Analysis of The Death and Last Confession of Wandering Peter
Hilaire Belloc 1870 (La Celle-Saint-Cloud) – 1953
When Peter Wanderwide was young
He wandered everywhere he would:
All that he approved was sung,
And most of what he saw was good.
When Peter Wanderwide was thrown
By Death himself beyond Auxerre,
He chanted in heroic tone
To priests and people gathered there:
"If all that I have loved and seen
Be with me on the Judgment Day,
I shall be saved the crowd between
From Satan and his foul array.
"Almighty God will surely cry,
'St. Michael! Who is this that stands
With Ireland in his dubious eye,
And Perigord between his hands,
"'And on his arm the stirrup-thongs,
And in his gait the narrow seas,
And in his mouth Burgundian songs,
But in his heart the Pyrenees?'
"St. Michael then will answer right
(And not without angelic shame),
'I seem to know his face by sight:
I cannot recollect his name . . . . ?'
"St. Peter will befriend me then,
Because my name is Peter too:
'I know him for the best of men
That ever walloped barley brew.
"'And though I did not know him well
And though his soul were clogged with sin,
I hold the keys of Heaven and Hell.
Be welcome, noble Peterkin.'
"Then shall I spread my native wings
And tread secure the heavenly floor,
And tell the blessed doubtful things
Of Val d'Aran and Perigord."
This was the last and solemn jest
Of weary Peter Wanderwide.
He spoke it with a failing zest,
And having spoken it, he died.
Scheme | ABAB CDCD EXED DFXF FGXG HIHI JXJD KLKL MDMB NBNX |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain (80%) Etheree (33%) |
Metre | 110111 1101011 1110111 01111111 110111 1101011 11000101 11010101 11111101 11110101 11110101 11001101 01011101 11011111 1100011001 010111 01110101 00110101 001101001 10110100 11011101 0101101 11111111 1100111 11010111 01111101 11110111 1101101 01111111 01110111 110111001 11010010 11111101 010101001 0101101 1111001 11010101 110101 11110101 01010111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,322 |
Words | 253 |
Sentences | 19 |
Stanzas | 10 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 40 |
Letters per line (avg) | 26 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 104 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 25 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 14, 2023
- 1:15 min read
- 49 Views
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