Analysis of The Albion Battleship Calamity
William Topaz McGonagall 1825 – 1902 (Greyfriars Parish, Edinburgh)
'Twas in the year of 1898, ond on the 21st of June,
The launching of the Battleship Albion caused a great gloom,
Amongst the relatives of many persons who were drowned in the River Thames,
Which their relatives will remember while life remains.
The vessel was christened by the Duchess of York,
And the spectators' hearts felt light as cork
As the Duchess cut the cord that was holding the fine ship,
Then the spectators loudly cheered as the vessel slid down the slip.
The launching of the vessel was very well carried out,
While the guests on the stands cheered without any doubt,
Under the impression that everything would go well;
But, alas! instantaneously a bridge and staging fell.
Oh! little did the Duchess of York think that day
That so many lives would be taken away
At the launching of the good ship Albion,
But when she heard of the catastrophe she felt woebegone.
But accidents will happen without any doubt,
And often the cause thereof is hard to find out;
And according to report, I've heard people say,
'Twas the great crowd on the bridge caused it to give way.
Just as the vessel entered the water the bridge and staging gave way,
Immersing some three hundred people which caused great dismay
Amongst the thousands of spectators that were standing there,
And in the faces of the bystanders, were depicted despair.
Then the police boats instantly made for the fatal spot,
And with the aid of dockyard hands several people were got,
While some scrambled out themselves, the best way they could--
And the most of them were the inhabitants of the neighborhood.
Part of them were the wives and daughters of the dockyard hands,
And as they gazed upon them they in amazement stands;
And several bodies were hauled up quite dead.
Which filled the onlookers' hearts with pity and dread.
One of the first rescued was a little baby,
Which was conveyed away to the mortuary;
And several were taken to the fitter's shed, and attended to there
By the firemen and several nurses with the greatest care.
Meanwhile, heartrending scenes were taking place,
Whilst the tears ran down many a Mother and Father's face,
That had lost their children in the River Thames,
Which they will remember while life remains.
Oh, Heaven! it was horrible to see the bodies laid out in rows,
And as Fathers and Mothers passed along, adown their cheeks the tears flows,
While their poor, sickly hearts were throbbing with fear.
A great crowd had gathered to search for the missing dead,
And many strong men broke down because their heart with pity bled,
As they looked upon the distorted faces of their relatives dear,
While adown their cheeks flowed many a silent tear.
The tenderest sympathy, no doubt, was shown to them,
By the kind hearted Police and Firemen;
The scene in fact was most sickening to behold,
And enough to make one's blood run cold,
To see tear-stained men and women there
Searching for their relatives, and in their eyes a pitiful stare.
There's one brave man in particular I must mention,
And I'm sure he's worthy of the people's attention.
His name is Thomas Cooke, of No. 6 Percy Road, Canning Town,
Who's name ought to be to posterity handed down,
Because he leapt into the River Thames and heroically did behave,
And rescued five persons from a watery grave.
Mr. Wilson, a young electrician, got a terrible fright,
When he saw his mother and sister dead-- he was shocked at the sight,
Because his sister had not many days returned from her honeymoon,
And in his countenance, alas! there was a sad gloom.
His Majesty has sent a message of sympathy to the bereaved ones in distress,
And the Duke and Duchess of York have sent 25 guineas I must confess.
And £1000 from the Directors of the Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company.
Which I hope will help to fill the bereaved one's hearts with glee.
And in conclusion I will venture to say,
That accidents will happen by night and by day;
And I will say without any fear,
Because to me it appears quite clear,
That the stronger we our houses do build,
The less chance we have of being killed.
Scheme | ABCD EEFF GGHH IIJX GGII IIKK LLMM NNOO PPKK QQCD RRS OOSK XJTTKK JJUUVV WWAB XXPP IISSYY |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 10011110111 01010101001011 0101001101010100101 1110010101101 010110101011 0010011111 10101011110011 1010010110101101 01010101101101 101101101101 100010110111 10101000010101 110101011111 11101111001 10101011100 11111001001110 110011001101 01001111111 001010111101 101110111111 11010100100101011 111101011101 01010110010101 000101010001001 10011100110101 0101111101001 111010101111 001110001001010 1110010101011 0111011100101 0101001111 11010111001 110110101010 11010110100 0100101011001011 10100101010101 1110101 10111100100101 11111000101 1110101101 11011100110101101 0110010101111011 11110101011 0111101110101 010111101111101 11101001010111001 11111100101 01100111111 1011001010 010111100101 001111111 111110101 1011100001101001 1111001001110 0111101010010 11110111101101 1111110100101 01110101010100101 010110101001 1010010010101001 1111100101111101 0111011101011010 0011000111011 110011010110010011001 0010101111101101 0100101011010100 11111110011111 00010111011 110011011011 011101101 011110111 10101101011 011111101 |
Closest metre | Iambic heptameter |
Characters | 3,998 |
Words | 719 |
Sentences | 28 |
Stanzas | 17 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 3, 4, 6, 6, 4, 4, 6 |
Lines Amount | 73 |
Letters per line (avg) | 44 |
Words per line (avg) | 10 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 189 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 42 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 3:38 min read
- 80 Views
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"The Albion Battleship Calamity" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 8 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/41849/the-albion-battleship-calamity>.
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