Analysis of Dead Men Tell No Tales



They say that dead men tell no tales!

Except of barges with red sails
And sailors mad for nightingales;

Except of jongleurs stretched at ease
Beside old highways through the trees;

Except of dying moons that break
The hearts of lads who lie awake;

Except of fortresses in shade,
And heroes crumbled and betrayed.

But dead men tell no tales, they say!

Except old tales that burn away
The stifling tapestries of day:

Old tales of life, of love and hate,
Of time and space, and will, and fate.


Scheme A AA BB CC DD E EE FF
Poetic Form
Metre 11111111 01110111 010111 0111111 0111101 01110111 01111101 01110001 01010001 11111111 01111101 01010011 11111101 11010101
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 496
Words 91
Sentences 5
Stanzas 8
Stanza Lengths 1, 2, 2, 2, 2, 1, 2, 2
Lines Amount 14
Letters per line (avg) 28
Words per line (avg) 6
Letters per stanza (avg) 49
Words per stanza (avg) 11
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

27 sec read
68

Haniel Long

Haniel Clark Long was an American poet, novelist, publisher and academic. more…

All Haniel Long poems | Haniel Long Books

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