Analysis of The Captive Knight
Felicia Dorothea Hemans 1793 (Liverpool, Lancashire) – 1835 (Dublin, County Dublin)
The prisoned thrush may brook the cage,
The captive eagle dies for rage.
Lady of the Lake.
'Twas a trumpet's pealing sound!
And the knight look'd down from the Paynim's tower,
And a Christian host, in its pride and power,
Thro' the pass beneath him wound.
Cease awhile, clarion! Clarion, wild and shrill,
Cease! let them hear the captive's voice–be still!
'I knew 'twas a trumpet's note!
And I see my brethren's lances gleam,
And their pennons wave by the mountain stream,
And their plumes to the glad wind float!
Cease awhile, clarion! Clarion, wild and shrill,
Cease! let them hear the captive's voice–be still!
'I am here, with my heavy chain!
And I look on a torrent sweeping by,
And an eagle rushing to the sky,
And a host, to its battle-plain!
Cease awhile, clarion! Clarion, wild and shrill,
Cease! let them hear the captive's voice–be still!
'Must I pine in my fetters here?
With the wild wave's foam, and the free bird's flight,
And the tall spears glancing on my sight,
And the trumpet in mine ear?
Cease awhile, clarion! Clarion, wild and shrill,
Cease! let them hear the captive's voice–be still!
'They are gone! they have all pass'd by!
They in whose wars I had borne my part,
They that I lov'd with a brother's heart,
They have left me here to die!
Sound again, clarion! Clarion, pour thy blast!
Sound! for the captive's dream of hope is past.'
Scheme | aax bccbDDeffeDD ghhgDD ijjiDD hkkhll |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 01011101 01010111 10101 10111 0011110110 00101011010 1010111 101100100101 111101111 111011 0111111 011110101 01110111 101100100101 111101111 11111101 0111010101 011010101 00111101 101100100101 111101111 11101101 1011100111 001110111 0010011 101100100101 111101111 11111111 101111111 111110101 1111111 101100100111 110111111 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,368 |
Words | 245 |
Sentences | 30 |
Stanzas | 5 |
Stanza Lengths | 3, 12, 6, 6, 6 |
Lines Amount | 33 |
Letters per line (avg) | 31 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 206 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 48 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 27, 2023
- 1:17 min read
- 51 Views
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"The Captive Knight" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/13558/the-captive-knight>.
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