Analysis of The Lady of the Lake: Canto 1 (excerpt)

Sir Walter Scott 1771 (College Wynd, Edinburgh) – 1832 (Abbotsford, Roxburghshire)



Soldier, rest! thy warfare o'er,
      Sleep the sleep that knows not breaking:
  Dream of battled fields no more,
      Days of danger, nights of waking.
  In our isle's enchanted hall,
      Hands unseen thy couch are strewing,
  Fairy strains of music fall,
      Every sense in slumber dewing.
  Soldier, rest! thy warfare o'er,
  Dream of fighting fields no more:
  Sleep the sleep that knows not breaking,
  Morn of toil, nor night of waking.

No rude sound shall reach thine ear,
      Armour's clang, or war-steed champing,
  Trump nor pibroch summon here
      Mustering clan, or squadron tramping.
  Yet the lark's shrill fife may come
      At the day-break from the fallow,
  And the bittern sound his drum,
      Booming from the sedgy shallow.
  Ruder sounds shall none be near,
  Guards nor warders challenge here,
  Here's no war-steed's neigh and champing,
  Shouting clans or squadrons stamping....

Huntsman, rest! thy chase is done,
      While our slumbrous spells assail ye,
  Dream not, with the rising sun,
      Bugles here shall sound reveillé.
  Sleep! the deer is in his den;
      Sleep! thy hounds are by thee lying;
  Sleep! nor dream in yonder glen,
      How thy gallant steed lay dying.
  Huntsman, rest; thy chase is done,
  Think not of the rising sun,
  For at dawning to assail ye,
  Here no bugles sound reveillé.


Scheme ABcbdbdbAcBb ebebfgfgxebb HihdjbjbHhid
Poetic Form
Metre 1011110 10111110 1110111 11101110 01010101 1011111 1011101 100101010 1011110 1110111 10111110 11111110 1111111 111111 111101 100111010 1011111 1011101 001111 1010110 1011111 1110101 1111101 10111010 1011111 11011011 1110101 101111 1011011 11111110 1110101 11101110 1011111 1110101 11101011 111011
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 1,337
Words 213
Sentences 16
Stanzas 3
Stanza Lengths 12, 12, 12
Lines Amount 36
Letters per line (avg) 27
Words per line (avg) 6
Letters per stanza (avg) 321
Words per stanza (avg) 70
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

1:06 min read
68

Sir Walter Scott

Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet was a Scottish historical novelist, poet, playwright, and historian. more…

All Sir Walter Scott poems | Sir Walter Scott Books

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