Analysis of Farewell To The Old Year, 1863
Janet Hamilton 1795 (Scotland) – 1873
Farewell, old year, 'the bourne' is near,
'Whence traveller ne'er returneth'-
Passing away from time for aye,
Thy life-light faintly burneth.
Farewell, old year, dark shapes of fear,
Grim spectres pale and gory,
Flitting around, with moaning sound,
Tell us thy sad war story.
Farewell, old year, we do not fear
Republic or Imperial-
If war inclined, they both shall find
We're rather tough material.
Farewell, old year, thy past career
Hath given both gloom and gladness;
Thou gave us peace, but no decrease
In human crime and madness.
Farewell, old year, the pall and bier
Thou saw us oft attending,
And heard oft-times the merry chimes
Of birth and wedlock blending.
Farewell, old year, a voice we hear,
How solemnly it falleth-
'All flesh is grass,' prepare to pass,
Ere long the Master calleth!
Farewell, old year, thy knell we hear
Through Time's dark arches sounding;
Wrapt in thy shroud, a dense, dark cloud
Thy solemn bier surrounding.
Farewell, old year, we still have cheer,
Though tinged with doubt and sorrow,
We leave thy urn and gladly turn
To give new year good morrow.
Scheme | ABXB ACXC ADXD AEEE FGEG FBEB FGXG AHXH |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain (88%) |
Metre | 1110111 110011 10011111 111101 1111111 111010 10011101 1111110 1111111 01010100 11011111 11010100 1111101 1101101 11111101 0101010 1110101 1111010 01110101 110110 1110111 110011 11110111 110101 1111111 1111010 10110111 1101010 1111111 1111010 11110101 1111110 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,061 |
Words | 188 |
Sentences | 9 |
Stanzas | 8 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 32 |
Letters per line (avg) | 26 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 106 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 23 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 57 sec read
- 139 Views
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"Farewell To The Old Year, 1863" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/43047/farewell-to-the-old-year%2C-1863>.
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