Analysis of After Blenheim
Robert Southey 1774 (Bristol) – 1843 (London)
It was a summer evening,
Old Kaspar's work was done,
And he before his cottage door
Was sitting in the sun,
And by him sported on the green
His little grandchild Wilhelmine.
She saw her brother Peterkin
Roll something large and round,
Which he beside the rivulet
In playing there had found;
He came to ask what he had found,
That was so large, and smooth, and round.
Old Kaspar took it from the boy,
Who stood expectant by;
And then the old man shook his head,
And, with a natural sigh,
''Tis some poor fellow's skull,' said he,
'Who fell in the great victory.
'I find them in the garden,
For there's many here about;
And often when I go to plough,
The ploughshare turns them out!
For many thousand men,' said he,
'Were slain in that great victory.'
'Now tell us what 'twas all about,'
Young Peterkin, he cries;
And little Wilhelmine looks up
With wonder-waiting eyes;
'Now tell us all about the war,
And what they fought each other for.'
'It was the English,' Kaspar cried,
'Who put the French to rout;
But what they fought each other for,
I could not well make out;
But everybody said,' quoth he,
'That 'twas a famous victory.
'My father lived at Blenheim then,
Yon little stream hard by;
They burnt his dwelling to the ground,
And he was forced to fly;
So with his wife and child he fled,
Nor had he where to rest his head.
'With fire and sword the country round
Was wasted far and wide,
And many a childing mother then,
And new-born baby died;
But things like that, you know, must be
At every famous victory.
'They say it was a shocking sight
After the field was won;
For many thousand bodies here
Lay rotting in the sun;
But things like that, you know, must be
After a famous victory.
'Great praise the Duke of Marlbro' won,
And our good Prince Eugene.'
'Why, 'twas a very wicked thing!'
Said little Wilhelmine.
'Nay… nay… my little girl,' quoth he,
'It was a famous victory.
'And everybody praised the Duke
Who this great fight did win.'
'But what good came of it at last?'
Quoth little Peterkin.
'Why that I cannot tell,' said he,
'But 'twas a famous victory.'
Scheme | abcbde efffff xghgii bjxjii jkxkcc ljcjii mgfghh flmlIi xbxbIi bdaeii xexeii |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1101010 11111 01011101 110001 01110101 1101100 11010010 110101 110101 010111 11111111 11110101 11011101 110101 01011111 0101001 11110111 11001100 1110010 1110101 01011111 010111 11010111 01011100 11111101 101011 01010011 110101 11110101 01111101 11010101 110111 11111101 111111 1100111 11010100 1101111 110111 11110101 011111 11110111 11111111 110010101 110101 01001101 011101 11111111 110010100 11110101 100111 11010101 110001 11111111 10010100 1101111 0101101 11010101 110100 11110111 11010100 0100101 111111 11111111 110010 11110111 11010100 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 2,014 |
Words | 399 |
Sentences | 19 |
Stanzas | 11 |
Stanza Lengths | 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6 |
Lines Amount | 66 |
Letters per line (avg) | 24 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 143 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 35 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on May 03, 2023
- 1:56 min read
- 1,127 Views
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"After Blenheim" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 3 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/31829/after-blenheim>.
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