Analysis of Concord Hymn

Ralph Waldo Emerson 1803 (Boston) – 1882 (Concord)



By the rude bridge that arched the flood,
Their flag to April's breeze unfurled,
Here once the embattled farmers stood
And fired the shot heard round the world.

The foe long since in silence slept;
Alike the conqueror silent sleeps;
And Time the ruined bridge has swept
Down the dark stream which seaward creeps.

On this green bank, by this soft stream,
We set today a votive stone;
That memory may their deed redeem,
When, like our sires, our sons are gone.

Spirit, that made those heroes dare
To die, and leave their children free,
Bid Time and Nature gently spare
The shaft we raise to them and thee.


Scheme XAXA BCBC DXDX EFEF
Poetic Form Quatrain  (75%)
Metre 10111101 11110101 110010101 010011101 01110101 010100101 01010111 10111101 11111111 1101011 110011101 1110110111 10111101 11011101 11010101 01111101
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 603
Words 111
Sentences 5
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4
Lines Amount 16
Letters per line (avg) 30
Words per line (avg) 7
Letters per stanza (avg) 119
Words per stanza (avg) 27
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 10, 2023

33 sec read
111

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Ralph Waldo Emerson was an American essayist, lecturer, and poet, who led the Transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century. more…

All Ralph Waldo Emerson poems | Ralph Waldo Emerson Books

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