Analysis of Memorial Day
Joyce Kilmer 1886 (New Brunswick) – 1918 (Seringes-et-Nesles)
"Dulce et decorum est"
The bugle echoes shrill and sweet,
But not of war it sings to-day.
The road is rhythmic with the feet
Of men-at-arms who come to pray.
The roses blossom white and red
On tombs where weary soldiers lie;
Flags wave above the honored dead
And martial music cleaves the sky.
Above their wreath-strewn graves we kneel,
They kept the faith and fought the fight.
Through flying lead and crimson steel
They plunged for Freedom and the Right.
May we, their grateful children, learn
Their strength, who lie beneath this sod,
Who went through fire and death to earn
At last the accolade of God.
In shining rank on rank arrayed
They march, the legions of the Lord;
He is their Captain unafraid,
The Prince of Peace . . . Who brought a sword.
Scheme | X ABAB CDCD EFEF GHGH IJIJ |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1101001 01010101 11111111 01110101 11111111 01010101 11110101 11010101 01010101 01111111 11010101 11010101 11110001 11110101 11110111 111100111 1101011 01011101 11010101 1111001 01111101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 755 |
Words | 136 |
Sentences | 11 |
Stanzas | 6 |
Stanza Lengths | 1, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 21 |
Letters per line (avg) | 28 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 98 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 23 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on May 01, 2023
- 40 sec read
- 358 Views
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"Memorial Day" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 3 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/24644/memorial-day>.
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