Incident of the French Camp
You know, we French stormed Ratisbon:A mile or so away,On a little mound, NapoleonStood on our storming-day;With neck out-thrust, you fancy how,Legs wide, arms locked behind,As if to balance the prone browOppressive with its mind.
Just as perhaps he mused, "My plansThat soar, to earth may fall,Let once my army-leader LannesWaver at yonder wall."Out 'twixt the battery-smokes there flewA rider, bound on boundFull-galloping; nor bridle drewUntil he reached the mound.
Then off there flung in smiling joy,And held himself erectBy just his horse's mane, a boy:You hardly could suspect(So tight he kept his lips compressedScarce any blood came through)You looked twice ere you saw his breastWas all but shot in two.
"Well," cried he, "Emperor, by God's grace"We've got you Ratisbon!"The Marshal's in the market-place,And you'll be there anonTo see your flag-bird flap his vansWhere I, to heart's desire,Perched him--" The chief's eye flashed; his plansSoared up again like fire.
The chief's eye flashed, but presentlySoftened itself, as sheathesA film the mother-eagle's-eyeWhen her bruised eaglet breathes,"You're wounded!" "Nay," the soldier's prideTouched to the quick, he said:"I'm killed, Sire!" And his chief beside,Smiling the boy fell dead.
Words in this poem
- napoleon n.
- A French gold coin of twenty francs, or about $3.86. [From the Emperor Napoleon 1.]
- waver v. i.
- To play or move to and fro; to move one way and the other; hence, to totter; to reel; to swing; to flutter. [OE. waveren, from AS. wæfre wavering, restless. See Wave, v. i.]
- yonder adv.
- At a distance, but within view. [OE. yonder, ýonder; cf. OD. ginder, Goth. jaindr there. Yond, adv.]
- scarce a.
- Not plentiful or abundant; in small quantity in proportion to the demand; not easily to be procured; rare; uncommon. [OE. scars, OF. escars, eschars, LL. scarpsus, for L. excerptus, p. p. of excerpere to pick out, and hence to contract, to shorten; ex (see Ex-) + carpere. See C]
- anon adv.
- Straightway; at once. [OE. anoon, anon, anan, lit., in one (moment), fr. AS. on in + an one. See On and One.]
- presently adv.
- At present; at this time; now.
- eaglet n.
- A young eagle, or a diminutive eagle. [Cf. OF. aiglet.]
- sire n.
- A lord, master, or other person in authority. See Sir. [F. sire, originally, an older person. See Sir.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Incident of the French Camp is in the public domain. This text is taken from Dramatic Romances, Project Gutenberg ebook #4253; 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 Browning, Incident of the French Camp, in Dramatic Lyrics (1842), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #4253, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/browning-dramatic-lyrics/incident-of-the-french-camp.html, id L03534.
Form and metre
Incident of the French Camp is 40 lines in 5 stanzas of 8 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABABCDCD, complete in 3 of its 5 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 90%). 96% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.2 syllables. 4 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 48% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
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 -A-ABCBC ratisbon · awayA · napoleon · dayA · howB · behindC · browB · mindC
- 2 ABABCDCD plansA · fallB · lannesA · wallB · flewC · boundD · drewC · moundD
- 3 ABABCDCD joyA · erectB · boyA · suspectB · compressedC · throughD · breastC · twoD
- 4 ABABCDCD graceA · ratisbonB · placeA · anonB · vansC · desireD · plansC · fireD
- 5 ----ABAB presently · sheathes · eye · breathes · prideA · saidB · besideA · deadB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| You know, we French stormed Ratisbon: | 8 | ········ |
| A mile or so away, | 6 | ····˘/ |
| On a little mound, Napoleon | 9 | ··/˘·˘/˘˘ |
| Stood on our storming-day; | 7 | ··/˘/˘· |
| With neck out-thrust, you fancy how, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Legs wide, arms locked behind, | 7 | ····˘·· |
| As if to balance the prone brow | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Oppressive with its mind. | 6 | ˘/˘··· |
| Just as perhaps he mused, "My plans | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| That soar, to earth may fall, | 6 | ······ |
| Let once my army-leader Lannes | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Waver at yonder wall." | 6 | /˘·/˘· |
| Out 'twixt the battery-smokes there flew | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| A rider, bound on bound | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Full-galloping; nor bridle drew | 8 | ·/˘˘·/˘· |
| Until he reached the mound. | 7 | ····˘·· |
| Then off there flung in smiling joy, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And held himself erect | 6 | ··˘/˘/ |
| By just his horse's mane, a boy: | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| You hardly could suspect | 6 | ·/˘·˘/ |
| (So tight he kept his lips compressed | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Scarce any blood came through) | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| You looked twice ere you saw his breast | 8 | ········ |
| Was all but shot in two. | 6 | ······ |
| "Well," cried he, "Emperor, by God's grace | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| "We've got you Ratisbon! | 6 | ······ |
| "The Marshal's in the market-place, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| And you'll be there anon | 6 | ····˘/ |
| To see your flag-bird flap his vans | 8 | ········ |
| Where I, to heart's desire, | 7 | ····˘/˘ |
| Perched him--" The chief's eye flashed; his plans | 8 | ········ |
| Soared up again like fire. | 8 | ·˘·˘/·/˘ |
| The chief's eye flashed, but presently | 8 | ·····/˘˘ |
| Softened itself, as sheathes | 7 | /˘˘˘/·· |
| A film the mother-eagle's-eye | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| When her bruised eaglet breathes, | 7 | ···˘/˘· |
| "You're wounded!" "Nay," the soldier's pride | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Touched to the quick, he said: | 7 | ·˘····· |
| "I'm killed, Sire!" And his chief beside, | 8 | ··/···˘/ |
| Smiling the boy fell dead. | 6 | /˘···· |
On this poem
"Incident of the French Camp." A story of modest heroism. The incident related is said by Mrs. Orr to be a true one of the siege of Ratisbon by Napoleon in 1809--except that the real hero was a man. I. Ratisbon: (German Regensburg), an ancient city of Bavaria on the right bank of the Danube, has endured seventeen sieges since the tenth century, the last one being that of Napoleon, 1809.
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