Analysis of A Ballad Of The Ranks
Arthur Conan Doyle 1859 (Edinburgh) – 1930 (Crowborough)
Who carries the gun?
A lad from over the Tweed.
Then let him go, for well we know
He comes of a soldier breed.
So drink together to rock and heather,
Out where the red deer run,
And stand aside for Scotland's pride -
The man that carries the gun!
For the Colonel rides before,
The Major's on the flank,
The Captains and the Adjutant
Are in the foremost rank.
But when it's 'Action front!'
And fighting's to be done,
Come one, come all, you stand or fall
By the man who holds the gun.
Who carries the gun?
A lad from a Yorkshire dale.
Then let him go, for well we know
The heart that never will fail.
Here's to the fire of Lancashire,
And here's to her soldier son!
For the hard-bit north has sent him forth -
The lad that carries the gun.
Who carries the gun?
A lad from a Midland shire.
Then let him go, for well we know
He comes of an English sire.
Here's a glass to a Midland lass,
And each can choose the one,
But east and west we claim the best
For the man that carries the gun.
Who carries the gun?
A lad from the hills of Wales.
Then let him go, for well we know,
That Taffy is hard as nails.
There are several ll's in the place where he dwells,
And of w's more than one,
With a 'Llan' and a 'pen,' but it breeds good men,
And it's they who carry the gun.
Who carries the gun?
A lad from the windy west.
Then let him go, for well we know
That he is one of the best.
There's Bristol rough, and Gloucester tough,
And Devon yields to none.
Or you may get in Somerset
Your lad to carry the gun.
Who carries the gun?
A lad from London town.
Then let him go, for well we know
The stuff that never backs down.
He has learned to joke at the powder smoke,
For he is the fog-smoke's son,
And his heart is light and his pluck is right -
The man who carries the gun.
Who carries the gun?
A lad from the Emerald Isle.
Then let him go, for well we know,
We've tried him many a while.
We've tried him east, we've tried him west,
We've tried him sea and land,
But the man to beat old Erin's best
Has never yet been planned.
Who carries the gun?
It's you, and you, and you;
So let us go, and we won't say no
If they give us a job to do.
Here we stand with a cross-linked hand,
Comrades every one;
So one last cup, and drink it up
To the man who carries the gun!
For the Colonel rides before,
The Major's on the flank,
The Captains and the Adjutant
Are in the foremost rank.
And when it's 'Action front!'
And there's fighting to be done,
Come one, come all, you stand or fall
By the man who holds the gun.
Scheme | AbCbdaxaEFGFgaHA AiCijaxa AjCdxaka AlClxaxa AkCkxaxa AmCmxaxa AnCnkoko ApcpoaxaEFGFgaHA |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Etheree (33%) |
Metre | 11001 0111001 11111111 1110101 1101011010 110111 01011101 0111001 1010101 010101 01000100 10011 111101 010111 11111111 1011101 11001 0110101 11111111 0111011 11010110 0110101 101111111 0111001 11001 011011 11111111 11111010 1011011 011101 11011101 10111001 11001 0110111 11111111 1101111 11101001111 01100111 10100111111 01111001 11001 0110101 11111111 1111101 11010101 010111 1111010 1111001 11001 011101 11111111 0111011 1111110101 1110111 0111101111 0111001 11001 0110101 11111111 1111001 11111111 111101 10111111 110111 11001 110101 111101111 11110111 11110111 11001 11110111 10111001 1010101 010101 01000100 10011 011101 0110111 11111111 1011101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 2,436 |
Words | 519 |
Sentences | 39 |
Stanzas | 8 |
Stanza Lengths | 16, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 16 |
Lines Amount | 80 |
Letters per line (avg) | 23 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 234 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 64 |
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Submitted on August 03, 2020
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 2:41 min read
- 9 Views
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"A Ballad Of The Ranks" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 21 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/54759/a-ballad-of-the-ranks>.
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