Analysis of Little Major
Henry Clay Work 1832 (Middletown, Connecticut) – 1884 (Hartford, Connecticut)
At his post, the "Little Major"
Dropp'd his drum, that battle-day;
On the grass, all stain'd with crimson,
Through that battle-night he lay--
Crying "Oh! for love of Jesus,
Grant me but this little boon!
Can you, friend, refuse me water?
Can you, when I die so soon?"
Crying "Oh! for love of Jesus,
Grant me but this little boon!
Can you, friend, refuse me water?
Can you, when I die so soon?"
They are none to hear or help him--
All his friends were early fled,
Save the forms, outstrech'd around him,
Of the dying and the dead.
Hush--they come! there falls a footstep!
How it makes his heart rejoice!
They will help, Oh, they will save him,
When they hear his fainting voice--
Now the lights are flashing round him,
And he hears a loyal word,
Strangers they, whose lips pronouce it,
Yet he trusts his voice is heard.
It is heard--Oh, God forgive them!
They refuse his dying pray'r!
"Nothing but a wounded drummer,"
So they say, and leave him there--
See! the moon that shone above him,
Veils her face, as if in grief;
And the skies are sadly weeping--
Shielding teardrops of relief.
Yet to die, by friends forsaken,
With his last request denied--
This he felt his keenest anquish,
When at morn, he gasp'd and died--
Scheme | abcbDEAE DEAE fgfgxhfh fixixxax fjxjckxk |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 11101010 1111101 10111110 1110111 10111110 1111101 11101110 1111111 10111110 1111101 11101110 1111111 11111111 1110101 1011011 1010001 1111101 1111101 11111111 1111101 10111011 0110101 1011111 1111111 11111011 10111011 10101010 1110111 10111011 1011101 00111010 101101 11111010 1110101 1111101 1111101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,190 |
Words | 227 |
Sentences | 18 |
Stanzas | 5 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 4, 8, 8, 8 |
Lines Amount | 36 |
Letters per line (avg) | 25 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 183 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 44 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:08 min read
- 32 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"Little Major" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 24 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/17272/little-major>.
Discuss this Henry Clay Work 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