Analysis of A Tribute to Henry M. Stanley
William Topaz McGonagall 1825 – 1902 (Greyfriars Parish, Edinburgh)
Welcome, thrice welcome, to the city of Dundee,
The great African explorer Henry M Stanley,
Who went out to Africa its wild regions to explore,
And travelled o'er wild and lonely deserts, fatigued and footsore.
And what he and his little band suffered will never be forgot,
Especially one in particular, Major Edmund Barttelot,
Alas! the brave heroic Officer by a savage was shot,
The commandant of the rear column - O hard has been his lot!
O think of the noble Stanley and his gallant little band,
While travelling through gloomy forests and devastated land,
And suffering from all kinds of hardships under a burning sun!
But the brave hero has been successful and the victory's won.
While in Africa he saw many wonderful sights,
And was engaged, no doubt, in many savage fights,
But the wise Creator was with him all along
And now he's home again to us, I hope quite strong.
And during his travels in Africa he made strange discoveries,
He discovered a dwarfish race of people called pigmies,
Who are said to be the original natives of Africa,
And when Stanley discovered them he was struck with awe.
One event in particular is most worthy to relate,
How God preserved him from a very cruel fate:
He and his Officers were attacked, while sailing their boat,
By the savages of Bumbireh, all eager to cut his throat.
They seized him by the hair and tugged it without fear,
While one of his men received a poke in the ribs with a spear;
But Stanley, having presence of mind, instantly contrives
To cry to his men, Shove off the boat, and save your lives!
Then savages swarmed into three canoes very close by,
And every bow was drawn, while they savagely did cry;
But thee heroic Stanley quickly shot two of them dead,
Then the savages were baffled and immediately fled.
This incident is startling, but nevertheless true,
And in midst of all dangers the Lord brought him through
Then, welcome him,. thrice welcome him, right cheerfully,
Shouting, Long live the great African explorer, Henry M Stanley!
Therefore throw open the gates of the city of Dundee,
And receive him with loud cheers, three time three,
And sound your trumpets and beat your drums,
And play up, See the Conquering Hero Comes!
Scheme | AABB CACC DDEE FFGG XFXX HHII JJFX KKLL MMAA AANN |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain (90%) |
Metre | 101101010101 0110001010110 11111001110101 010101010100101 0110110110110101 01010010010101 0101010100101011 00110110111111 111010100110101 11001101001001 0100111110100101 10110110100011 1010011101001 010111010101 101010111101 011101111111 01011001001110100 101001111011 1111100100101100 0110010111111 101001001110101 110111010101 10110000111011 10100111101111 111101011011 111110101001101 1101010111001 1111111010111 11001011011011 01001111110011 11010101011111 101000100010001 110011010011 001111001111 110111011100 10110110001010110 1110011010101 0011111111 011100111 01110100101 |
Closest metre | Iambic heptameter |
Characters | 2,174 |
Words | 389 |
Sentences | 14 |
Stanzas | 10 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 40 |
Letters per line (avg) | 44 |
Words per line (avg) | 10 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 174 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 39 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:57 min read
- 59 Views
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"A Tribute to Henry M. Stanley" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 26 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/41770/a-tribute-to-henry-m.-stanley>.
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