Laurel · Robert Bridges · The Growth of Love, and Other Poems

The Fair Brass

Robert Bridges (1844–1930) · 1873–1912

iambic trimeter · ABAB · 44 lines · from The Growth of Love, and Other Poems

An effigy of brassTrodden by careless feetOf worshippers that pass,Beautiful and complete,

Lieth in the sombre aisleOf this old church unwreckt,And still from modern styleShielded by kind neglect.

It shows a warrior arm'd:Across his iron breastHis hands by death are charm'dTo leave his sword at rest,

Wherewith he led his menO'ersea, and smote to hellThe astonisht Saracen,Nor doubted he did well.

Would wé could teach our sonsHis trust in face of doom,Or give our bravest onesA comparable tomb:

Such as to look on shrivesThe heart of half its care;So in each line survivesThe spirit that made it fair;

So fair the characters,With which the dusty scroll,That tells his title, stirsA requiem for his soul.

Yet dearer far to me,And brave as he are they,Who fight by land and seaFor England at this day;

Whose vile memorials,In mournful marbles gilt,Deface the beauteous wallsBy growing glory built:

Heirs of our antique shrines,Sires of our future fame,Whose starry honour shinesIn many a noble name

Across the deathful days,Link'd in the brotherhoodThat loves our country's praise,And lives for heavenly good.

Words in this poem

sombre n.: Gloom; obscurity; duskiness; somberness.
wherewith adv.: With which; -- used relatively.
comparable a.: Capable of being compared; worthy of comparison. [L. comparabilis: cf. F. comparable.]
requiem n.: A mass said or sung for the repose of a departed soul. [Acc. of L. requies rest, the first words of the Mass being "Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine," give eternal rest to them, O lord; pref. re- re + quies quiet. S]
beauteous a.: Full of beauty; beautiful; very handsome. [Mostly poetic] -- Beau"te*ous*ly, adv. --
starry a.: Abounding with stars; adorned with stars.
honour n.: Esteem due or paid to worth; high estimation; respect; consideration; reverence; veneration; manifestation of respect or reverence. [OE. honor, honour, onour, onur, OF. honor, onor, honur, onur, honour, onour, F. honneur, fr. L. honor, honos.]
deathful a.: Full of death or slaughter; murderous; destructive; bloody.

Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.

About this text

The Fair Brass is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Poetical Works of Robert Bridges, Excluding the Eight Dramas, Project Gutenberg ebook #37804; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.

Cite as: Robert Bridges, The Fair Brass, in The Growth of Love, and Other Poems (1873–1912), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #37804, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/bridges-shorter-poems/the-fair-brass.html, id L01816.

Form and metre

The Fair Brass is 44 lines in 11 stanzas of 4 lines each. Every stanza rhymes ABAB. The metre is iambic trimeter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 88%). 87% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 6.3 syllables. 3 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 41% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.

See other poems in iambic trimeter.

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 ABAB brass^A · feet^B · pass^A · complete^B
2 ABAB aisle^A · unwreckt^B · style^A · neglect^B
3 ABAB arm'd^A · breast^B · charm'd^A · rest^B
4 ABAB men^A · hell^B · saracen^A · well^B
5 ABAB sons^A · doom^B · ones^A · tomb^B
6 ABAB shrives^A · care^B · survives^A · fair^B
7 ABAB characters^A · scroll^B · stirs^A · soul^B
8 ABAB me^A · they^B · sea^A · day^B
9 ABAB memorials^A · gilt^B · walls^A · built^B
10 ABAB shrines^A · fame^B · shines^A · name^B
11 ABAB days^A · brotherhood^B · praise^A · good^B

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 trimeter. How this is done.

Line	Syl.	Stress
An effigy of brass	6	·/˘˘··
Trodden by careless feet	6	/˘·/˘·
Of worshippers that pass,	6	·/˘˘··
Beautiful and complete,	6	/˘˘·˘/
Lieth in the sombre aisle	6	···/˘·
Of this old church unwreckt,	6	······
And still from modern style	6	···/˘·
Shielded by kind neglect.	6	/˘··˘/
It shows a warrior arm'd:	6	···/˘·
Across his iron breast	6	˘/·/˘·
His hands by death are charm'd	6	······
To leave his sword at rest,	6	······
Wherewith he led his men	6	˘/····
O'ersea, and smote to hell	6	······
The astonisht Saracen,	7	····/˘˘
Nor doubted he did well.	6	·/˘···
Would wé could teach our sons	7	·/˘··/·
His trust in face of doom,	6	······
Or give our bravest ones	6	··//˘·
A comparable tomb:	6	·/˘˘˘·
Such as to look on shrives	6	······
The heart of half its care;	6	······
So in each line survives	6	····˘/
The spirit that made it fair;	6	·/····
So fair the characters,	6	···/˘˘
With which the dusty scroll,	6	···/˘·
That tells his title, stirs	6	···/˘·
A requiem for his soul.	6	·/˘···
Yet dearer far to me,	6	·/˘···
And brave as he are they,	6	······
Who fight by land and sea	6	······
For England at this day;	6	·/˘···
Whose vile memorials,	6	··˘/˘˘
In mournful marbles gilt,	6	·/˘/˘·
Deface the beauteous walls	7	˘/·/˘˘·
By growing glory built:	6	·/˘/˘·
Heirs of our antique shrines,	6	··/˘/·
Sires of our future fame,	6	··//˘·
Whose starry honour shines	6	·/˘/˘·
In many a noble name	6	·/·/˘·
Across the deathful days,	6	˘/·/˘·
Link'd in the brotherhood	6	···/˘·
That loves our country's praise,	6	··//˘·
And lives for heavenly good.	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.

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