Analysis of When the Irish Flag Went By
’Twas Eight-Hour Day, and proudly
Old Labour led the way;
The drums were bearing loudly,
The crowded streets were gay;
But something touched my heart like pain,
I could not check the sigh
That rose within my bosom when
The Irish Flag went by.
Bright flags were raised about it
And one of them my own:
And patriots trod beneath it—
But it seemed all alone.
I thought of ruined Ireland
While crystals from the sky
Fell soft like tears by angels shed,
As the Irish Flag went by.
I love the dark green standard
As Irish patriots do;
It waves above the rebels,
And I’m a rebel too,
I thought of Ireland’s darkest years,
Her griefs that follow fast;
For drooping as ’twere drenched with tears
The Irish Flag went past.
And though ’twas not in Erin
That my forefathers trod;
And though my wandering footsteps
Ne’er pressed the “dear old sod”,
I felt the wrongs the Irish feel
Beneath the northern sky.
And felt the rebel in my heart
When the Irish Flag went by.
I tell you, men of England,
Who rule the land by might;
I tell you, Irish traitors
Who sell the sons of light,
The tyranny shall fail at last,
That changeful days are nigh;
And you shall dip your red flag yet,
When the Irish Flag goes by.
Scheme | ABABXCDC EFEFGCXC XHXHIJIJ DKXKXCXC GLILJCXC |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 11101010 11101 0101010 010101 11011111 111101 11011101 010111 1101011 011111 01001011 111101 11110100 110101 11111101 1010111 1101110 1101001 1101010 010101 11110101 011101 11011111 010111 0111010 11101 0111001 110111 11010101 010101 01010011 1010111 1111110 110111 1111010 110111 01001111 11111 01111111 1010111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,180 |
Words | 227 |
Sentences | 8 |
Stanzas | 5 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8, 8, 8, 8 |
Lines Amount | 40 |
Letters per line (avg) | 23 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 186 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 45 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:08 min read
- 127 Views
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"When the Irish Flag Went By" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2025. Web. 14 Mar. 2025. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/18182/when-the-irish-flag-went-by>.
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