Analysis of The Battle of Glencoe
William Topaz McGonagall 1825 – 1902 (Greyfriars Parish, Edinburgh)
Twas in the month of October, and in the year of 1899,
Which the Boers will remember for a very long time,
Because by the British Army they received a crushing blow;
And were driven from Smith's Hill at the Battle of Glencoe.
The Boers' plan of the battle was devised with great skill,
And about 7000 men of them were camped on Smith's Hill;
And at half-past five the battle began,
And the Boers behaved bravely to a man.
At twenty minutes to six two of the British batteries opened fire,
And early in the fight some of the Boers began to retire;
And in half an hour the Boers' artillery had ceased to fire,
And from the crest of the hill they began to retire.
And General Symons with his staff was watching every detail,
The brave hero whose courage in the battle didn't fail;
Because he ordered the King's Royal Rifles and the Dublin Fusiliers,
To advance in skirmishing order, which they did with three cheers.
Then they boldly advanced in very grand style,
And encouraged by their leaders all the while;
And their marching in skirmishing order was beautiful to see,
As they advanced boldly to attack the enemy.
For over an hour the advance continued without dismay,
Until they had to take a breath by the way;
They felt so fatigued climbing up Smith's Hill,
But, nevertheless, the brave heroes did it with a will.
Then they prepared to attack the enemy,
And with wild battle-cries they attacked them vigorously;
And with one determined rush they ascended the hill,
And drove the Boers from their position sore against their will.
But, alas, General Symons received a mortal wound,
Which caused his soldiers' sorrow to be profound;
But still they fought on manfully without any dread;
But, alas, brave General Symons now is dead.
Oh! It was a most inspiring and a magnificent sight,
To see the Hussars spurring their steeds with all their might;
And charging the Boers with their lances of steel,
Which hurled them from their saddles and made them reel.
The battle raged for six hours and more,
While British cannon Smith's Hill up tore;
Still the Boers fought manfully, without dismay,
But in a short time they had to give way.
For the Gordon Highlanders soon put an end to the fight,
Oh! it was a most gorgeous and thrilling sight,
To see them with their bagpipes playing, and one ringing cheer,
And from Smith's Hill they soon did the Boers clear.
And at the charge of the bayonet they made them fly,
While their leaders cried, "Forward, my lads, do or die",
And the Boers' blood copiously they did spill,
And the Boers were forced to fly from Smith's Hill.
And in conclusion I hope and pray
The British will be successful when from home far away;
And long may the Gordons be able to conquer the foe,
At home or abroad, wherever they go.
Scheme | XXAX BBCC DEDE FFGG HHGI JJBB IIBB KKLL MMNN OOJJ MMPP QQBB JJAA |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain (92%) |
Metre | 1001101000011 1011010101011 011010101010101 0010111101011 0111010101111 00111101111 0111101001 0010110101 1101011110101001010 010001110101101 00111001010011110 0101101101101 01001011111010001 01101100010101 0111001101000101 101010010111111 11100101011 00101110101 0110010010110011 1101101010100 1101100010100101 01111101101 1110110111 1001011011101 11011010100 01110110111000 0110101101001 01011101010111 10110010010101 11110101101 1111110001101 101110010111 111010100001001 110110111111 0100111111 11111100111 0101111001 110101111 10111000101 1001111111 1010101111101 11101100101 1111111001101 0111111011 010110101111 111011011111 0011100111 0010111111 000101101 01011010111101 0110111011001 1110101011 |
Closest metre | Iambic hexameter |
Characters | 2,712 |
Words | 497 |
Sentences | 16 |
Stanzas | 13 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 52 |
Letters per line (avg) | 42 |
Words per line (avg) | 10 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 167 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 38 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 2:31 min read
- 32 Views
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"The Battle of Glencoe" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 11 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/41862/the-battle-of-glencoe>.
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