Analysis of Upon Watts' Picture Sic Transit
John McCrae 1872 (Guelph) – 1918 (Boulogne-sur-Mer)
"What I spent I had; what I saved, I lost; what I gave, I have."
But yesterday the tourney, all the eager joy of life,
The waving of the banners, and the rattle of the spears,
The clash of sword and harness, and the madness of the strife;
To-night begin the silence and the peace of endless years.
( One sings within.)
But yesterday the glory and the prize,
And best of all, to lay it at her feet,
To find my guerdon in her speaking eyes:
I grudge them not, -- - they pass, albeit sweet.
The ring of spears, the winning of the fight,
The careless song, the cup, the love of friends,
The earth in spring -- - to live, to feel the light -- -
'Twas good the while it lasted: here it ends.
Remain the well-wrought deed in honour done,
The dole for Christ's dear sake, the words that fall
In kindliness upon some outcast one, -- -
They seemed so little: now they are my All.
Scheme | X ABAB X CDCD EFEF GHGH |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 111111111111111 1100101010111 01010100010101 01110100010101 11010100011101 1101 110010001 0111111101 111100101 1111110101 0111010101 0101010111 0101111101 1101110111 010111011 0111110111 0101111 1111011111 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 876 |
Words | 176 |
Sentences | 7 |
Stanzas | 6 |
Stanza Lengths | 1, 4, 1, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 18 |
Letters per line (avg) | 36 |
Words per line (avg) | 10 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 108 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 29 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 09, 2023
- 52 sec read
- 65 Views
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"Upon Watts' Picture Sic Transit" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 8 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/23788/upon-watts%27-picture-sic-transit>.
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