In Flanders
Through sleet and fogs to the saline bogsWhere the herring fish meanders,An army sped, and then, 't is said,Swore terribly in Flanders:A hideous store of oaths they swore,Did the army over in Flanders!
At this distant day we're unable to sayWhat so aroused their danders;But it's doubtless the case, to their lasting disgrace,That the army swore in Flanders:And many more such oaths they swore,Did that impious horde in Flanders!
Some folks contend that these oaths without endBegan among the commanders,That, taking this cue, the subordinates, too,Swore terribly in Flanders:Twas "------------!"
Why, the air was blue with the hullaballooOf those wicked men in Flanders!
But some suppose that the trouble aroseWith a certain Corporal Sanders,Who sought to abuse the wooden shoesThat the natives wore in Flanders.Saying: "--------!"
What marvel then, that the other menFelt encouraged to swear in Flanders!At any rate, as I grieve to state,Since these soldiers vented their dandersConjectures obtain that for language profaneThere is no such place as Flanders.
This is the kind of talk you'll findIf ever you go to Flanders.How wretched is he, wherever he be,That unto this habit panders!And how glad am I that my interests lieIn Chicago, and not in Flanders!
Would never go down in this circumspect townHowever it might in Flanders.
Words in this poem
- sleet n.
- The part of a mortar extending from the chamber to the trunnions.
- doubtless a.
- Free from fear or suspicion.
- horde n.
- A wandering troop or gang; especially, a clan or tribe of a nomadic people migrating from place to place for the sake of pasturage, plunder, etc.; a predatory multitude. Thomson. [F. horde (cf. G. horde), fr. Turk. ord, ordi, camp; of Tartar origin.]
- folks n.
- In Anglo-Saxon times, the people of a group of townships or villages; a community; a tribe. [AS. folc; akin to D. volk, OS. & OHG. folk, G. volk, Icel. f, Sw. & Dan. folk, Lith. pulkas crowd, and perh. to E. follow.]
- sanders n.
- An old name of sandalwood, now applied only to the red sandalwood. See under Sandalwood. [See Sandal.]
- wherever adv.
- At or in whatever place; wheresoever.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
In Flanders is in the public domain. This text is taken from A Little Book of Western Verse, Project Gutenberg ebook #9606; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Eugene Field, In Flanders, in A Little Book of Western Verse (1889), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #9606, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/field-western-verse/in-flanders.html, id L24678.
Form and metre
In Flanders is 38 lines in 8 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 76%).
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 -A-A-A bogs · meandersA · said · flandersA · swore · flandersA
- 2 -A-A-A say · dandersA · disgrace · flandersA · swore · flandersA
- 3 -A-AA end · commandersA · too · flandersA · twasA
- 5 AAAA- aroseA · sandersA · shoesA · flandersA · saying
- 6 -A-A-A men · flandersA · state · dandersA · profane · flandersA
- 7 -ABABA find · flandersA · beB · pandersA · lieB · flandersA
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Through sleet and fogs to the saline bogs | 9 | ······˘/· |
| Where the herring fish meanders, | 8 | ··/˘·˘/˘ |
| An army sped, and then, 't is said, | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| Swore terribly in Flanders: | 7 | ·/˘˘·/˘ |
| A hideous store of oaths they swore, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Did the army over in Flanders! | 9 | ··/˘···/˘ |
| At this distant day we're unable to say | 11 | ··/˘··˘/˘·· |
| What so aroused their danders; | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| But it's doubtless the case, to their lasting disgrace, | 12 | ··/˘····/˘˘/ |
| That the army swore in Flanders: | 8 | ··/˘··/˘ |
| And many more such oaths they swore, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Did that impious horde in Flanders! | 9 | ··˘/˘··/˘ |
| Some folks contend that these oaths without end | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| Began among the commanders, | 8 | ˘/···˘/˘ |
| That, taking this cue, the subordinates, too, | 11 | ·/˘···˘/˘·· |
| Swore terribly in Flanders: | 7 | ·/˘˘·/˘ |
| Twas "------------!" | 1 | · |
| Why, the air was blue with the hullaballoo | 11 | ··········· |
| Of those wicked men in Flanders! | 8 | ··/˘··/˘ |
| But some suppose that the trouble arose | 10 | ··˘/··/˘˘/ |
| With a certain Corporal Sanders, | 9 | ··/˘/˘˘/˘ |
| Who sought to abuse the wooden shoes | 9 | ···˘/·/˘· |
| That the natives wore in Flanders. | 8 | ··/˘··/˘ |
| Saying: "--------!" | 2 | /˘ |
| What marvel then, that the other men | 9 | ·/˘···/˘· |
| Felt encouraged to swear in Flanders! | 9 | ·˘/˘···/˘ |
| At any rate, as I grieve to state, | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| Since these soldiers vented their danders | 9 | ··/˘/˘··· |
| Conjectures obtain that for language profane | 11 | ˘/˘˘/··/˘˘/ |
| There is no such place as Flanders. | 8 | ······/˘ |
| This is the kind of talk you'll find | 8 | ········ |
| If ever you go to Flanders. | 8 | ·/˘···/˘ |
| How wretched is he, wherever he be, | 10 | ·/˘··˘/˘·· |
| That unto this habit panders! | 8 | ····/˘/˘ |
| And how glad am I that my interests lie | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| In Chicago, and not in Flanders! | 9 | ·˘/····/˘ |
| Would never go down in this circumspect town | 10 | ·/····/˘·· |
| However it might in Flanders. | 8 | ·/˘···/˘ |
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.