The Death of Aliatar: From the Spanish
'Tis not with gilded sabresThat gleam in baldricks blue,Nor nodding plumes in caps of Fez,Of gay and gaudy hue--But, habited in mourning weeds,Come marching from afar,By four and four, the valiant menWho fought with Aliatar.All mournfully and slowlyThe afflicted warriors come,To the deep wail of the trumpet,And beat of muffled drum.
The banner of the Phenix,The flag that loved the sky,That scarce the wind dared wanton with,It flew so proud and high--Now leaves its place in battle-field,And sweeps the ground in grief,The bearer drags its glorious foldsBehind the fallen chief,As mournfully and slowlyThe afflicted warriors come,To the deep wail of the trumpet,And beat of muffled drum.
Brave Aliatar led forwardA hundred Moors to goTo where his brother held MotrilAgainst the leaguering foe.On horseback went the gallant Moor,That gallant band to lead;And now his bier is at the gate,From whence he pricked his steed.While mournfully and slowlyThe afflicted warriors come,To the deep wail of the trumpet,And beat of muffled drum.
The knights of the Grand MasterIn crowded ambush lay;They rushed upon him where the reedsWere thick beside the way;They smote the valiant Aliatar,They smote the warrior dead,And broken, but not beaten, wereThe gallant ranks he led.Now mournfully and slowlyThe afflicted warriors come,To the deep wail of the trumpet,And beat of muffled drum.
Oh! what was Zayda's sorrow,How passionate her cries!Her lover's wounds streamed not more freeThan that poor maiden's eyes.Say, Love--for didst thou see her tears:Oh, no! he drew more tightThe blinding fillet o'er his lidsTo spare his eyes the sight.While mournfully and slowlyThe afflicted warriors come,To the deep wail of the trumpet,And beat of muffled drum.
Nor Zayda weeps him only,But all that dwell betweenThe great Alhambra's palace wallsAnd springs of Albaicin.The ladies weep the flower of knights,The brave the bravest here;The people weep a champion,The Alcaydes a noble peer.While mournfully and slowlyThe afflicted warriors come,To the deep wail of the trumpet,And beat of muffled drum.
Words in this poem
- habited p. p.
- Clothed; arrayed; dressed; as, he was habited like a shepherd.
- afar adv.
- At, to, or from a great distance; far away; -- often used with from preceding, or off following; as, he was seen from afar; I saw him afar off. [Pref. a-.(for on or of) + far.]
- valiant a.
- Vigorous in body; strong; powerful; as, a valiant fencer. [OE. valiant, F. vaillant, OF. vaillant, valant, originally p. pr. of OF. & F. valoir to be worth, L. valere to be strong. See Wield, and cf. Avail, Convalesce, ]
- phenix n.
- A bird fabled to exist single, to be consumed by fire by its own act, and to rise again from its ashes. Hence, an emblem of immortality. [L. phoenix, Gr. foi^nix.]
- 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]
- glorious a.
- Exhibiting attributes, qualities, or acts that are worthy of or receive glory; noble; praiseworthy; excellent; splendid; illustrious; inspiring admiration; as, glorious deeds. [OF. glorios, glorious, F. glorieux, fr. L. gloriosus. See Glory, n.]
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- bier n.
- A handbarrow or portable frame on which a corpse is placed or borne to the grave. [OE. bæe, beere, AS. b, b; akin to D. baar, OHG. bara, G. bahre, Icel barar, Dbaare, L. feretrum, Gr. , from the same bear to produce. See 1st Bear, and cf. Barr]
- steed n.
- A horse, especially a spirited horse for state of war; -- used chiefly in poetry or stately prose. [OE. stede, AS. steda a stud-horse, war horse, fr. stod a stud of breeding steeds; akin to G. stute a mare, Icel. stedda, sto, a stud. *163. See Stud of horses.]
- rushed a.
- Abounding or covered with rushes.
- didst
- , the 2d pers. sing. imp. of Do.
- 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]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Death of Aliatar: From the Spanish 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 Death of Aliatar: From the Spanish, in Poems (1821–1876), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #16341, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/bryant-poems/the-death-of-aliatar-from-the-spanish.html, id L26102.
Form and metre
The Death of Aliatar: From the Spanish is 72 lines in 6 stanzas of 12 lines each. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 87%).
