The Dead-Beat
He dropped,--more sullenly than wearily,Lay stupid like a cod, heavy like meat,And none of us could kick him to his feet;Just blinked at my revolver, blearily;--Didn't appear to know a war was on,Or see the blasted trench at which he stared."I'll do 'em in," he whined, "If this hand's spared,I'll murder them, I will."
A low voice said,"It's Blighty, p'raps, he sees; his pluck's all gone,Dreaming of all the valiant, that AREN'T dead:Bold uncles, smiling ministerially;Maybe his brave young wife, getting her funIn some new home, improved materially.It's not these stiffs have crazed him; nor the Hun."
We sent him down at last, out of the way.Unwounded;--stout lad, too, before that strafe.Malingering? Stretcher-bearers winked, "Not half!"
Next day I heard the Doc.'s well-whiskied laugh:"That scum you sent last night soon died. Hooray!"
Words in this poem
- wearily adv.
- In a weary manner.
- blasted a.
- Blighted; withered.
- valiant a.
- Vigorous in body; strong; powerful; as, a valiant fencer. [OE. valiant, F. vaillant, OF. vaillant, valant, originally p. pr. of OF. & F. valoir to be worth, L. valere to be strong. See Wield, and cf. Avail, Convalesce, ]
- ministerially adv.
- In a ministerial manner; in the character or capacity of a minister.
- maybe adv.
- Perhaps; possibly; peradventure. [For it may be.]
- materially adv.
- In the state of matter.
- stretcher n.
- One who, or that which, stretches.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Dead-Beat is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems, Project Gutenberg ebook #1034; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Wilfred Owen, The Dead-Beat, in Poems (1920), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #1034, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/owen-poems/the-dead-beat.html, id L04674.
Form and metre
The Dead-Beat is 20 lines in 4 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 84%). 91% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 9.7 syllables. 2 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 5% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in iambic pentameter.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 1 ABBA-CC- wearilyA · meatB · feetB · blearilyA · on · staredC · sparedC · will
- 2 D-D-E-E saidD · gone · deadD · ministerially · funE · materially · hunE
- 3 F-G wayF · strafe · halfG
- 4 GF laughG · hoorayF
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against iambic pentameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| He dropped,--more sullenly than wearily, | 10 | ·······/˘˘ |
| Lay stupid like a cod, heavy like meat, | 10 | ·/˘···/˘·· |
| And none of us could kick him to his feet; | 10 | ·········· |
| Just blinked at my revolver, blearily; | 10 | ····˘/˘··· |
| --Didn't appear to know a war was on, | 10 | /˘˘/······ |
| Or see the blasted trench at which he stared. | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| "I'll do 'em in," he whined, "If this hand's spared, | 10 | ·········· |
| I'll murder them, I will." | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| A low voice said, | 4 | ···· |
| "It's Blighty, p'raps, he sees; his pluck's all gone, | 10 | ·········· |
| Dreaming of all the valiant, that AREN'T dead: | 11 | /˘···/˘·/˘· |
| Bold uncles, smiling ministerially; | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| Maybe his brave young wife, getting her fun | 10 | /˘····/˘·· |
| In some new home, improved materially. | 11 | ····˘/˘/˘˘˘ |
| It's not these stiffs have crazed him; nor the Hun." | 10 | ·········· |
| We sent him down at last, out of the way. | 10 | ·········· |
| Unwounded;--stout lad, too, before that strafe. | 10 | ˘/˘······· |
| Malingering? Stretcher-bearers winked, "Not half!" | 11 | ····/˘/˘··· |
| Next day I heard the Doc.'s well-whiskied laugh: | 10 | ·········· |
| "That scum you sent last night soon died. Hooray!" | 10 | ········˘/ |
The reader shows the same poem with its rhymes coloured and a stress row above each line, the notes beside their stanzas, and any word's definition on a tap; the analysis page takes the whole book apart. How every part of this site was made.