Editorial Impressions
He seemed so certain "all was going well,"As he discussed the glorious time he'd hadWhile visiting the trenches."One can tellYou've gathered big impressions!" grinned the ladWho'd been severely wounded in the backIn some wiped-out impossible Attack."Impressions? Yes, most vivid! I am writingA little book called Europe on the Rack,Based on notes made while witnessing the fighting.I hope I've caught the feeling of 'the Line'And the amazing spirit of the troops.By Jove, those flying-chaps of ours are fine!I watched one daring beggar looping loops,Soaring and diving like some bird of prey.And through it all I felt that splendour shineWhich makes us win."The soldier sipped his wine."Ah, yes, but it's the Press that leads the way!"
Words in this poem
- glorious a.
- Exhibiting attributes, qualities, or acts that are worthy of or receive glory; noble; praiseworthy; excellent; splendid; illustrious; inspiring admiration; as, glorious deeds. [OF. glorios, glorious, F. glorieux, fr. L. gloriosus. See Glory, n.]
- amazing a.
- Causing amazement; very wonderful; as, amazing grace.
- jove n.
- The chief divinity of the ancient Romans; Jupiter. [L. Jupiter, gen. Jovis, OL. Jovis, nom. & gen. for Djovis; akin to E. Tuesday. See Tuesday, and cf. Jupiter.]
- looping n.
- The running together of the matter of an ore into a mass, when the ore is only heated for calcination. [Cf. D. loopen to run. Cf. Loop a mass of iron, Leap.]
- splendour n.
- Great brightness; brilliant luster; brilliancy; as, the splendor ot the sun. B. Jonson. [L. fr. splendere to shine: cf. F. splendeur.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Editorial Impressions is in the public domain. This text is taken from Counter-Attack and Other Poems, Project Gutenberg ebook #8930; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Siegfried Sassoon, Editorial Impressions, in Counter-Attack and Other Poems (1918), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #8930, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/sassoon-counter-attack/editorial-impressions.html, id L26127.
Form and metre
Editorial Impressions is 19 lines in a single stanza. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 92%).
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 AB-ABCCDCDEFEFGE-EG wellA · hadB · trenches · tellA · ladB · backC · attackC · writingD · rackC · fightingD · lineE · troopsF · fineE · loopsF · preyG · shineE · win · wineE · wayG
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 seemed so certain "all was going well," | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| As he discussed the glorious time he'd had | 10 | ··˘/·/˘··· |
| While visiting the trenches. | 7 | ·/˘˘·/˘ |
| "One can tell | 3 | ··· |
| You've gathered big impressions!" grinned the lad | 10 | ·/˘·˘/˘··· |
| Who'd been severely wounded in the back | 10 | ··˘/˘/˘··· |
| In some wiped-out impossible Attack. | 10 | ····˘/˘˘˘/ |
| "Impressions? Yes, most vivid! I am writing | 11 | ˘/˘··/˘··/˘ |
| A little book called Europe on the Rack, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| Based on notes made while witnessing the fighting. | 11 | ·····/˘˘·/˘ |
| I hope I've caught the feeling of 'the Line' | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| And the amazing spirit of the troops. | 10 | ··˘/˘/˘··· |
| By Jove, those flying-chaps of ours are fine! | 10 | ···/˘··/·· |
| I watched one daring beggar looping loops, | 10 | ···/˘/˘/˘· |
| Soaring and diving like some bird of prey. | 10 | /˘·/˘····· |
| And through it all I felt that splendour shine | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Which makes us win." | 4 | ···· |
| The soldier sipped his wine. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| "Ah, yes, but it's the Press that leads the way!" | 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.