The central idea of this excerpt is that Revere traveled through several towns to spread the word that the British were on their way. It takes us through his actions and the ensuing events as if we are reading it in real time. The structure supports these concepts due to its repetition of the time. It begins the first stanza with "It was twelve by the village clock," then begins the second stanza with "It was one by the village clock," etc. This builds suspense for his ride, and gives us an overview of how long this ride actually took.
