Analysis of The Hero
Siegfried Sassoon 1886 (Matfield) – 1967 (Heytesbury)
'Jack fell as he'd have wished,' the mother said,
And folded up the letter that she'd read.
'The Colonel writes so nicely.' Something broke
In the tired voice that quavered to a choke.
She half looked up. 'We mothers are so proud
Of our dead soldiers.' Then her face was bowed.
Quietly the Brother Officer went out.
He'd told the poor old dear some gallant lies
That she would nourish all her days, no doubt
For while he coughed and mumbled, her weak eyes
Had shone with gentle triumph, brimmed with joy,
Because he'd been so brave, her glorious boy.
He thought how 'Jack', cold-footed, useless swine,
Had panicked down the trench that night the mine
Went up at Wicked Corner; how he'd tried
To get sent home, and how, at last, he died,
Blown to small bits. And no one seemed to care
Except that lonely woman with white hair.
Scheme | AABBCC DEDEFF GGHHII |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1111110101 0101010111 0101110101 00101110101 1111110111 11011010111 10001010011 1101111101 1111010111 1111010011 1111010111 01111101001 1111110101 1101011101 1111010111 1111011111 1111011111 0111010111 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 818 |
Words | 156 |
Sentences | 11 |
Stanzas | 3 |
Stanza Lengths | 6, 6, 6 |
Lines Amount | 18 |
Letters per line (avg) | 35 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 212 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 50 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on May 02, 2023
- 47 sec read
- 135 Views
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