111 100111 111101 11010 110111 101101 110111 10111 101101 11011 1111 11010 111111 010101 100101 10010 1101101 1001 1101 1010 111101 111101 111101 11110 101101 111101 010101 10110 110111 111101 011101 11110 111111 110101 100101 11010 |
Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
Characters | 1,401 |
Words | 251 |
Sentences | 11 |
Stanzas | 7 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8 |
Lines Amount | 56 |
Letters per line (avg) | 20 |
Words per line (avg) | 4 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 161 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 35 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 24, 2023
- 1:16 min read
- 136 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"Mafeking" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 27 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/767/mafeking>.
Discuss this Alfred Austin 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