Analysis of Andy McElroe
William Percy French 1854 – 1920
My brother Andy said, that for a soldier he would go,
So great excitement came upon the house of McElroe.
My father sold a bog-hole to equip him for the war.
And my mother sold the cushions of her Sunday jaunting car.
And when brave Andy reach'd the front, 'twas furious
work he made,
They appointed him a private in the Crocodile Brigade.
The sound of Andy's battle cry struck terror thro' the foe.
His foot was on the desert and his name was McElroe.
At least that's what the letter said that came across the foam.
To Andy's anxious relatives awaiting him at home.
The papers say he ran away before he met the foe.
But that was quite unlike the style of Andy McElroe.
One morning brave Lord Wolseley for a battle felt inclined;
But all could see the general had something on his mind;
Sez he, 'My staff, 'twere dangerous to face yon deadly foe,
Unless we're sure that quite prepared is Andy McElroe.'
Then Andy cried, 'I'm here, my lord, and ready for the fray,'
'Advance then,' cried Lord Wolseley, 'and let every trumpet bray.'
Then England, Ireland, Scotland, rolled together on the foe,
But far ahead of everyone rushed Andy McElroe.
At least, that's what the letter said that came across the foam
To Andy's anxious relatives, awaiting him at home.
The government despatches had another tale- but no!
We won't believe a word against brave Andy McElroe.
The Mahdi had gone up a tree, a spyglass in his eye,
To see his Paynim chivalry the northern prowess try;
But soon he saw a form of dread, and cried in tones of woe,
'Be jabers let me out of this - there's Andy McElroe.'
Then down he hurried from his tree, and straight away he ran,
To keep appointments, as he said, in distant Kordofan,
And fled those Arab soldiery like sand siroccos blow,
Pursued (with much profanity) by Andy McElroe.
At least, that's what he told us when returning o'er the foam
To greet his anxious relatives, awaiting him at home.
So sing the song of triumph, and let all your bumpers flow,
In honour of our countryman, brave Andrew McElroe.
Scheme | abbbxccabDDab eeabbbabDDab xbabffabddab |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 11010111010111 110101010111 11010111011101 0110101010111 011101011100 111 10101010001001 01110101110101 111101001111 11110101110101 11010100010111 01011101011101 111101011101 1101111010101 11110100110111 11111100111101 011111011101 11011111010101 01111101100101 110100101010101 11011101101 11110101110101 11010100010111 010011010111 110101011101 0101110101011 1111100010101 11110111010111 11111111101 11110111010111 110101110101 0111011111 011101001101 111111110101001 11110100010111 11011100111101 011101001101 |
Closest metre | Iambic heptameter |
Characters | 2,000 |
Words | 374 |
Sentences | 21 |
Stanzas | 3 |
Stanza Lengths | 13, 12, 12 |
Lines Amount | 37 |
Letters per line (avg) | 42 |
Words per line (avg) | 10 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 524 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 122 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:54 min read
- 39 Views
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"Andy McElroe" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 8 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/41185/andy-mcelroe>.
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