Analysis of Lines in Praise of Professor Blackie
William Topaz McGonagall 1825 – 1902 (Greyfriars Parish, Edinburgh)
Alas! the people's hearts are now full of sorrow
For the deceased Professor Blackie, of Edinboro';
Because he was a Christian man, affable and kind,
And his equal in charitable actions would be hard to find
'Twas in the year of 1895, March the 2nd, he died at 10 o'clock.
Which to his dear wife, and his adopted son, was a great shock;
And before he died he bade farewell to his adopted son and wife.
Which, no doubt, they will remember during life.
Professor Blackie celebrated his golden wedding three years ago,
When he was made the recipient of respect from high and low.
He leaves a widow, but, fortunately, no family,
Which will cause Mrs. Blackie to feel less unhappy.
Professor Blackie will be greatly missed in Edinboro;
Especially those that met him daily will feel great sorrow,
When they think of his never-failing plaid and hazel rung,
For, although he was an old man, he considered he was young.
He had a very striking face, and silvery locks like a seer,
And in the hearts of the Scottish people he was loved most dear;
And many a heart will mourn for him, but all in vain,
Because he never can return to them again.
He was a very kind-hearted man, and in no way vain,
And I'm afraid we ne'er shall look upon his like again;
And to hear him tell Scotch stories, the time did quickly pass,
And for singing Scotch songs few could him surpass.
But I hope e is in heaven, singing with saints above,
Around God's throne, where all is peace and love;
There, where God's children daily doth meet
To sing praises to God, enchanting and sweet.
He had visited almost every part of Europe in his time,
And, like Lord Byron, he loved the Grecian clime;
Nor did he neglect his own dear country,
And few men knew it more thoroughly than he.
On foot he tramped o'er most of bonnie Scotland,
And in his seventies he climbed the highest hills most grand.
Few men in his day could be compared to him,
Because he wasn't hard on fallen creatures when they did sin.
Oh, dearly beloved Professor Blackie, I must conclude my muse,
And to write in praise of thee my pen does not refuse;
Because you were a very Christian man, be it told,
Worthy of a monument, and your name written thereon in letters of gold.
Scheme | AABB CCDD AAEE AAFF XXGH GHII JJKK LLEE XXXX MMNN |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain (70%) |
Metre | 010101111110 10010101011000 0111010110001 0110010001011111 1001110111101 111110101011011 0011111111010101 11111010101 01010100110101101 1111001001011101 11010110001100 1111010111010 010101110101000 01011111011110 11111101010101 11111111010111 1101010101001101 000110101011111 0100111111101 011101011101 11010110100111 01011111011101 01111110011101 01101111101 11111010101101 0111111101 111101011 11101101001 1110011001110011 01110110101 1110111110 01111110011 111110111010 00110011010111 11011110111 011101110101111 1100101010110111 0110111111101 0110010101111 1010100011100101011 |
Closest metre | Iambic heptameter |
Characters | 2,178 |
Words | 410 |
Sentences | 16 |
Stanzas | 10 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 40 |
Letters per line (avg) | 43 |
Words per line (avg) | 10 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 172 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 41 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 2:05 min read
- 107 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"Lines in Praise of Professor Blackie" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 18 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/41829/lines-in-praise-of-professor-blackie>.
Discuss this William Topaz McGonagall poem analysis with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In