The Greek Partisan
Our free flag is dancingIn the free mountain air,And burnished arms are glancing,And warriors gathering there;And fearless is the little trainWhose gallant bosoms shield it;The blood that warms their hearts shall stainThat banner, ere they yield it.--Each dark eye is fixed on earth,And brief each solemn greeting;There is no look nor sound of mirth,Where those stern men are meeting.
They go to the slaughter,To strike the sudden blow,And pour on earth, like water,The best blood of the foe;To rush on them from rock and height,And clear the narrow valley,Or fire their camp at dead of night,And fly before they rally.--Chains are round our country pressed,And cowards have betrayed her,And we must make her bleeding breastThe grave of the invader.
Not till from her fettersWe raise up Greece again,And write, in bloody letters,That tyranny is slain,--Oh, not till then the smile shall stealAcross those darkened faces,Nor one of all those warriors feelHis children's dear embraces,--Reap we not the ripened wheat,Till yonder hosts are flying,And all their bravest, at our feet,Like autumn sheaves are lying.
Words in this poem
- glancing a.
- Shooting, as light.
- 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,]
- rally v. t.
- To collect, and reduce to order, as troops dispersed or thrown into confusion; to gather again; to reunite. [OF. ralier, F. rallier, fr. L. pref. re- + ad + ligare to bind. See Ra-, and 1st Ally.]
- invader n.
- One who invades; an assailant; an encroacher; an intruder.
- reap n.
- A bundle of grain; a handful of grain laid down by the reaper as it is cut. Wright. [Cf. AS. rip harvest. See Reap, v.]
- yonder adv.
- At a distance, but within view. [OE. yonder, ýonder; cf. OD. ginder, Goth. jaindr there. Yond, adv.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Greek Partisan 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 Greek Partisan, in Poems (1821–1876), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #16341, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/bryant-poems/the-greek-partisan.html, id L07304.
Form and metre
The Greek Partisan is 36 lines in 3 stanzas of 12 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABABCDCDEFEF, complete in 2 of its 3 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 92%). 94% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.2 syllables. 16 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 19% 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 ABABCDCDEFEF dancingA · airB · glancingA · thereB · trainC · itD · stainC · itD · earthE · greetingF · mirthE · meetingF
- 2 ABABCDCDE-E- slaughterA · blowB · waterA · foeB · heightC · valleyD · nightC · rallyD · pressedE · her · breastE · invader
- 3 ABABCDCDEFEF fettersA · againB · lettersA · slainB · stealC · facesD · feelC · embracesD · wheatE · flyingF · feetE · lyingF
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Our free flag is dancing | 7 | /˘···/˘ |
| In the free mountain air, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| And burnished arms are glancing, | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| And warriors gathering there; | 7 | ·/˘/˘˘· |
| And fearless is the little train | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Whose gallant bosoms shield it; | 7 | ·/˘/˘·· |
| The blood that warms their hearts shall stain | 8 | ········ |
| That banner, ere they yield it. | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| --Each dark eye is fixed on earth, | 7 | ······· |
| And brief each solemn greeting; | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| There is no look nor sound of mirth, | 8 | ········ |
| Where those stern men are meeting. | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| They go to the slaughter, | 6 | ····/˘ |
| To strike the sudden blow, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| And pour on earth, like water, | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| The best blood of the foe; | 6 | ······ |
| To rush on them from rock and height, | 8 | ········ |
| And clear the narrow valley, | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| Or fire their camp at dead of night, | 8 | ·/······ |
| And fly before they rally. | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| --Chains are round our country pressed, | 7 | ···//˘· |
| And cowards have betrayed her, | 7 | ·/˘·˘/· |
| And we must make her bleeding breast | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| The grave of the invader. | 7 | ····˘/˘ |
| Not till from her fetters | 6 | ····/˘ |
| We raise up Greece again, | 6 | ····˘/ |
| And write, in bloody letters, | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| That tyranny is slain,-- | 6 | ·/˘˘·· |
| Oh, not till then the smile shall steal | 8 | ········ |
| Across those darkened faces, | 7 | ˘/·/˘/˘ |
| Nor one of all those warriors feel | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| His children's dear embraces, | 7 | ·/˘·˘/˘ |
| --Reap we not the ripened wheat, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Till yonder hosts are flying, | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| And all their bravest, at our feet, | 8 | ···/˘·/· |
| Like autumn sheaves are lying. | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
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.