Analysis of John Lackland
George Meredith 1828 (Portsmouth, Hampshire) – 1909 (Box Hill, Surrey)
A wicked man is bad enough on earth;
But O the baleful lustre of a chief
Once pledged in tyranny! O star of dearth
Darkly illumining a nation's grief!
How many men have worn thee on their brows!
Alas for them and us! God's precious gift
Of gracious dispensation got by theft -
The damning form of false unholy vows!
The thief of God and man must have his fee:
And thou, John Lackland, despicable prince -
Basest of England's banes before or since!
Thrice traitor, coward, thief! O thou shalt be
The historic warning, trampled and abhorr'd
Who dared to steal and stain the symbols of the Lord!
| Scheme | ABABCDECFGGFHH |
|---|---|
| Poetic Form | |
| Metre | 0101110111 1101010101 1101001111 1010101 1101111111 0111011101 110010111 0101110101 0111011111 011101001 111010111 1101011111 00101010001 111101010101 |
| Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
| Characters | 600 |
| Words | 111 |
| Sentences | 9 |
| Stanzas | 1 |
| Stanza Lengths | 14 |
| Lines Amount | 14 |
| Letters per line (avg) | 33 |
| Words per line (avg) | 8 |
| Letters per stanza (avg) | 463 |
| Words per stanza (avg) | 109 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 34 sec read
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"John Lackland" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 30 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/15479/john-lackland>.
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