Analysis of Vitaï Lampada
Sir Henry Newbolt 1862 (Bilston, Staffordshire) – 1938 (Kensington, London)
There's a breathless hush in the Close to-night --
Ten to make and the match to win --
A bumping pitch and a blinding light,
An hour to play and the last man in.
And it's not for the sake of a ribboned coat,
Or the selfish hope of a season's fame,
But his Captain's hand on his shoulder smote
"Play up! play up! and play the game!"
The sand of the desert is sodden red, --
Red with the wreck of a square that broke; --
The Gatling's jammed and the colonel dead,
And the regiment blind with dust and smoke.
The river of death has brimmed his banks,
And England's far, and Honour a name,
But the voice of schoolboy rallies the ranks,
"Play up! play up! and play the game!"
This is the word that year by year
While in her place the School is set
Every one of her sons must hear,
And none that hears it dare forget.
This they all with a joyful mind
Bear through life like a torch in flame,
And falling fling to the host behind --
"Play up! play up! and play the game!"
Scheme | ababxcaC dedefcfC xgxghchC |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1010100111 11100111 010100101 1101100110 0111011011 1010110101 1110111101 11110101 0110101101 110110111 010100101 0010011101 010111111 01010101 101111001 11110101 11011111 10010111 100110111 01111101 11110101 11110101 010110101 11110101 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 972 |
Words | 199 |
Sentences | 13 |
Stanzas | 3 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8, 8 |
Lines Amount | 24 |
Letters per line (avg) | 30 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 241 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 65 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on May 01, 2023
- 1:00 min read
- 681 Views
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"Vitaï Lampada" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 27 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/35185/vita%C3%AF-lampada>.
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