Address Intended to Be Recited at the Caledonian Meeting
Who hath not glowed above the page where FameHath fixed high Caledon's unconquered name;The mountain-land which spurned the Roman chain,And baffled back the fiery-crested Dane,Whose bright claymore and hardihood of handNo foe could tame--no tyrant could command?That race is gone--but still their children breathe,And Glory crowns them with redoubled wreath:O'er Gael and Saxon mingling banners shine,And, England! add their stubborn strength to thine.The blood which flowed with Wallace flows as free,But now 'tis only shed for Fame and thee!Oh! pass not by the northern veteran's claim,But give support--the world hath given him fame!
The humbler ranks, the lowly brave, who bledWhile cheerly following where the Mighty led--Who sleep beneath the undistinguished sodWhere happier comrades in their triumph trod,To us bequeath--'tis all their fate allows--The sireless offspring and the lonely spouse:She on high Albyn's dusky hills may raiseThe tearful eye in melancholy gaze,Or view, while shadowy auguries discloseThe Highland Seer's anticipated woes,The bleeding phantom of each martial formDim in the cloud, or darkling in the storm;While sad, she chaunts the solitary song,The soft lament for him who tarries long--For him, whose distant relics vainly craveThe Coronach's wild requiem to the brave!
'Tis Heaven--not man--must charm away the woe,Which bursts when Nature's feelings newly flow;Yet Tenderness and Time may rob the tearOf half its bitterness for one so dear;A Nation's gratitude perchance may spreadA thornless pillow for the widowed head;May lighten well her heart's maternal care,And wean from Penury the soldier's heir;Or deem to living war-worn Valour justEach wounded remnant--Albion's cherished trust--Warm his decline with those endearing rays,Whose bounteous sunshine yet may gild his days--So shall that Country--while he sinks to rest--His hand hath fought for--by his heart be blest!
Words in this poem 18
- dane n.
- A native, or a naturalized inhabitant, of Denmark. Great Dane. [LL. Dani: cf. AS. Dene.]
- claymore n.
- A large two-handed sword used formerly by the Scottish Highlanders. [Gael. claidheamhmor a broadsword; Gael. claidheamh sword + mor great, large. Cf. Claymore.]
- hardihood n.
- Boldness, united with firmness and constancy of mind; bravery; intrepidity; also, audaciousness; impudence. [Hardy + -hood.]
- gael n.
- A Celt or the Celts of the Scotch Highlands or of Ireland; now esp., a Scotch Highlander of Celtic origin. [See Gaelic.]
- humbler n.
- One who, or that which, humbles some one.
- spouse v. t.
- To wed; to espouse. [See Espouse, and Spouse, n.]
- tearful a.
- Abounding with tears; weeping; shedding tears; as, tearful eyes.
- darkling a.
- Becoming dark or gloomy; frowing.
- crave v. t.
- To ask with earnestness or importunity; to ask with submission or humility; to beg; to entreat; to beseech; to implore. [AS. crafian; akin to Icel. krefia, Sw. kr, Dan. kr.]
- requiem n.
- A mass said or sung for the repose of a departed soul. [Acc. of L. requies rest, the first words of the Mass being "Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine," give eternal rest to them, O lord; pref. re- re + quies quiet. S]
- thornless a.
- Destitute of, or free from, thorns.
- maternal a.
- Of or pertaining to a mother; becoming to a mother; motherly; as, maternal love; maternal tenderness. [F. maternel, L. maternus, fr. mater mother. See Mother.]
- penury n.
- Absence of resources; want; privation; indigence; extreme poverty; destitution. [L. penuria; cf. Gr. pénurie.]
- deem v. t.
- To decide; to judge; to sentence; to condemn. [OE. demen to judge, condemn, AS. d, fr. d doom; akin to OFries. d, OS. ad, D. doemen, OHG. tuommen, Icel. dæma, Sw. dömma, Dan. dömme, Goth. d. See Doom, n., an]
- endearing a.
- Making dear or beloved; causing love.
- bounteous a.
- Liberal in charity; disposed to give freely; generously liberal; munificent; beneficent; free in bestowing gifts; as, bounteous production. [OE. bountevous, fr. bounte bounty.]
- sunshine n.
- The light of the sun, or the place where it shines; the direct rays of the sun, the place where they fall, or the warmth and light which they give.
- 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,]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Address Intended to Be Recited at the Caledonian Meeting is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Works of Lord Byron. Vol. 3, Project Gutenberg ebook #21811; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Lord Byron, Address Intended to Be Recited at the Caledonian Meeting, in The Giaour, and Other Poems (1816), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #21811, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/byron-works-3/address-intended-to-be-recited-at-the-caledonian-meeting.html, id L23971.
Form and metre
Address Intended to Be Recited at the Caledonian Meeting is 44 lines in 3 verse paragraphs. It is in rhyming couplets: heroic couplets. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 90%).
