Analysis of Guilielmus Rex



The folk who lived in Shakespeare's day
And saw that gentle figure pass
By London Bridge, his frequent way--
They little knew what man he was.

The pointed beard, the courteous mien,
The equal port to high and low,
All this they saw or might have seen--
But not the light behind the brow!

The doublet's modest gray or brown,
The slender sword-hilt's plain device,
What sign had these for prince or clown?
Few turned, or none, to scan him twice.

Yet 't was the King of England's kings!
The rest with all their pomps and trains
Are mouldered, half-remembered things--
'T is he alone that lives and reigns!


Scheme AXAX BXBX CDCD EFEF
Poetic Form
Metre 0111011 01110101 11011101 11011111 010101001 01011101 11111111 11010101 0110111 01011101 11111111 11111111 111011101 01111101 1110101 111011101
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 607
Words 111
Sentences 7
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4
Lines Amount 16
Letters per line (avg) 29
Words per line (avg) 7
Letters per stanza (avg) 116
Words per stanza (avg) 27
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

34 sec read
90

Thomas Bailey Aldrich

Thomas Bailey Aldrich was a poet novelist traveler and editor more…

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