Analysis of When Will It End?
Written during the Civil War in the United States.
O when will it end, this appalling strife,
With its reckless waste of human life,
Its riving of highest, holiest ties,
Its tears of anguish and harrowing sighs,
Its ruined homes from which hope has fled,
Its broken hearts and its countless dead?
In fair Virginia the new-made graves
Lie crowded thick as old ocean’s caves;
Whether sword or sickness dealt the blow,
What matters it?—They lie cold and low;
And Maryland’s heights are crimsoned o’er,
And its green vales stained, with human gore.
The stalwart man in the prime of life,
Sole stay of frail children and helpless wife;
The bright-eyed, ardent, and beardless boy,
Of some mother’s fond breast the pride and joy,
And the soldier-love, the idol rare
Of maiden and matron, gentle and fair.
The men of the North so dauntless and free,
The flower of the Southland chivalry,
The best and the bravest on either side,
Their citizen soldier, the nation’s pride,
Carelessly cast in each narrow, dank bed,
And fruitlessly numbered among the dead.
Are you nearer the end than when Sumter’s gun
Answered the summons of Charleston,
And the nation plunged in this deadly strife,
That has wrecked its happiness, wealth and life,—
Say what is your answer to foe or friend?
“’Tis a strife of which none can guess the end.”
Oh! keep your young strength for some stranger foe,
Let not brother’s rash hand lay brother low;
Remember one soil your childhood nursed,
In the past together your bonds you burst;
Together for freedom you learned to strike,
And brave Washington honored you both alike.
You have proved to the nations your mutual might;
You have proved you can suffer, struggle and fight;
By hundreds and thousands lie heaped your slain,
Your life-blood crimsons hill, stream and plain;
Prove of nobler struggle you are able yet,
And your mutual wrongs forgive and forget.
Oh, Father of mercies! stay now each hand,
Put back in its sheath the blood stained brand,
Whisper sage counsel to rulers proud,
Calm the wrath of the people, fierce and loud,
So that their hates and their strife may cease,
And their land know once more the boon of peace.
Scheme | XAABBCC DDEEFF AAGGFF FFHHCC IIAAJJ EEKKLL MMNNOO PPQQRR |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 10100101000101 1111110101 111011101 111101001 1111001001 110111111 110101101 010100111 110111101 101110101 110111101 011111 011111101 010100111 1111100101 01110011 1110110101 001010101 1100101001 011011101 010101100 0100101101 1100100101 1001011011 0100100101 1110011111 10010110 0010101101 1111100101 1111101111 1011111101 1111111101 1110111101 01011111 0010101111 0101101111 01100101101 111101011001 11111101001 1100101111 11111101 11101011101 01100101001 1101101111 110110111 101101101 1011010101 111101111 0111110111 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 2,136 |
Words | 377 |
Sentences | 14 |
Stanzas | 8 |
Stanza Lengths | 7, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6 |
Lines Amount | 49 |
Letters per line (avg) | 35 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 212 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 47 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 20, 2023
- 1:53 min read
- 94 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"When Will It End?" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 19 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/33103/when-will-it-end%3F>.
Discuss this Rosanna Eleanor Leprohon 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