Analysis of Felo De Se
James Elroy Flecker 1884 (London) – 1915
The song of a man who was dead
Ere any had heard of his song,
Or had seen this his ultimate song,
With the lines of it written in red,
And the sound of it steady and strong.
When you hear it, you know I am dead.
Not because I was weary of life
As pallid poets are:
My star was a conquering star,
My element strife.
I am young, I am strong, I am brave,
It is therefore I go to the grave.
Now to life and to life's desire,
And to youth and the glory of youth,
Farewell, for I go to acquire,
By the one road left me, Truth.
Though a great God slay me with fire
I will shout till he answer me. Why?
(One soul and a Universe, why?)
And for this it is pleasant to die.
For years and years I have slumbered,
And slumber was heavy and sweet,
But the last few moments are numbered
Like trampling feet that beat.
I shall walk with the stars in their courses,
And hear very soon, very soon,
The voice of the forge of the Forces,
And ride on a ridge of the moon,
And sing a celestial tune.
Scheme | ABBABA CDDCEE FGFGFHHH AIXIXJXJJ |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 01101111 11011111 111111001 101111001 001111001 111111111 101111011 110101 11101001 11001 111111111 11111101 111011010 011001011 11111010 1011111 101111110 111111011 1100101 011111011 1101111 01011001 101110110 110111 1111010110 01101101 011011010 01101101 0100101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 958 |
Words | 207 |
Sentences | 11 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 6, 6, 8, 9 |
Lines Amount | 29 |
Letters per line (avg) | 25 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 185 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 51 |
Font size:
Submitted on August 03, 2020
Modified on April 29, 2023
- 1:02 min read
- 14 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"Felo De Se" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 6 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/55673/felo-de-se>.
Discuss this James Elroy Flecker poem analysis with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In