Analysis of The Widow At Windsor
'Ave you 'eard o' the Widow at Windsor
With a hairy gold crown on 'er 'ead?
She 'as ships on the foam -- she 'as millions at 'ome,
An' she pays us poor beggars in red.
(Ow, poor beggars in red!)
There's 'er nick on the cavalry 'orses,
There's 'er mark on the medical stores --
An' 'er troopers you'll find with a fair wind be'ind
That takes us to various wars.
(Poor beggars! -- barbarious wars!)
Then 'ere's to the Widow at Windsor,
An' 'ere's to the stores an' the guns,
The men an' the 'orses what makes up the forces
O' Missis Victorier's sons.
(Poor beggars! Victorier's sons!)
Walk wide o' the Widow at Windsor,
For 'alf o' Creation she owns:
We 'ave bought 'er the same with the sword an' the flame,
An' we've salted it down with our bones.
(Poor beggars! -- it's blue with our bones!)
Hands off o' the sons o' the Widow,
Hands off o' the goods in 'er shop,
For the Kings must come down an' the Emperors frown
When the Widow at Windsor says "Stop"!
(Poor beggars! -- we're sent to say "Stop"!)
Then 'ere's to the Lodge o' the Widow,
From the Pole to the Tropics it runs --
To the Lodge that we tile with the rank an' the file,
An' open in form with the guns.
(Poor beggars! -- it's always they guns!)
We 'ave 'eard o' the Widow at Windsor,
It's safest to let 'er alone:
For 'er sentries we stand by the sea an' the land
Wherever the bugles are blown.
(Poor beggars! -- an' don't we get blown!)
Take 'old o' the Wings o' the Mornin',
An' flop round the earth till you're dead;
But you won't get away from the tune that they play
To the bloomin' old rag over'ead.
(Poor beggars! -- it's 'ot over'ead!)
Then 'ere's to the sons o' the Widow,
Wherever, 'owever they roam.
'Ere's all they desire, an' if they require
A speedy return to their 'ome.
(Poor beggars! -- they'll never see 'ome!)
Scheme | ABCBBDDBDDADDDD ADCDDBEFEEBDXDD AGBGGFBXBBBCACC |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1111010110 101011101 111101111011 111111001 111001 101101001 101101001 11101110111 11111001 11011 111010110 11101101 01101111010 1111 11011 111010110 11101011 111001101101 1110111101 110111101 111011010 11101001 101111101001 101011011 11011111 111011010 101101011 101111101101 11001101 1101111 1111010110 11011001 101011101101 01001011 11011111 11101101 11101111 111101101111 101111 110111 111011010 010111 11101011110 01001111 11011011 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,904 |
Words | 356 |
Sentences | 29 |
Stanzas | 3 |
Stanza Lengths | 15, 15, 15 |
Lines Amount | 45 |
Letters per line (avg) | 28 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 426 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 115 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 29, 2023
- 1:53 min read
- 293 Views
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"The Widow At Windsor" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 27 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/33608/the-widow-at-windsor>.
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