Analysis of A Song For The Irish Militia.
Thomas Osborne Davis 1814 (Mallow, County Cork) – 1845 (Dublin)
The tribune's tongue and poet's pen
May sow the seed in prostrate men;
But 'tis the soldier's sword alone
Can reap the crop so bravely sown!
No more I'll sing nor idly pine,
But train my soul to lead a line--
A soldier's life's the life for me--
A soldier's death, so Ireland's free!
No foe would fear your thunder words,
If 'twere not for your lightning swords--
If tyrants yield when millions pray,
'Tis less they link in war array;
Nor peace itself is safe, but when
The sword is sheathed by fighting men--
A soldier's life's the life for me--
A soldier's death, so Ireland's free!
The rifle brown and sabre bright
Can freely speak and nobly write--
What prophets preached the truth so well
As HOFER, BRIAN, BRUCE, and TELL?
God guard the creed these heroes taught--
That blood-bought Freedom's cheaply bought
A soldier's life's the life for me--
A soldier's death, so Ireland's free!
Then, welcome be the bivouac,
The hardy stand, and fierce attack,
Where pikes will tame their carbineers,
And rifles thin their bay'neteers,
And every field the island through
Will show "what Irishmen can do!"
A soldier's life's the life for me--
A soldier's death so Ireland's free!
Yet, 'tis not strength and 'tis not steel
Alone can make the English reel;
But wisdom, working day by day,
Till comes the time for passion's sway--
The patient dint and powder shock,
Can blast an empire like a rock.
A soldier's life's the life for me--
A soldier's death, so Ireland's free!
The tribune's tongue and poet's pen
May sow the seed in slavish men;
But 'tis the soldier's sword alone
Can reap the harvest when 'tis grown.
No more I'll sing, no more I'll pine,
But train my soul to lead a line--
A soldier's life's the life for me--
A soldier's death, so Ireland's free.
Scheme | AaBbcCDD exffaaDD gghhxxDD iieejjDD kkffllDD AaBbcCDD |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 01010101 11010101 11010101 11011101 11111101 11111101 01010111 01011101 11111101 11111101 11011101 11110101 11011111 01111101 01010111 01011101 01010101 11010101 11010111 11010101 11011101 11110101 01010111 01011101 1101010 01010101 111111 010111 010010101 111111 01010111 01011101 11110111 01110101 11010111 1101111 01010101 111100101 01010111 01011101 01010101 11010101 11010101 11010111 11111111 11111101 01010111 01011101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,770 |
Words | 336 |
Sentences | 17 |
Stanzas | 6 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8 |
Lines Amount | 48 |
Letters per line (avg) | 28 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 222 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 52 |
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Submitted on August 03, 2020
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:51 min read
- 4 Views
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"A Song For The Irish Militia." Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 2 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/56799/a-song-for-the-irish-militia.>.
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