Analysis of The Letter
Wilfred Owen 1893 (Oswestry) – 1918 (Sambre–Oise Canal)
With B.E.F. Jun 10. Dear Wife,
(Oh blast this pencil. 'Ere, Bill, lend's a knife.)
I'm in the pink at present, dear.
I think the war will end this year.
We don't see much of them square-'eaded 'Uns.
We're out of harm's way, not bad fed.
I'm longing for a taste of your old buns.
(Say, Jimmie, spare's a bite of bread.)
There don't seem much to say just now.
(Yer what? Then don't, yer ruddy cow!
And give us back me cigarette!)
I'll soon be 'ome. You mustn't fret.
My feet's improvin', as I told you of.
We're out in the rest now. Never fear.
(VRACH! By crumbs, but that was near.)
Mother might spare you half a sov.
Kiss Nell and Bert. When me and you-
(Eh? What the 'ell! Stand to? Stand to!
Jim, give's a hand with pack on, lad.
Guh! Christ! I'm hit. Take 'old. Aye, bad.
No, damn your iodine. Jim? 'Ere!
Write my old girl, Jim, there's a dear.)
Scheme | AABBCDCDEEFFGBBAHHIIJB |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 11111 1111011101 10011101 11011111 111111111 11111111 1101011111 11010111 11111111 11111101 0111101 11111101 11111111 110011101 1111111 10111101 11011101 11011111 11011111 11111111 1111011 11111101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 835 |
Words | 175 |
Sentences | 40 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 22 |
Lines Amount | 22 |
Letters per line (avg) | 27 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 592 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 166 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on May 03, 2023
- 57 sec read
- 199 Views
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"The Letter" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 19 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/38550/the-letter>.
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