Analysis of Makanna's Gathering
Thomas Pringle 1789 (Blakelaw) – 1834
Wake! Amakósa, wake!
And arm yourselves for war.
As coming winds the forest shake,
I hear a sound from far:
It is not thunder in the sky,
Nor lion's roar upon the hill,
But the voice of HIM who sits on high,
And bids me speak his will!
He bids me call you forth,
Bold sons of Káhabee,
To sweep the White Men from the earth,
And drive them to the sea:
The sea, which heaved them up at first,
For Amakósa's curse and bane,
Howls for the progeny she nurst,
To swallow them again.
Hark! 'tis UHLANGA'S voice
From Debè's mountain caves!
He calls you now to make your choice --
To conquer or be slaves:
To meet proud Amanglézi's guns,
And fight like warriors nobly born:
Or, like Umláo's feeble sons,
Become the freeman's scorn.
Then come, ye Chieftains bold,
With war-plumes waving high;
Come, every warrior young and old,
With club and assagai.
Remember how the spoiler's host
Did through our land like locusts range!
Your herds, your wives, your comrades lost --
Remember -- and revenge!
Fling your broad shields away --
Bootless against such foes;
But hand to hand we'll fight to-day,
And with their bayonets close.
Grasp each man short his stabbing spear --
And, when to battle's edge we come,
Rush on their ranks in full career,
And to their hearts strike home!
Wake! Amakósa, wake!
And muster for the war:
The wizard-wolves from Keisi's brake,
The vultures from afar,
Are gathering at UHLANGA'S call,
And follow fast our westward way --
For well they know, ere evening-fall,
They shall have glorious prey!
Scheme | Abacdede xxxxfxfx ghghijij kdkaxxxx lxlxmxmx Abacnlnl |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1111 010111 11010101 110111 11110001 11010101 101111111 011111 111111 11111 11011101 011101 01111111 111101 11010011 110101 1111 111101 11111111 110111 111111 011100101 1111101 010101 111101 111101 1100100101 1101 0101011 111011101 1111111 010001 111101 10111 11111111 011101 11111101 01110111 11110101 011111 1111 010101 0101111 010101 1100111 010110101 11111101 1111001 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,474 |
Words | 272 |
Sentences | 17 |
Stanzas | 6 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8 |
Lines Amount | 48 |
Letters per line (avg) | 24 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 191 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 45 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:25 min read
- 131 Views
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"Makanna's Gathering" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 30 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/37110/makanna%27s-gathering>.
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