See other poems in heroic couplets, 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 AABBCCDDEEFFGG fameA · nameA · chainB · daneB · handC · commandC · breatheD · wreathD · shineE · thineE · freeF · theeF · claimG · fameG
- 2 AABBCCDDEEFFGGHH bledA · ledA · sodB · trodB · allowsC · spouseC · raiseD · gazeD · discloseE · woesE · formF · stormF · songG · longG · craveH · braveH
- 3 AABBCCBBDDEEFF woeA · flowA · tearB · dearB · spreadC · headC · careB · heirB · justD · trustD · raysE · daysE · restF · blestF
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Who hath not glowed above the page where Fame | 10 | ·········· |
| Hath fixed high Caledon's unconquered name; | 10 | ·········· |
| The mountain-land which spurned the Roman chain, | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| And baffled back the fiery-crested Dane, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘/˘· |
| Whose bright claymore and hardihood of hand | 10 | ··/··/˘˘·· |
| No foe could tame--no tyrant could command? | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| That race is gone--but still their children breathe, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| And Glory crowns them with redoubled wreath: | 10 | ·/˘···˘/˘· |
| O'er Gael and Saxon mingling banners shine, | 10 | ···/˘/˘/˘· |
| And, England! add their stubborn strength to thine. | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| The blood which flowed with Wallace flows as free, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| But now 'tis only shed for Fame and thee! | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Oh! pass not by the northern veteran's claim, | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| But give support--the world hath given him fame! | 10 | ··˘/···/·· |
| The humbler ranks, the lowly brave, who bled | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| While cheerly following where the Mighty led-- | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| Who sleep beneath the undistinguished sod | 10 | ······˘/˘· |
| Where happier comrades in their triumph trod, | 10 | ·/˘/···/˘· |
| To us bequeath--'tis all their fate allows-- | 10 | ··˘/····˘/ |
| The sireless offspring and the lonely spouse: | 11 | ····/···/˘· |
| She on high Albyn's dusky hills may raise | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| The tearful eye in melancholy gaze, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘·˘· |
| Or view, while shadowy auguries disclose | 10 | ···/˘˘··˘/ |
| The Highland Seer's anticipated woes, | 10 | ·/˘·˘/˘·˘· |
| The bleeding phantom of each martial form | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| Dim in the cloud, or darkling in the storm; | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| While sad, she chaunts the solitary song, | 10 | ·····/˘·˘· |
| The soft lament for him who tarries long-- | 10 | ··˘/···/˘· |
| For him, whose distant relics vainly crave | 10 | ···/˘/˘/˘· |
| The Coronach's wild requiem to the brave! | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| 'Tis Heaven--not man--must charm away the woe, | 10 | ·/····˘/·· |
| Which bursts when Nature's feelings newly flow; | 10 | ···/˘/˘/˘· |
| Yet Tenderness and Time may rob the tear | 10 | ·/˘˘······ |
| Of half its bitterness for one so dear; | 10 | ···/˘˘···· |
| A Nation's gratitude perchance may spread | 10 | ·/˘/˘·˘/·· |
| A thornless pillow for the widowed head; | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| May lighten well her heart's maternal care, | 10 | ·/˘···˘/˘· |
| And wean from Penury the soldier's heir; | 10 | ···/˘˘·/˘· |
| Or deem to living war-worn Valour just | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Each wounded remnant--Albion's cherished trust-- | 10 | ·/˘/˘/˘/˘· |
| Warm his decline with those endearing rays, | 10 | ··˘/··˘/˘· |
| Whose bounteous sunshine yet may gild his days-- | 11 | ·/˘˘/······ |
| So shall that Country--while he sinks to rest-- | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| His hand hath fought for--by his heart be blest! | 10 | ·········· |
On this poem
Notes from the edition 3
E. H. Coleridge's notes to The Works of Lord Byron, Poetry, Vol. III (John Murray, 1900; Project Gutenberg #21811). Bracketed passages are the editor's; unbracketed are Byron's own or earlier editors'. Lettered variant readings (manuscript and edition collations) are not harvested here, matching the treatment of Coleridge's Don Juan notes.
- Stanza 2, line 2 [As an instance of Scottish gallantry in the Peninsular War it is sufficient to cite the following list of "casualties" at the battle of Vittoria, June 21, 1813: "The battalion [the seventy-first Highland Light Infantry] suffered very severely, having had 1 field officer, 1 captain, 2 lieutenants, 6 sergeants, 1 bugler, and 78 rank and file killed; 1 field officer, 3 captains, 7 lieutenants, 13 sergeants, 2 buglers, and 255 rank and file were wounded."--Historical Record of the 71st Highland Light Infantry, by Lieut. Henry J. T. Hildyard, 1876, p. 91.]
- Stanza 2, line 12 [Compare Temora, bk. vii., "The king took his deathful spear, and struck the deeply-sounding shield.... Ghosts fled on every side, and rolled their gathered forms on the wind.--Thrice from the winding vale arose the voices of death."--Works of Ossian, 1765, ii. 160.]
- Stanza 3, line 9 [The last six lines are printed from the MS.]
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.