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-C-C-D-D sabresA · blueB · fezA · hueB · weeds · afarC · men · aliatarC · slowly · comeD · trumpet · drumD
- 2 -A-A-B-B-C-C phenix · skyA · with · highA · field · griefB · folds · chiefB · slowly · comeC · trumpet · drumC
- 3 -A-A-BCB-DCD forward · goA · motril · foeA · moor · leadB · gateC · steedB · slowly · comeD · trumpetC · drumD
- 4 -A-A-B-B-C-C master · layA · reeds · wayA · aliatar · deadB · were · ledB · slowly · comeC · trumpet · drumC
- 5 -A-A-B-B-CBC sorrow · criesA · free · eyesA · tears · tightB · lids · sightB · slowly · comeC · trumpetB · drumC
- 6 -----A-A-B-B only · between · walls · albaicin · knights · hereA · champion · peerA · slowly · comeB · trumpet · drumB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| 'Tis not with gilded sabres | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| That gleam in baldricks blue, | 6 | ······ |
| Nor nodding plumes in caps of Fez, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Of gay and gaudy hue-- | 6 | ···/˘· |
| But, habited in mourning weeds, | 8 | ·/˘˘·/˘· |
| Come marching from afar, | 6 | ·/˘·˘/ |
| By four and four, the valiant men | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Who fought with Aliatar. | 6 | ······ |
| All mournfully and slowly | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| The afflicted warriors come, | 8 | ·˘/˘/˘˘· |
| To the deep wail of the trumpet, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| And beat of muffled drum. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| The banner of the Phenix, | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| The flag that loved the sky, | 6 | ······ |
| That scarce the wind dared wanton with, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| It flew so proud and high-- | 6 | ······ |
| Now leaves its place in battle-field, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And sweeps the ground in grief, | 6 | ······ |
| The bearer drags its glorious folds | 9 | ·/˘··/˘˘· |
| Behind the fallen chief, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| As mournfully and slowly | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| The afflicted warriors come, | 8 | ·˘/˘/˘˘· |
| To the deep wail of the trumpet, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| And beat of muffled drum. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Brave Aliatar led forward | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| A hundred Moors to go | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| To where his brother held Motril | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Against the leaguering foe. | 7 | ···/˘˘· |
| On horseback went the gallant Moor, | 8 | ·/···/˘· |
| That gallant band to lead; | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| And now his bier is at the gate, | 8 | ········ |
| From whence he pricked his steed. | 6 | ······ |
| While mournfully and slowly | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| The afflicted warriors come, | 8 | ·˘/˘/˘˘· |
| To the deep wail of the trumpet, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| And beat of muffled drum. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| The knights of the Grand Master | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| In crowded ambush lay; | 6 | ·/˘/·· |
| They rushed upon him where the reeds | 8 | ········ |
| Were thick beside the way; | 6 | ··˘/·· |
| They smote the valiant Aliatar, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| They smote the warrior dead, | 7 | ···/˘˘· |
| And broken, but not beaten, were | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| The gallant ranks he led. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Now mournfully and slowly | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| The afflicted warriors come, | 8 | ·˘/˘/˘˘· |
| To the deep wail of the trumpet, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| And beat of muffled drum. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Oh! what was Zayda's sorrow, | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| How passionate her cries! | 6 | ·/˘˘·· |
| Her lover's wounds streamed not more free | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Than that poor maiden's eyes. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Say, Love--for didst thou see her tears: | 8 | ········ |
| Oh, no! he drew more tight | 6 | ······ |
| The blinding fillet o'er his lids | 8 | ·/˘˘/··· |
| To spare his eyes the sight. | 6 | ······ |
| While mournfully and slowly | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| The afflicted warriors come, | 8 | ·˘/˘/˘˘· |
| To the deep wail of the trumpet, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| And beat of muffled drum. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Nor Zayda weeps him only, | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| But all that dwell between | 6 | ······ |
| The great Alhambra's palace walls | 8 | ··˘/˘/˘· |
| And springs of Albaicin. | 6 | ······ |
| The ladies weep the flower of knights, | 9 | ·/˘··/˘·· |
| The brave the bravest here; | 6 | ···/˘· |
| The people weep a champion, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘˘ |
| The Alcaydes a noble peer. | 7 | ····/˘· |
| While mournfully and slowly | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| The afflicted warriors come, | 8 | ·˘/˘/˘˘· |
| To the deep wail of the trumpet, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| And beat of muffled drum. | 6 | ···/˘· |
Notes from the edition 1
William Cullen Bryant's own notes to his Poems (Project Gutenberg #16341).
- Stanza 5, line 5 The stanza beginning with this line stands thus in the original:--
Dilo tu, amor, si lo viste; iMas ay! que de lastimado Diste otro nudo a la venda, Para no ver lo que ha pasado.
I am sorry to find so poor a conceit deforming so spirited a composition as this old ballad, but I have preserved it in the version. It is one of those extravagances which afterward became so common in Spanish poetry, when Gongora introduced the estilo culto, as it was called.
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