Analysis of The Watchers
Edmund Blunden 1896 (London) – 1974 (Long Melford)
I heard the challenge 'Who goes there?'
Close kept but mine through midnight air
I answered and was recognized
And passed, and kindly thus advised;
'There's someone crawling though the grass
By the red ruin, or there was,
And them machine guns been a firin'
All the time the chaps was wirin',
So Sir if you're goin' out
You'll keep you 'ead well down no doubt.'
When will the stern fine 'Who goes there?'
Meet me again in midnight air?
And the gruff sentry's kindness, when
Will kindness have such power again?
It seems as, now I wake and brood,
And know my hour's decreptitude,
That on some dewy parapet
the sentry's spirit gazes yet,
Who will not speak with altered tone
When I am last am seem and known.
Scheme | AABBXXCCDD AACCXBEECC |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Etheree (30%) Tetractys (20%) |
Metre | 11010111 1111111 1100110 01010101 1110101 10110111 01011101 1010111 111111 11111111 11011111 1101011 0011101 110111001 11111101 011101 1111010 0110101 11111101 11111101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 695 |
Words | 135 |
Sentences | 7 |
Stanzas | 2 |
Stanza Lengths | 10, 10 |
Lines Amount | 20 |
Letters per line (avg) | 27 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 273 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 65 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 41 sec read
- 73 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"The Watchers" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 16 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/9135/the-watchers>.
Discuss this Edmund Blunden 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