Analysis of The Casterbridge Captains
Thomas Hardy 1840 (Stinsford) – 1928 (Dorchester, Dorset)
THREE captains went to Indian wars,
And only one returned:
Their mate of yore, he singly wore
The laurels all had earned.
At home he sought the ancient aisle
Wherein, untrumped of fame,
The three had sat in pupilage,
And each had carved his name.
The names, rough-hewn, of equal size,
Stood on the panel still;
Unequal since.--"'Twas theirs to aim,
Mine was it to fulfil!"
--"Who saves his life shall lose it, friends!"
Outspake the preacher then,
Unweeting he his listener, who
Looked at the names again.
That he had come and they'd been stayed,
'Twas but the chance of war:
Another chance, and they'd sat here,
And he had lain afar.
Yet saw he something in the lives
Of those who'd ceased to live
That rounded them with majesty
Which living failed to give.
Transcendent triumph in return
No longer lit his brain;
Transcendence rayed the distant urn
Where slept the fallen twain.
Scheme | XABA CDXD XXDC XEXE XBXX XXXX FGFG |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain (71%) |
Metre | 110111001 010101 11111101 010111 11110101 01111 011101 011111 01111101 110101 01011111 11111 11111111 10101 1111001 110101 11110111 110111 01010111 011101 11110001 111111 11011100 110111 01010001 110111 01010101 110101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,038 |
Words | 160 |
Sentences | 10 |
Stanzas | 7 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 28 |
Letters per line (avg) | 24 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 98 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 22 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 48 sec read
- 108 Views
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