Analysis of The Calls
Wilfred Owen 1893 (Oswestry) – 1918 (Sambre–Oise Canal)
A dismal fog-hoarse siren howls at dawn.
I watch the man it calls for, pushed and drawn
Backwards and forwards, helpless as a pawn.
But I'm lazy, and his work's crazy.
Quick treble bells begin at nine o'clock,
Scuttling the schoolboy pulling up his sock,
Scaring the late girl in the inky frock.
I must be crazy; I learn from the daisy.
Stern bells annoy the rooks and doves at ten.
I watch the verger close the doors, and when
I hear the organ moan the first amen,
Sing my religion's-same as pigeons'.
A blatant bugle tears my afternoons.
Out clump the clumsy Tommies by platoons,
Trying to keep in step with rag-time tunes,
But I sit still; I've done my drill.
Gongs hum and buzz like saucepan-lids at dusk,
I see a food-hog whet his gold-filled tusk
To eat less bread, and more luxurious rusk.
Then sometimes late at night my window bumps
From gunnery-practice, till my small heart thumps
And listens for the shell-shrieks and the crumps,
But that's not all.
For leaning out last midnight on my sill
I heard the sighs of men, that have no skill
To speak of their distress, no, nor the will!
A voice I know. And this time I must go.
Scheme | AAAB CCCB DDDX EEEF GGG HHBX FFFX |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 0101110111 1101111101 1001010101 111001110 1101011101 1000110111 1001100101 11110111010 1101010111 110110101 1101010101 110101110 010101101 110101101 1011011111 11111111 110111111 1101111111 11110101001 1011111101 11001011111 0101011001 1111 110111111 1101111111 1111011101 0111011111 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,116 |
Words | 212 |
Sentences | 15 |
Stanzas | 7 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 3, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 27 |
Letters per line (avg) | 33 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 125 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 30 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 26, 2023
- 1:05 min read
- 161 Views
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