Analysis of The Battle of Life
Charles Harpur 1813 (Windsor) – 1868 (Australia)
Never give up, though life be a battle
Wherein true men may fail, and true causes be sold;
Yet, on the whole, however may rattle
The thunders of chance, scaring cowards like cattle—
Clear victory’s always the bride of the bold.
Armed in your right-though friendship deny you,
And love fall away when the storm’s at the worst,
Count not your loss, Was destined to try you—
Bear the brunt like a man, and your deeds shall ally you
To natures more noble and true than the first.
Rail not at Fate: if rightly you scan her,
There’s none loves more strongly the heart that endures:
On, in the hero’s calm resolute manner,
Still bear aloft your hope’s long-trusted banner,
And the day, if you do but live through it, is yours.
Be this your faith; and if killing strokes clatter
On your harness where true men before you have died,
Fight on, let your life-blood be poured out like water—
Fight on, make at least a brave end of the matter,
Brave end of the struggle if nothing beside
Scheme | ABAABCDCCD EFEEF EGEEG |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Tetractys (20%) |
Metre | 1011111010 011111011011 110110110 010111010110 11101101 1011110011 01101101101 1111110111 1011010111101 11011001101 1111110110 11111001101 1001011010 11011111010 001111111111 11110110110 111011101111 111111111110 111110111010 11101011001 |
Closest metre | Iambic hexameter |
Characters | 1,076 |
Words | 182 |
Sentences | 4 |
Stanzas | 3 |
Stanza Lengths | 10, 5, 5 |
Lines Amount | 20 |
Letters per line (avg) | 38 |
Words per line (avg) | 9 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 253 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 60 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 54 sec read
- 118 Views
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