The Battle-Field
Once this soft turf, this rivulet's sands,Were trampled by a hurrying crowd,And fiery hearts and armed handsEncountered in the battle cloud.
Ah! I never shall the land forgetHow gushed the life-blood of her brave--Gushed, warm with hope and courage yet,Upon the soil they fought to save.
Now all is calm, and fresh, and still,Alone the chirp of flitting bird,And talk of children on the hill,And bell of wandering kine are heard.
No solemn host goes trailing byThe black-mouthed gun and staggering wain;Men start not at the battle-cry,Oh, be it never heard again!
Soon rested those who fought; but thouWho minglest in the harder strifeFor truths which men receive not nowThy warfare only ends with life.
A friendless warfare! lingering longThrough weary day and weary year.A wild and many-weaponed throngHang on thy front, and flank, and rear.
Yet nerve thy spirit to the proof,And blench not at thy chosen lot.The timid good may stand aloof,The sage may frown--yet faint thou not.
Nor heed the shaft too surely cast,The foul and hissing bolt of scorn;For with thy side shall dwell, at last,The victory of endurance born.
Truth, crushed to earth, shall rise again;The eternal years of God are hers;But Error, wounded, writhes with pain,And dies among his worshippers.
Yea, though thou lie upon the dust,When they who helped thee flee in fear,Die full of hope and manly trust,Like those who fell in battle here.
Another hand thy sword shall wield,Another hand the standard wave,Till from the trumpet's mouth is pealedThe blast of triumph o'er thy grave.
Words in this poem
- 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,]
- flitting n.
- A flying with lightness and celerity; a fluttering.
- wain n.
- A four-wheeled vehicle for the transportation of goods, produce, etc.; a wagon. [OE. wain, AS. wægn; akin to D. & G. wagen, OHG. wagan, Icel. & Sw. vagn, Dan. vogn, and E. way. Way, Weigh, and cf. Wagon.]
- strife n.
- The act of striving; earnest endeavor. [OF. estrif. See Strive.]
- friendless a.
- Destitute of friends; forsaken. [AS. freóndleás.]
- blench v. t.
- To baffle; to disconcert; to turn away; -- also, to obstruct; to hinder.
- dwell v. i.
- To delay; to linger. [OE. dwellen, dwelien, to err, linger, AS. dwellan to deceive, hinder, delay, dwelian to err; akin to Icel. dvelja to delay, tarry, Sw. dväljas to dwell, Dan. dv]
- wield v. t.
- To govern; to rule; to keep, or have in charge; also, to possess. [OE. welden to govern, to have power over, to possess, AS. geweldan, gewyldan, from wealdan; akin to OS. waldan, OFries. walda, G. walten, OHG. waltan, Icel. val]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Battle-Field is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems by William Cullen Bryant, Project Gutenberg ebook #16341; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: William Cullen Bryant, The Battle-Field, in Poems (1821–1876), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #16341, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/bryant-poems/the-battle-field.html, id L07353.
Form and metre
The Battle-Field is 44 lines in 11 stanzas of 4 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABAB, complete in 10 of its 11 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 91%). 91% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.4 syllables. 2 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 20% 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 ABAB sandsA · crowdB · handsA · cloudB
- 2 ABAB forgetA · braveB · yetA · saveB
- 3 ABAB stillA · birdB · hillA · heardB
- 4 ABAB byA · wainB · cryA · againB
- 5 ABAB thouA · strifeB · nowA · lifeB
- 6 ABAB longA · yearB · throngA · rearB
- 7 ABAB proofA · lotB · aloofA · notB
- 8 ABAB castA · scornB · lastA · bornB
- 9 A-A- againA · hers · painA · worshippers
- 10 ABAB dustA · fearB · trustA · hereB
- 11 ABAB wieldA · waveB · pealedA · graveB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Once this soft turf, this rivulet's sands, | 9 | ········· |
| Were trampled by a hurrying crowd, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| And fiery hearts and armed hands | 8 | ·/˘˘···· |
| Encountered in the battle cloud. | 8 | ˘/˘··/˘· |
| Ah! I never shall the land forget | 8 | ··/···˘/ |
| How gushed the life-blood of her brave-- | 8 | ········ |
| Gushed, warm with hope and courage yet, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Upon the soil they fought to save. | 8 | ········ |
| Now all is calm, and fresh, and still, | 8 | ········ |
| Alone the chirp of flitting bird, | 8 | ˘/···/˘· |
| And talk of children on the hill, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And bell of wandering kine are heard. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| No solemn host goes trailing by | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| The black-mouthed gun and staggering wain; | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Men start not at the battle-cry, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Oh, be it never heard again! | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| Soon rested those who fought; but thou | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Who minglest in the harder strife | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| For truths which men receive not now | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| Thy warfare only ends with life. | 8 | ·/·/˘··· |
| A friendless warfare! lingering long | 8 | ·/˘/·/˘· |
| Through weary day and weary year. | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| A wild and many-weaponed throng | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Hang on thy front, and flank, and rear. | 8 | ········ |
| Yet nerve thy spirit to the proof, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And blench not at thy chosen lot. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| The timid good may stand aloof, | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| The sage may frown--yet faint thou not. | 8 | ········ |
| Nor heed the shaft too surely cast, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| The foul and hissing bolt of scorn; | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| For with thy side shall dwell, at last, | 8 | ········ |
| The victory of endurance born. | 8 | ·/˘·/˘˘· |
| Truth, crushed to earth, shall rise again; | 8 | ······˘/ |
| The eternal years of God are hers; | 9 | ·˘/˘····· |
| But Error, wounded, writhes with pain, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| And dies among his worshippers. | 8 | ·····/˘˘ |
| Yea, though thou lie upon the dust, | 8 | ········ |
| When they who helped thee flee in fear, | 8 | ········ |
| Die full of hope and manly trust, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Like those who fell in battle here. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Another hand thy sword shall wield, | 8 | ˘/˘····· |
| Another hand the standard wave, | 8 | ˘/˘··/˘· |
| Till from the trumpet's mouth is pealed | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| The blast of triumph o'er thy grave. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
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