Analysis of The Soldier's Grave
Letitia Elizabeth Landon 1802 (Chelsea) – 1838 (Cape Coast)
THERE'S a white stone placed upon yonder tomb,
Beneath is a soldier lying -
The death-wound came, amid sword and plume,
When banner and ball were flying.
Yet now he sleeps, the turf on his breast,
By wet wild flowers surrounded;
The church shadow falls o'er the place of his rest,
Where the steps of his childhood bounded.
There were tears, that fell from manly eyes,
There was woman's gentle weeping,
And the wailing of age and infant cries,
O'er the grave, where he lies sleeping.
He had left his home in his spirit's pride,
With his father's sword and blessing;
He stood with the valiant, side by side,
His country's wrongs redressing.
He came again, in the light of his fame,
When the red campaign was over;
One heart, that, in secret, had kept his name,
Was claimed by the soldier lover.
But the cloud of strife came upon the sky;-
He left his sweet home for battle;
Left his young child's lisp for the loud war-cry,
And the cannon's long death-rattle.
He came again - but an altered man:
The path of the grave was before him,
And the smile, that he wore, was cold and wan,
For the shadow of death hung o'er him.
He spoke of victory - spoke of cheer:-
These are the words, that are vainly spoken
To the childless mother, or orphan's ear,
Or the widow, whose heart is broken.
A helmet and sword are engraved on the stone,
Half hidden by yonder willow;
There he sleeps, whose death in battle was won,
But he died on his own home pillow.
Scheme | ABAB CDCD EBEB FBFB GHGH IJIJ XKXK XLXL XMLM |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain |
Metre | 1011101101 01101010 011101101 11001010 111101111 11110010 01111001111 10111110 101111101 11101010 0010110101 100111110 1111101101 11101010 111010111 1101010 1101001111 10101110 1110101111 11101010 1011110101 11111110 1111110111 00101110 110111101 011011011 0011111101 101111101 111100111 1101111010 101010111 101011110 01001101101 1101101 1111101011 111111110 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,414 |
Words | 272 |
Sentences | 10 |
Stanzas | 9 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 36 |
Letters per line (avg) | 31 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 123 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 30 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:24 min read
- 137 Views
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"The Soldier's Grave" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 27 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/25730/the-soldier%27s-grave>.
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