Analysis of When Smoke Stood Up From Ludlow
Alfred Edward Housman 1859 – 1936
When smoke stood up from Ludlow,
And mist blew off from Teme,
And blithe afield to ploughing
Against the morning beam
I strode beside my team,
The blackbird in the coppice
Looked out to see me stride,
And hearkened as I whistled
The trampling team beside,
And fluted and replied:
"Lie down, lie down, young yeoman;
What use to rise and rise?
Rise man a thousand mornings
Yet down at last he lies,
And then the man is wise."
I heard the tune he sang me,
And spied his yellow bill;
I picked a stone and aimed it
And threw it with a will:
Then the bird was still.
Then my soul within me
Took up the blackbird's strain,
And still beside the horses
Along the dewy lane
It sang the song again:
"Lie down, lie down, young yeoman;
The sun moves always west;
The road one treads to labour
Will lead one home to rest,
And that will be the best."
Scheme | xaxaa bcxcc Dbbbb aexee afbfx Dgxgg |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Etheree (33%) Tetractys (23%) |
Metre | 111111 011111 010111 010101 110111 010001 111111 011110 010101 01001 1111110 111101 1101010 111111 010111 1101111 011101 1101011 011101 10111 111011 11011 0101010 010101 110101 1111110 01111 011111 111111 011101 |
Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
Characters | 843 |
Words | 166 |
Sentences | 5 |
Stanzas | 6 |
Stanza Lengths | 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5 |
Lines Amount | 30 |
Letters per line (avg) | 22 |
Words per line (avg) | 5 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 108 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 27 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 49 sec read
- 71 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"When Smoke Stood Up From Ludlow" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 23 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/943/when-smoke-stood-up-from-ludlow>.
Discuss this Alfred Edward Housman poem analysis with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In