A Hymn of the Many
God's people sorely were oppressed,I heard their lamentations long;--I hear their singing, clear and strong,I see their banners in the West!
The captains shout the battle-cry,The legions muster in their might;They turn their faces to the light,They lift their arms, they testify:
"We sank beneath the Master's thong,Our chafing chains were ne'er undone;--Now clash your lances in the sunAnd bless your banners with a song!
"God bides his time with patient eyesWhile tyrants build upon the land;--He lifts his face, he lifts his hand,And from the stones his temples rise.
"Now Freedom waves her joyous wingBeyond the foemen's shields of gold.March forward, singing, for, behold,The right shall rule while God is king!"
Words in this poem
- sorely adv.
- In a sore manner; grievously; painfully; as, to be sorely afflicted.
- muster n.
- Something shown for imitation; a pattern. [OE. moustre, OF. mostre, moustre, F. montre, LL. monstra. See Muster, v. t.]
- testify v. i.
- To make a solemn declaration, verbal or written, to establish some fact; to give testimony for the purpose of communicating to others a knowledge of something not known to them. [OF. testifier, L. testificari; testis a witness + -ficare (in comp.) to make. See -fy, and cf. Attest, Contest, Detest, Protest, Testament.]
- undone a.
- Not done or performed; neglected. [Pref. un- not + done.]
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
A Hymn of the Many is in the public domain. This text is taken from Shapes of Clay (1903), Project Gutenberg ebook #12658; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Ambrose Bierce, A Hymn of the Many, in Shapes of Clay (1903), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #12658, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/bierce-shapes-of-clay/a-hymn-of-the-many.html, id L28180.
Form and metre
A Hymn of the Many is 20 lines in 5 stanzas of 4 lines each. Every stanza rhymes ABBA. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 96%).
See other poems in iambic tetrameter.
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 oppressedA · longB · strongB · westA
- 2 ABBA cryA · mightB · lightB · testifyA
- 3 ABBA thongA · undoneB · sunB · songA
- 4 ABBA eyesA · landB · handB · riseA
- 5 ABBA wingA · goldB · beholdB · kingA
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 tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| God's people sorely were oppressed, | 8 | ·/˘/˘·˘/ |
| I heard their lamentations long;-- | 8 | ········ |
| I hear their singing, clear and strong, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| I see their banners in the West! | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| The captains shout the battle-cry, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| The legions muster in their might; | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| They turn their faces to the light, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| They lift their arms, they testify: | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| "We sank beneath the Master's thong, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Our chafing chains were ne'er undone;-- | 8 | //˘···˘/ |
| Now clash your lances in the sun | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And bless your banners with a song! | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| "God bides his time with patient eyes | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| While tyrants build upon the land;-- | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| He lifts his face, he lifts his hand, | 8 | ········ |
| And from the stones his temples rise. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| "Now Freedom waves her joyous wing | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Beyond the foemen's shields of gold. | 8 | ········ |
| March forward, singing, for, behold, | 8 | ·/˘/˘·˘/ |
| The right shall rule while God is king!" | 8 | ········ |
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.