Analysis of Song of Marion's Men
William Cullen Bryant 1794 (Cummington) – 1878 (New York City)
Our band is few, but true and tried,
Our leader frank and bold;
The British soldier trembles
When Marion's name is told.
Our fortress is the good greenwood,
Our tent the cypress-tree;
We know the forest round us,
As seamen know the sea;
We know its walks of thorny vines,
Its glades of reedy grass,
Its safe and silent islands
Within the dark morass.
Woe to the English soldiery
That little dread us near!
On them shall light at midnight
A strange and sudden fear;
When, waking to their tents on fire,
They grasp their arms in vain,
And they who stand to face us
Are beat to earth again;
And they who fly in terror deem
A mighty host behind,
And hear the tramp of thousands
Upon the hollow wind.
Then sweet the hour that brings release
From danger and from toil;
We talk the battle over,
And share the battle's spoil.
The woodland rings with laugh and shout,
As if a hunt were up,
And woodland flowers are gathered
To crown the soldier's cup.
With merry songs we mock the wind
That in the pine-top grieves,
And slumber long and sweetly
On beds of oaken leaves.
Well knows the fair and friendly moon
The band that Marion leads-
The glitter of their rifles,
The scampering of their steeds.
'Tis life to guide the fiery barb
Across the moonlight plain;
'Tis life to feel the night-wind
That lifts his tossing mane.
A moment in the British camp-
A moment - and away,
Back to the pathless forest,
Before the peep of day.
Grave men there are by broad Santee,
Grave men with hoary hairs;
Their hearts are all with Marion,
For Marion are their prayers.
And lovely ladies greet our band,
With kindest welcoming,
With smiles like those of summer,
And tears like those of spring.
For them we wear these trusty arms,
And lay them down no more
Till we have driven the Briton,
Forever, from our shore.
Scheme | ABCBXDCCCCCC DEXEFGCXXHCH CIFIXJXJHCDC XCCCXGHGXKXK ACLCXMFMCNLN |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Etheree (28%) |
Metre | 101111101 1010101 010101 1100111 10101011 1010101 1101011 110101 11111101 111101 1101010 010101 110101 110111 111111 010101 110111110 111101 0111111 111101 01110101 010101 0101110 010101 110101101 110011 1101010 010101 0111101 110101 0110110 110101 11011101 100111 0101010 11111 11010101 0111001 0101110 0100111 111101001 01011 1111011 111101 01000101 010001 110110 010111 1111111 111101 11111100 1100111 010101101 110100 1111110 011111 11111101 011111 11110010 0101101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,795 |
Words | 332 |
Sentences | 14 |
Stanzas | 5 |
Stanza Lengths | 12, 12, 12, 12, 12 |
Lines Amount | 60 |
Letters per line (avg) | 23 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 280 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 66 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 09, 2023
- 1:40 min read
- 186 Views
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"Song of Marion's Men" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 30 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/40318/song-of-marion%27s-men>.
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