Analysis of Robert Gould Shaw
Paul Laurence Dunbar 1872 (Dayton) – 1906
Why was it that the thunder voice of Fate
Should call thee, studious, from the classic groves,
Where calm-eyed Pallas with still footsteps roves,
And charge thee seek the turmoil of the State?
What bade thee hear the voice and rise elate,
Leave home and kindred and thy spicy loaves,
To lead th' unlettered and despised droves
To manhood's home and thunder at the gate?
Far better the slow blaze of Learning's light,
The cool and quiet of her dearer fane,
Than this hot terror of a hopeless fight,
This cold endurance of the final pain,-
Since thou and those who with thee died for right
Have died, the Present teaches, but in vain!
Scheme | ABBAABBA CDCDCD |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Petrarchan sonnet |
Metre | 1111010111 11110010101 111101111 011101101 1111010101 1101001101 111110011 111010101 110011111 0101010101 1111010101 1110010101 1101111111 1101010101 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 627 |
Words | 117 |
Sentences | 4 |
Stanzas | 2 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 6 |
Lines Amount | 14 |
Letters per line (avg) | 36 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 250 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 57 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 21, 2023
- 35 sec read
- 165 Views
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"Robert Gould Shaw" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 2 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/28851/robert-gould-shaw>.
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