Analysis of Abu midjan

Eugene Field 1850 (St. Louis) – 1895 (Chicago)



When Father Time swings round his scythe,
 Entomb me 'neath the bounteous vine,
So that its juices, red and blithe,
 May cheer these thirsty bones of mine.

"Elsewise with tears and bated breath
 Should I survey the life to be.
But oh! How should I hail the death
 That brings that--vinous grace to me!"

So sung the dauntless Saracen,
 Whereat the Prophet-Chief ordains
That, curst of Allah, loathed of men,
 The faithless one shall die in chains.

But one vile Christian slave that lay
 A prisoner near that prisoner saith:
"God willing, I will plant some day
 A vine where liest thou in death."

Lo, over Abu Midjan's grave
 With purpling fruit a vine-tree grows;
Where rots the martyred Christian slave
 Allah, and only Allah, knows!


Scheme ABXB CDCD BEXE FAFC GEGE
Poetic Form Quatrain 
Metre 11011111 0111011 11110101 11110111 1110101 11010111 11111101 1111111 11011 101011 11110111 0111101 11110111 0100111001 11011111 0111101 1101011 1110111 11010101 10010101
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 722
Words 130
Sentences 8
Stanzas 5
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4, 4
Lines Amount 20
Letters per line (avg) 28
Words per line (avg) 6
Letters per stanza (avg) 113
Words per stanza (avg) 25
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

38 sec read
52

Eugene Field

Eugene Field, Sr. was an American writer, best known for his children's poetry and humorous essays. more…

All Eugene Field poems | Eugene Field Books

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