To the Dannebrog
Dannebrog of old was seemingSnow-white, rosy red,Through the mists of ages beaming,Heaven's gift outspread,Rich as fruits of Denmark's planting,Grand as song of heroes chanting,Spirit-winged to deeds of daringO'er the wide world faring.
Dannebrog, thou now art seemingDeath-pale, bloody red,Like a dying sea-gull gleamingWhite with blood o'erspread.Purple tides the wounds are showingFrom thy faith in justice flowing;Denmark, bear the cross, thy burdenHonor is thy guerdon!
Words in this poem
- dannebrog n.
- The ancient battle standard of Denmark, bearing figures of cross and crown. Order of Dannebrog, an ancient Danish order of knighthood.
- outspread v. t.
- To spread out; to expand; -- usually as a past part. or adj.
- guerdon n.
- A reward; requital; recompense; -- used in both a good and a bad sense. [OF. guerdon, guerredon, LL. widerdonum (influenced by L. donum gift, cf. Donation ), fr. OHG. widarl; widar again, against (G. wider wieder) + lon reward, G. lo]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
To the Dannebrog is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems and Songs, Project Gutenberg ebook #6619, the Arthur Hubbell Palmer translation; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson, To the Dannebrog, in Poems and Songs (1915), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #6619, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/bjornson-poems-and-songs/to-the-dannebrog.html, id L29278.
Form and metre
To the Dannebrog is 16 lines in 2 stanzas of 8 lines each. Every stanza rhymes ABABCCDD. The metre is trochaic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 94%).
See other poems in trochaic 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 ABABCCDD seemingA · redB · beamingA · outspreadB · plantingC · chantingC · daringD · faringD
- 2 ABABCCDD seemingA · redB · gleamingA · o'erspreadB · showingC · flowingC · burdenD · guerdonD
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 trochaic tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Dannebrog of old was seeming | 8 | /˘˘···/˘ |
| Snow-white, rosy red, | 5 | ··/˘· |
| Through the mists of ages beaming, | 8 | ····/˘/˘ |
| Heaven's gift outspread, | 5 | /˘·˘/ |
| Rich as fruits of Denmark's planting, | 8 | ····/·/˘ |
| Grand as song of heroes chanting, | 8 | ····/˘/˘ |
| Spirit-winged to deeds of daring | 8 | /˘····/˘ |
| O'er the wide world faring. | 6 | ····/˘ |
| Dannebrog, thou now art seeming | 8 | /˘˘···/˘ |
| Death-pale, bloody red, | 5 | ··/˘· |
| Like a dying sea-gull gleaming | 8 | ··/˘··/˘ |
| White with blood o'erspread. | 5 | ····· |
| Purple tides the wounds are showing | 8 | /˘····/˘ |
| From thy faith in justice flowing; | 8 | ····/˘/˘ |
| Denmark, bear the cross, thy burden | 8 | /·····/˘ |
| Honor is thy guerdon! | 6 | /˘··/˘ |
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.