Eight O'Clock

Alfred Edward Housman 1859 – 1936



He stood, and heard the steeple
Sprinkle the quarters on the morning town.
One, two, three, four, to market-place and people
It tossed them down.

Strapped, noosed, nighing his hour,
He stood and counted them and cursed his luck;
And then the clock collected in the tower
Its strength, and struck.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 25, 2023

15 sec read
577

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABAB CDCD
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 304
Words 53
Stanzas 2
Stanza Lengths 4, 4

Alfred Edward Housman

Alfred Edward Housman, usually known as A. E. Housman, was an English classical scholar and poet, best known to the general public for his cycle of poems A Shropshire Lad.  more…

All Alfred Edward Housman poems | Alfred Edward Housman Books

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    "Eight O'Clock" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 19 Mar. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/874/eight-o'clock>.

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