Whose Lives Were Lost in the S. African War
Resound! Resound! To jubilant music ring!Your birthday trumpets sound the alarm of strenuous days.Ye new-built walls, awake! and welcome England's KingWith a high GLORY-TO-GOD, and holy cheer of praise.Awake to fairest hope of fames unknown, unseen,When ye-too silver and solemn with age shall be:For all that is fair upon earth is reared with tend'rest teen,As the burden'd years to memory flee.
Lament, O Muse of the Thames, in pride lament again,With low melodious grief remember them in this hour!--Beyond your dauntless joy, my brother, was our pain.Above all gold, my country, the lavish price of thy power--The ancient groves have mourn'd our sons, for whom no moreThe sisterly kisses of life, the loved embraces.Remember the love of them who came not home from the war,The fatherly tears and the veil'd faces.
Now henceforth their shrine is builded, high and vast,Alway drawing noble hearts to noble deeds;In the toil of glory to be, and the tale of glory past:While ever the laughing waves of youth pass over the meads,And the tongue of Hellas is heard, and old Time slumbereth lightIn the cradle of Peace. O let thy dancing feetRoam in our land and abide, dear Peace, thou child of Right,Giver of happiness, gentle and sweet.
Words in this poem
- jubilant a.
- Uttering songs of triumph; shouting with joy; triumphant; exulting. [L. jubilans, -antis, p. pr. of jubilare to shout for joy: cf. F. jubila. See Jubilate.]
- trumpets n.
- A plant (Sarracenia flava) with long, hollow leaves.
- strenuous a.
- Eagerly pressing or urgent; zealous; ardent; earnest; bold; valiant; intrepid; as, a strenuous advocate for national rights; a strenuous reformer; a strenuous defender of his country.
- unseen a.
- Not seen or discovered.
- 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,]
- teen n.
- Grief; sorrow; affiction; pain. Chaucer. [OE. tene, AS. teóna reproach, wrong, fr. teón to accuse; akin to G. zeihen, Goth. gateihan to tell, announce, L. dicere to say. See Token.]
- dauntless a.
- Incapable of being daunted; undaunted; bold; fearless; intrepid.
- fatherly a.
- Like a father in affection and care; paternal; tender; protecting; careful.
- henceforth adv.
- From this time forward; henceforward.
- giver n.
- One who gives; a donor; a bestower; a grantor; one who imparts or distributes.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Whose Lives Were Lost in the S. African War 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, Whose Lives Were Lost in the S. African War, in Poetical Works (1873–1912), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #37804, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/bridges-shorter-poems/whose-lives-were-lost-in-the-s-african-war.html, id L01837.
Form and metre
Whose Lives Were Lost in the S. African War is 24 lines in 3 stanzas of 8 lines each. Every stanza rhymes ABABCDCD. The metre is iambic heptameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 76%). 80% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 12.3 syllables. 2 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 17% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in iambic heptameter.
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 ABABCDCD ringA · daysB · kingA · praiseB · unseenC · beD · teenC · fleeD
- 2 ABABCDCD againA · hourB · painA · powerB · moreC · embracesD · warC · facesD
- 3 ABABCDCD vastA · deedsB · pastA · meadsB · lightC · feetD · rightC · sweetD
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 heptameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Resound! Resound! To jubilant music ring! | 10 | ·/·/·/˘/˘· |
| Your birthday trumpets sound the alarm of strenuous days. | 13 | ·/·/˘··˘/·/˘· |
| Ye new-built walls, awake! and welcome England's King | 12 | ····˘/·/˘/˘· |
| With a high GLORY-TO-GOD, and holy cheer of praise. | 13 | ···/˘···/˘··· |
| Awake to fairest hope of fames unknown, unseen, | 12 | ˘/·/˘···˘/˘/ |
| When ye-too silver and solemn with age shall be: | 12 | ···/˘·/˘···· |
| For all that is fair upon earth is reared with tend'rest teen, | 14 | ·············· |
| As the burden'd years to memory flee. | 10 | ··/˘··/˘˘· |
| Lament, O Muse of the Thames, in pride lament again, | 13 | ˘/·······˘/˘/ |
| With low melodious grief remember them in this hour!-- | 13 | ··˘/˘·˘/˘···/ |
| Beyond your dauntless joy, my brother, was our pain. | 12 | ···/˘··/˘·/· |
| Above all gold, my country, the lavish price of thy power-- | 14 | ·····/˘·/˘···/ |
| The ancient groves have mourn'd our sons, for whom no more | 12 | ·/˘···/····· |
| The sisterly kisses of life, the loved embraces. | 13 | ·/˘˘/˘····˘/˘ |
| Remember the love of them who came not home from the war, | 14 | ˘/˘··········· |
| The fatherly tears and the veil'd faces. | 10 | ·/˘˘····/˘ |
| Now henceforth their shrine is builded, high and vast, | 11 | ·//···/˘··· |
| Alway drawing noble hearts to noble deeds; | 11 | /˘/˘/˘··/˘· |
| In the toil of glory to be, and the tale of glory past: | 15 | ····/˘······/˘· |
| While ever the laughing waves of youth pass over the meads, | 12 | ·/·/˘······· |
| And the tongue of Hellas is heard, and old Time slumbereth light | 14 | ···········/˘· |
| In the cradle of Peace. O let thy dancing feet | 12 | ··/˘·····/˘· |
| Roam in our land and abide, dear Peace, thou child of Right, | 13 | ··/··˘/······ |
| Giver of happiness, gentle and sweet. | 10 | /˘·/˘˘/˘·· |
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.