Analysis of The Song Of The Pacifist
What do they matter, our headlong hates, when we take the toll of our Dead?
Think ye our glory and gain will pay for the torrent of blood we have shed?
By the cheers of our Victory will the heart of the mother be comforted?
If by the Victory all we mean is a broken and brooding foe;
Is the pomp and power of a glitt'ring hour, and a truce for an age or so:
By the clay-cold hand on the broken blade we have smitten a bootless blow!
If by the Triumph we only prove that the sword we sheathe is bright;
That justice and truth and love endure; that freedom's throned on the height;
That the feebler folks shall be unafraid; that Might shall never be Right;
If this be all: by the blood-drenched plains, by the havoc of fire and fear,
By the rending roar of the War of Wars, by the Dead so doubly dear. . . .
Then our Victory is a vast defeat, and it mocks us as we cheer.
Victory! there can be but one, hallowed in every land:
When by the graves of our common dead we who were foemen stand;
And in the hush of our common grief hand is tendered to hand.
Triumph! Yes, when out of the dust in the splendour of their release
The spirits of those who fell go forth and they hallow our hearts to peace,
And, brothers in pain, with world-wide voice, we clamour that War shall cease.
Glory! Ay, when from blackest loss shall be born most radiant gain;
When over the gory fields shall rise a star that never shall wane:
Then, and then only, our Dead shall know that they have not fall'n in vain.
When our children's children shall talk of War as a madness that may not be;
When we thank our God for our grief to-day, and blazon from sea to sea
In the name of the Dead the banner of Peace . . . that will be Victory.
Scheme | AAX BBB CCC DDD EEE FFF GGG HHH |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 111101011111011101 1110100111101011111 10111010010110101100 11010011110100101 1010101011000111111 10111101011110011 1101011011011111 1100101011101101 101111011111011 111110111101011001 10101101111011101 110100101010111111 100111111001001 110111010111011 0001110101111011 101111010011101 010111111011010111 010011111111111 1011110111111001 1100101110111011 101101011111111101 1101010111110101111 111101110111011111 00110101011111100 |
Characters | 1,690 |
Words | 336 |
Sentences | 20 |
Stanzas | 8 |
Stanza Lengths | 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3 |
Lines Amount | 24 |
Letters per line (avg) | 55 |
Words per line (avg) | 14 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 164 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 43 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 30, 2023
- 1:42 min read
- 46 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"The Song Of The Pacifist" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 27 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/32652/the-song-of-the-pacifist>.
Discuss this Robert William Service 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