Analysis of The Lads in Their Hundreds
Alfred Edward Housman 1859 – 1936
The lads in their hundreds to Ludlow come in for the fair,
There's men from the barn and the forge and the mill and the fold,
The lads for the girls and the lads for the liquor are there,
And there with the rest are the lads that will never be old.
There's chaps from the town and the field and the till and the cart,
And many to count are the stalwart, and many the brave,
And many the handsome of face and the handsome of heart,
And few that will carry their looks or their truth to the grave.
I wish one could know them, I wish there were tokens to tell
The fortunate fellows that now you can never discern;
And then one could talk with them friendly and wish them farewell
And watch them depart on the way that they will not return.
But now you may stare as you like and there's nothing to scan;
And brushing your elbow unguessed-at and not to be told
They carry back bright to the coiner the mintage of man,
The lads that will die in their glory and never be old.
Scheme | ABAB CDCD EFEF GBGB |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain |
Metre | 0101101110101 11101001001001 01101001101011 01101101111011 11101001001001 01011101001001 01001011001011 01111011111101 11111111101011 01001011111001 0111111100111 01101101111101 11111111011011 010111101111 11011101001011 01111011001011 |
Closest metre | Iambic heptameter |
Characters | 976 |
Words | 195 |
Sentences | 5 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 16 |
Letters per line (avg) | 47 |
Words per line (avg) | 12 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 189 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 48 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 20, 2023
- 59 sec read
- 134 Views
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