Analysis of Outward Bound

Sir Henry Newbolt 1862 (Bilston, Staffordshire) – 1938 (Kensington, London)



Dear Earth, near Earth, the clay that made us men,
The land we sowed,
The hearth that glowed---
O Mother, must we bid farewell to thee?
Fast dawns the last dawn, and what shall comfort then
The lonely hearts that roam the outer sea?

Gray wakes the daybreak, the shivering sails are set,
To misty deeps
The channel sweeps---
O Mother, think on us who think on thee!
Earth-home, birth-home, with love remember yet
The sons in exile on the eternal sea.


Scheme AXXBAB CDDBCB
Poetic Form
Metre 1111011111 0111 0111 110111111 11011011101 0101110101 11010100111 1101 0101 1101111111 1111110101 0101100101
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 446
Words 84
Sentences 5
Stanzas 2
Stanza Lengths 6, 6
Lines Amount 12
Letters per line (avg) 29
Words per line (avg) 7
Letters per stanza (avg) 173
Words per stanza (avg) 41
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

25 sec read
156

Sir Henry Newbolt

Sir Henry John Newbolt, CH was an English poet, novelist and historian. He also had a very powerful role as a government adviser, particularly on Irish issues and with regard to the study of English in England. He is perhaps best remembered for his poems "Vitaï Lampada" and "Drake's Drum". more…

All Sir Henry Newbolt poems | Sir Henry Newbolt Books

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