Analysis of The Last Question: (For B. A. Bingham)



They lifted up his weary head,
Stained with a dark and bitter dew:
'How does the battle go?' he said.

Sir, it is victory,' -- when he heard
He smiled the darkening shadows through
And died as blithe as a singing bird.

On the stained grass as on a bed
Dying he lay and well content --
'Sir, it is victory,' they said.

So smiling, smiling all the way,
To the undying Dead he went
As to a heavenly holiday.


Scheme ABA CBC ADA EDE
Poetic Form
Metre 11011101 11010101 11010111 111100111 11010011 011110101 10111101 10110110 11110011 11010101 10010111 11010010
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 400
Words 85
Sentences 6
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 3, 3, 3, 3
Lines Amount 12
Letters per line (avg) 25
Words per line (avg) 7
Letters per stanza (avg) 76
Words per stanza (avg) 20
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

24 sec read
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Katharine Tynan

Katharine Tynan was an Irish-born writer, known mainly for her novels and poetry. more…

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