The Dead
Blow out, you bugles, over the rich Dead!There's none of these so lonely and poor of old,But, dying, has made us rarer gifts than gold.These laid the world away; poured out the redSweet wine of youth; gave up the years to beOf work and joy, and that unhoped serene,That men call age; and those who would have been,Their sons, they gave, their immortality.
Blow, bugles, blow! They brought us, for our dearth,Holiness, lacked so long, and Love, and Pain.Honour has come back, as a king, to earth,And paid his subjects with a royal wage;And Nobleness walks in our ways again;And we have come into our heritage.
These hearts were woven of human joys and cares,Washed marvellously with sorrow, swift to mirth.The years had given them kindness. Dawn was theirs,And sunset, and the colours of the earth.These had seen movement, and heard music; knownSlumber and waking; loved; gone proudly friended;Felt the quick stir of wonder; sat alone;Touched flowers and furs and cheeks. All this is ended.
There are waters blown by changing winds to laughterAnd lit by the rich skies, all day. And after,Frost, with a gesture, stays the waves that danceAnd wandering loveliness. He leaves a whiteUnbroken glory, a gathered radiance,A width, a shining peace, under the night.
Words in this poem
- unhoped a.
- Not hoped or expected.
- dearth n.
- Scarcity which renders dear; want; lack; specifically, lack of food on account of failure of crops; famine. [OE. derthe, fr. dere. See Dear.]
- 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.]
- wage v. i.
- To bind one's self; to engage.
- nobleness n.
- The quality or state of being noble; greatness; dignity; magnanimity; elevation of mind, character, or station; nobility; grandeur; stateliness.
- heritage a.
- That which is inherited, or passes from heir to heir; inheritance. [OE. heritage, eritage, OF. heritage, eritage, F. héritage, fr. hériter to inherit, LL. heriditare. See Hereditable.]
- friended a.
- Having friends;
- loveliness n.
- The state or quality of being lovely. [From Lovely.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Dead is in the public domain. This text is taken from 1914, and Other Poems, Project Gutenberg ebook #33902; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Rupert Brooke, The Dead, in 1914 and Other Poems (1915), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #33902, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/brooke-1914/the-dead.html, id L04729.
Form and metre
The Dead is 28 lines in 4 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 82%). 90% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.2 syllables. 6 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 21% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in iambic pentameter.
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---- deadA · oldB · goldB · redA · be · serene · been · immortality
- 2 ABACBC dearthA · painB · earthA · wageC · againB · heritageC
- 3 ABABCDCD caresA · mirthB · theirsA · earthB · knownC · friendedD · aloneC · endedD
- 4 AABCBC laughterA · afterA · danceB · whiteC · radianceB · nightC
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 pentameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Blow out, you bugles, over the rich Dead! | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| There's none of these so lonely and poor of old, | 11 | ·····/˘···· |
| But, dying, has made us rarer gifts than gold. | 11 | ·/˘···/˘··· |
| These laid the world away; poured out the red | 10 | ····˘/···· |
| Sweet wine of youth; gave up the years to be | 10 | ·········· |
| Of work and joy, and that unhoped serene, | 10 | ······˘/˘/ |
| That men call age; and those who would have been, | 10 | ·········· |
| Their sons, they gave, their immortality. | 9 | ······˘/˘ |
| Blow, bugles, blow! They brought us, for our dearth, | 10 | ·/˘·····/· |
| Holiness, lacked so long, and Love, and Pain. | 9 | /˘······· |
| Honour has come back, as a king, to earth, | 10 | /˘········ |
| And paid his subjects with a royal wage; | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| And Nobleness walks in our ways again; | 10 | ·/˘˘··/·˘/ |
| And we have come into our heritage. | 9 | ······//˘ |
| These hearts were woven of human joys and cares, | 11 | ···/˘·/˘··· |
| Washed marvellously with sorrow, swift to mirth. | 11 | ······/˘··· |
| The years had given them kindness. Dawn was theirs, | 10 | ···/·/˘··· |
| And sunset, and the colours of the earth. | 10 | ·/···/˘··· |
| These had seen movement, and heard music; known | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Slumber and waking; loved; gone proudly friended; | 11 | /˘·/˘··/˘/˘ |
| Felt the quick stir of wonder; sat alone; | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| Touched flowers and furs and cheeks. All this is ended. | 11 | ·/·······/˘ |
| There are waters blown by changing winds to laughter | 12 | ··/˘··/˘··/˘ |
| And lit by the rich skies, all day. And after, | 11 | ··········· |
| Frost, with a gesture, stays the waves that dance | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| And wandering loveliness. He leaves a white | 10 | ·/˘/˘˘···· |
| Unbroken glory, a gathered radiance, | 10 | ˘/˘/˘·/˘/˘ |
| A width, a shining peace, under the night. | 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.