Analysis of Goliath and David
Robert Graves 1895 (Wimbledon) – 1985 (Deià)
(For D. C. T., Killed at Fricourt, March, 1916)
Yet once an earlier David took
Smooth pebbles from the brook:
Out between the lines he went
To that one-sided tournament,
A shepherd boy who stood out fine
And young to fight a Philistine
Clad all in brazen mail. He swears
That he’s killed lions, he’s killed bears,
And those that scorn the God of Zion
Shall perish so like bear or lion.
But … the historian of that fight
Had not the heart to tell it right.
Striding within javelin range,
Goliath marvels at this strange
Goodly-faced boy so proud of strength.
David’s clear eye measures the length;
With hand thrust back, he cramps one knee,
Poises a moment thoughtfully,
And hurls with a long vengeful swing.
The pebble, humming from the sling
Like a wild bee, flies a sure line
For the forehead of the Philistine;
Then … but there comes a brazen clink,
And quicker than a man can think
Goliath’s shield parries each cast.
Clang! clang! and clang! was David’s last.
Scorn blazes in the Giant’s eye,
Towering unhurt six cubits high.
Says foolish David, “Damn your shield!
And damn my sling! but I’ll not yield.”
He takes his staff of Mamre oak,
A knotted shepherd-staff that’s broke
The skull of many a wolf and fox
Come filching lambs from Jesse’s flocks.
Loud laughs Goliath, and that laugh
Can scatter chariots like blown chaff
To rout; but David, calm and brave,
Holds his ground, for God will save.
Steel crosses wood, a flash, and oh!
Shame for beauty’s overthrow! 40
(God’s eyes are dim, His ears are shut.)
One cruel backhand sabre-cut—
“I’m hit! I’m killed!” young David cries,
Throws blindly forward, chokes … and dies.
And look, spike-helmeted, grey, grim,
Goliath straddles over him.
Scheme | X AAXXBCDDEEFF GGHHIIJJBCKKLLMMNNOOPPQQRRSSTTUUVV |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 11111111 111100101 110101 1010111 11110100 01011111 0111010 11010111 11110111 011101110 110111110 100100111 11011111 10011001 01010111 10111111 10111001 11111111 1010100 01101101 01010101 10111011 10101010 11110101 01010111 1001111 11011101 11000101 10001111 11010111 01111111 1111111 01010111 011100101 111111 11010011 110100111 11110101 1111111 11010101 11110 11111111 1101101 11111101 11010101 01110011 01010101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,734 |
Words | 303 |
Sentences | 27 |
Stanzas | 3 |
Stanza Lengths | 1, 12, 34 |
Lines Amount | 47 |
Letters per line (avg) | 28 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 436 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 99 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on May 03, 2023
- 1:30 min read
- 127 Views
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