Analysis of Concerning Emperors

Vachel Lindsay 1879 (Springfield) – 1931 (Springfield)



I. GOD SEND THE REGICIDE

Would that the lying rulers of the world
Were brought to block for tyrannies abhorred.
Would that the sword of Cromwell and the Lord,
The sword of Joshua and Gideon,
Hewed hip and thigh the hosts of Midian.
God send that ironside ere tomorrow's sun;
Let Gabriel and Michael with him ride.
God send the Regicide.

II. A COLLOQUIAL REPLY: TO ANY NEWSBOY

If you lay for Iago at the stage door with a brick
You have missed the moral of the play.
He will have a midnight supper with Othello and his wife.
They will chirp together and be gay.
But the things Iago stands for must go down into the dust:
Lying and suspicion and conspiracy and lust.
And I cannot hate the Kaiser (I hope you understand.)
Yet I chase the thing he stands for with a brickbat in my hand.


Scheme A AAABBBAA X XCXCAAAA
Poetic Form
Metre 11101 1101010101 0111110001 1101110001 0111000100 11010111 111101011 1100010111 1101 100100011101 11110101011101 111010101 11101101010011 111010011 101010111110101 1000100010001 0110101011101 11101111101011
Closest metre Iambic hexameter
Characters 773
Words 152
Sentences 13
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 1, 8, 1, 8
Lines Amount 18
Letters per line (avg) 34
Words per line (avg) 8
Letters per stanza (avg) 154
Words per stanza (avg) 37
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

45 sec read
107

Vachel Lindsay

Nicholas Vachel Lindsay was an American poet. more…

All Vachel Lindsay poems | Vachel Lindsay Books

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