Analysis of The Young Colleen.



A young colleen warmly sings akin
To a bird across a vale of Donegal,
As she directs the cows of her father
To a field beyond a stone built wall.

Her name was Sheila on holidays from
A college in Derry where she studied,
History, English, and Mathematics…
With a future of teaching in mind.

The cows appear to like her because of
Their behaviour as they were driven
 Along boreen after boreen in a vale
Of natural beauty and peace.

The main audience of the Colleen’s
Singing where animals and wildbirds
Although, here and there, a few farm
Workers stopped in response to her voice.

A happening observed or the product of
An imagination in love with the culture
Of a northern Irish county, its terrain and
People, as represented by a singing colleen.


Scheme XABA XXCX DXAX CCXX DBXX
Poetic Form Tetractys  (20%)
Quatrain  (20%)
Metre 01110101 101010111 1101011010 101010111 011101101 0100101110 100100010 101011001 0101110011 1111010 011101001 11001001 01100101 10110001 1101011 101001101 01000110101 10010011010 101010101010 10101010101
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 740
Words 135
Sentences 5
Stanzas 5
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4, 4
Lines Amount 20
Letters per line (avg) 30
Words per line (avg) 7
Letters per stanza (avg) 120
Words per stanza (avg) 27
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Submitted by anruaidh on March 23, 2019

Modified on March 05, 2023

40 sec read
13

Liam Ó Comáin

An Irish poet now living in Derry City but originally from Limavady in County Derry in the north of the Island. more…

All Liam Ó Comáin poems | Liam Ó Comáin Books

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