Analysis of Beleaguered City, The
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow 1807 (Portland) – 1882 (Cambridge)
I have read, in some old, marvellous tale,
Some legend strange and vague,
That a midnight host of spectres pale
Beleaguered the walls of Prague.
Beside the Moldau's rushing stream,
With the wan moon overhead,
There stood, as in an awful dream,
The army of the dead.
White as a sea-fog, landward bound,
The spectral camp was seen,
And, with a sorrowful, deep sound,
The river flowed between.
No other voice nor sound was there,
No drum, nor sentry's pace;
The mist-like banners clasped the air,
As clouds with clouds embrace.
But when the old cathedral bell
Proclaimed the morning prayer,
The white pavilions rose and fell
On the alarmed air.
Down the broad valley fast and far
The troubled army fled;
Up rose the glorious morning star,
The ghastly host was dead.
I have read, in the marvellous heart of man,
That strange and mystic scroll,
That an army of phantoms vast and wan
Beleaguer the human soul.
Encamped beside Life's rushing stream,
In Fancy's misty light,
Gigantic shapes and shadows gleam
Portentous through the night.
Upon its midnight battle-ground
The spectral camp is seen,
And, with a sorrowful, deep sound,
Flows the River of Life between.
No other voice nor sound is there,
In the army of the grave;
No other challenge breaks the air,
But the rushing of Life's wave.
And when the solemn and deep churchbell
Entreats the soul to pray,
The midnight phantoms feel the spell,
The shadows sweep away.
Down the broad Vale of Tears afar
The spectral camp is fled;
Faith shineth as a morning star,
Our ghastly fears are dead.
Scheme | axax bcbc deDe fgfg hfhf icic xjxj bkbk deDe flfl amhm icic |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain (92%) |
Metre | 11101111 110101 1011111 0100111 0101101 1011101 11101101 010101 11011101 01111 01010011 010101 11011111 11111 01110101 111101 11010101 010101 01010101 10011 10110101 010101 110100101 010111 111001111 110101 1110110101 0100101 01011101 01101 0101011 010101 0111101 01111 01010011 10101101 11011111 0010101 11010101 1010111 01010011 10111 0110101 01101 10111101 01111 1110101 1010111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,545 |
Words | 270 |
Sentences | 13 |
Stanzas | 12 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 48 |
Letters per line (avg) | 25 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 101 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 22 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on May 03, 2023
- 1:22 min read
- 111 Views
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