Hohenlinden
On Linden, when the sun was low,All bloodless lay the untrodden snow,And dark as winter was the flowOf Iser, rolling rapidly.
But Linden saw another sight,When the drum beat, at dead of night,Commanding fires of death to lightThe darkness of her scenery.
By torch and trumpet fast arrayed,Each horseman drew his battle blade,And furious every charger neighed,To join the dreadful revelry.
Then shook the hills with thunder riven,Then rushed the steed to battle driven,And louder than the bolts of heaven,Far flashed the red artillery.
But redder yet that light shall glowOn Linden’s hills of stainèd snow,And bloodier yet the torrent flowOf Iser, rolling rapidly.
’Tis morn, but scarce yon level sunCan pierce the war-clouds, rolling dun,Where furious Frank, and fiery Hun,Shout in their sulph’rous canopy.
The combat deepens. On, ye brave,Who rush to glory, or the grave!Wave, Munich! all thy banners wave,And charge with all thy chivalry!
Few, few, shall part where many meet!The snow shall be their winding-sheet,And every turf beneath their feetShall be a soldier’s sepulchre.
Words in this poem
- charger n.
- One who, or that which charges.
- dreadful a.
- Full of dread or terror; fearful.
- shook v. t.
- To pack, as staves, in a shook.
- rushed a.
- Abounding or covered with rushes.
- 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.]
- artillery n.
- Munitions of war; implements for warfare, as slings, bows, and arrows. [OE. artilrie, OF. artillerie, arteillerie, fr. LL. artillaria, artilleria, machines and apparatus of all kinds used in war, vans laden with arms of any kind whi]
- 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,]
- morn n.
- The first part of the day; the morning; -- used chiefly in poetry. [OE. morwen, morgen, AS. morgen; akin to D. morgen, OS. morgan, G. morgen, Icel. morginn, morgunn, Sw. morgon, Dan. morgen, Goth. maúrgins. Cf. Morrow, Morning.]
- 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]
- sepulchre n.
- The place in which the dead body of a human being is interred, or a place set apart for that purpose; a grave; a tomb. [OE. sepulcre, OF. sepulcre, F. sépulcre, fr. L. sepulcrum, sepulchrum, fr. sepelire to bury.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Hohenlinden is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Poetical Works of Thomas Campbell, Project Gutenberg ebook #59788; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Thomas Campbell, Hohenlinden, in The Pleasures of Hope, and Other Poems (1824), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #59788, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/campbell-poems/hohenlinden.html, id L24417.
Form and metre
Hohenlinden is 32 lines in 8 stanzas of 4 lines each. It is in rhyming couplets, 50% of the lines: octosyllabic couplets. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 88%).
See other poems in octosyllabic couplets, 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 AAA- lowA · snowA · flowA · rapidly
- 2 AAA- sightA · nightA · lightA · scenery
- 3 AAA- arrayedA · bladeA · neighedA · revelry
- 4 AA-- rivenA · drivenA · heaven · artillery
- 5 AAA- glowA · snowA · flowA · rapidly
- 6 AAA- sunA · dunA · hunA · canopy
- 7 AAA- braveA · graveA · waveA · chivalry
- 8 AAA- meetA · sheetA · feetA · sepulchre
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 |
|---|---|---|
| On Linden, when the sun was low, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| All bloodless lay the untrodden snow, | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| And dark as winter was the flow | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Of Iser, rolling rapidly. | 8 | ·/˘/˘/˘˘ |
| But Linden saw another sight, | 8 | ·/˘·˘/˘· |
| When the drum beat, at dead of night, | 8 | ········ |
| Commanding fires of death to light | 8 | ˘/˘/···· |
| The darkness of her scenery. | 8 | ·/˘··/˘˘ |
| By torch and trumpet fast arrayed, | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| Each horseman drew his battle blade, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| And furious every charger neighed, | 8 | ·/˘/˘/˘· |
| To join the dreadful revelry. | 8 | ···/˘/˘˘ |
| Then shook the hills with thunder riven, | 9 | ·····/˘/˘ |
| Then rushed the steed to battle driven, | 9 | ·····/˘/˘ |
| And louder than the bolts of heaven, | 9 | ·/˘····/˘ |
| Far flashed the red artillery. | 8 | ····˘/˘˘ |
| But redder yet that light shall glow | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| On Linden’s hills of stainèd snow, | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| And bloodier yet the torrent flow | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Of Iser, rolling rapidly. | 8 | ·/˘/˘/˘˘ |
| ’Tis morn, but scarce yon level sun | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Can pierce the war-clouds, rolling dun, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Where furious Frank, and fiery Hun, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Shout in their sulph’rous canopy. | 8 | ·····/˘˘ |
| The combat deepens. On, ye brave, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| Who rush to glory, or the grave! | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Wave, Munich! all thy banners wave, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| And charge with all thy chivalry! | 8 | ·····/˘˘ |
| Few, few, shall part where many meet! | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| The snow shall be their winding-sheet, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And every turf beneath their feet | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Shall be a soldier’s sepulchre. | 7 | ···/˘·· |
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