Analysis Of Old Ironside

Title of piece:

Old Ironsides

Circle the Genre (2 points)

Poetry short story sermon/speech short fiction other:

Defend position – provide specific evidence from the text to prove the genre.

It is no secret that the genre of Old Ironsides is poetry. The poem is broken down into three stanzas that each have eight lines and alternate between six and eight syllables. Old Ironsides has the common rhyme scheme of A B C B D E F E in the first and third stanzas, with rhymes such as “Long has it waved on high, … That banner in the sky;”, “Should sink beneath the wave; … And there should be her grave;” The second stanza also has a rhyme scheme, but it is slightly different than the other two stanzas. “Her deck, once red with heroes’ blood,

Where knelt the vanquished foe, When winds were hurrying o’er the flood, And waves were white below,” The rhyme scheme in these lines is an A B A B rhyme scheme, but after that it follows the same pattern as the first two stanzas. Old Ironsides is a poem because of the structure and rhyme found throughout.

Circle the Literary Era (2 points)

Colonial Revolutionary Romantic Realist

Defend position – provide specific evidence from the text which best suggests era.

The era of Old Ironsides is clearly revolutionary for several reasons.

The whole poem is a recounting of how the ship went down and remembering all that had been accomplished on it. “That banner in the sky; Beneath it rung the battle shout, And burst the cannon’s roar: --” On this ship, battles had been fought and cannons had been fired, things that specifically occurred during the revolutionary era. “Her deck, once red with heroes’ blood, Where knelt the vanquished foe,” also depicts the concept of the revolutionary era by discussing other elements of war. Furthermore, “... the victor’s tread, Or know the conquered knee; --” is another line that addresses the topic of battle, which is something that only occurred during the revolutionary era. Another piece found in this poem is the word “Ironsides” in the title. An ironside is defined as a soldier who served under a man by the name of Cromwell. This reveals that the poem is about soldiers and the battles they fought on their ship. Soldiers and war were two of the main aspects of the revolutionary war, so that is the era in which Old Ironsides

belongs.

Circle the Gender of Author (2 points)

Male Female Non-binary gender identification

Defend your position – provide specific evidence from the text which best suggests gender

Although not directly stated, it is clear that the author of Old Ironsides is a male. Since this had taken place during the revolutionary era, specifically during a battle, it implies the gender of male. Women never fought in wars or sailed on ships, because only men were allowed to do so. A woman would not know of these experiences, therefore not being able to write about them. “Beneath it rung the battle shout,”, “Her deck, once red with heroes’ blood,” both address that the author had taken a part of battles and was remembering them. In this time, a woman would never have set foot on a battleground or even a ship. Also, the word “Ay” at the very beginning is a word that a captain would have shouted before giving orders, and a captain was never female. Although the pronoun “her” is used a lot, it is referring to the gender of the ship, not the author. For all these reasons, the author of Old Ironsides is a man.

Theme (not topic) (4 points)

Statement of theme (the author’s message about the topic):

The theme of Old Ironsides is that it is important to remember and honor all that you once were by going down with a fight and with pride.

Defend your position that this is a main theme of the text with specific evidence from the text.

Old Ironsides is a poem that honors all the ship stood for while she was going down.

In the beginning, the crew tears down her flag; “Ay, tear her tattered ensign down!”. In this poem, the flag was torn down because the ocean was overtaking the ship. “When winds were hurrying o’er the flood, and waves white below,”. These lines reveal that the ship is sinking and from this it can be inferred that the crew took down the sails and flag to stop the ship from catching the winds. However, in the last stanza, they realize that it is better to go down with pride and acknowledge all they accomplished: “Oh, better that her shatter bulk Should sink beneath the wave; Her thunders shook the mighty deep, and there should be her grave;’. These quotes show that the crew recognized there was no stopping the ship sinking but that they also recognized she didn’t have to take her honor down too. In the beginning they took down the flag, yet now they “Nail to the mast her holy flag, Set every threadbare sail,” The decision was reached that they were going to go down with defiance and that they remembered the flag represented every battle ever won and fought on that ship, so it is going to be raised high. Old Ironsides is not only about a sinking ship, but also about remembering and honoring her legacy by fighting the unfightable and going down with

pride.