Analysis of Destroyer Of Ships, Men, Cities
James Elroy Flecker 1884 (London) – 1915
Helen of Troy has sprung from Hell
To claim her ancient throne,
So we have bidden friends farewell
To follow her alone.
The Lady of the laurelled brow,
The Queen of pride and power,
Looks rather like a phantom now,
And rather like a flower.
Deep in her eyes the lamp of night
Burns with a secret flame,
Where shadows pass that have no sight,
And ghosts that have no name.
For mute is battle's brazen horn
That rang for Priest and King,
And she who drank of that brave morn
Is pale with evening.
An hour there is when bright words flow,
A little hour for sleep,
An hour between, when lights are low,
And then she seems to weep,
But no less lovely than of old
She shines, and almost hears
The horns that blew in days of gold,
The shouting charioteers.
And still she breaks the hearts of men,
Their hearts and all their pride,
Doomed to be cruel once again,
And live dissatisfied.
Scheme | ABAB CDCD EFEF GHGH IJIJ KLKL MNMN |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Traditional rhyme Quatrain |
Metre | 10111111 110101 1111011 110001 0101011 0111010 11010101 0101010 10010111 110101 1111111 011111 11110101 111101 01111111 11110 110111111 0101011 110011111 011111 11110111 11011 01110111 0101 01110111 110111 11110101 01010 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 868 |
Words | 173 |
Sentences | 6 |
Stanzas | 7 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 28 |
Letters per line (avg) | 25 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 98 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 24 |
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Submitted on August 03, 2020
Modified on April 07, 2023
- 52 sec read
- 1 View
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"Destroyer Of Ships, Men, Cities" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 26 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/55671/destroyer-of-ships%2C-men%2C-cities>.
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