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 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 38 sec read
- 52 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"Abu midjan" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 21 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/12888/abu-midjan>.
Discuss this Eugene Field poem analysis with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In