The Jewish Lamentation at Euphrates
By Babel's streams we sate and wept,When Sion bade our sorrows flow;Our harps on lofty willows sleptThat near those distant waters grow:The willows high, the waters clear,Beheld our toils and sorrows there.
The cruel foe, that captive ledOur nation from their native soil,The tyrant foe, by whom we bled,Required a song, as well as toil:"Come, with a song your sorrows cheer,"A song, that Sion loved to hear."
How shall we, cruel tyrant, raiseA song on such a distant shore?--If I forget my Sion's praise,May my right hand assume no moreTo strike the silver sounding string,And thence the slumbering music bring.
If I forget that happy home,My perjured tongue, forbear to move!My eyes, be closed in endless gloom--My joy, my rapture, and my love!No rival grief my mind can share,For thou shalt reign unrivalled there.
Remember, Lord, that hated foe(When conquered Sion drooped her head)Who laughing at our deepest woe,Thus to our tears and sorrows said,"From its proud height degrade her wall,"Destroy her towers--and ruin all."
Thou, Babel's offspring, hated race,May some avenging monster seize,And dash your venom in your faceFor crimes and cruelties like these:And, deaf to pity's melting moan,With infant blood stain every stone.
Words in this poem
- sate v. t.
- To satisfy the desire or appetite of; to satiate; to glut; to surfeit. [Probably shortened fr. satiate: cf. L. satus full. See Satiate.]
- bade
- A form of the pat tense of Bid.
- 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,]
- perjured a.
- Guilty of perjury; having sworn falsely; forsworn.
- shalt
- 2d per. sing. of Shall.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Jewish Lamentation at Euphrates is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Poems of Philip Freneau, Poet of the American Revolution. Volume 1 (of 3), Project Gutenberg ebook #38475; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Philip Freneau, The Jewish Lamentation at Euphrates, in Poems (1786–1815), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #38475, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/freneau-poems/the-jewish-lamentation-at-euphrates.html, id L12746.
Form and metre
The Jewish Lamentation at Euphrates is 36 lines in 6 stanzas of 6 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABABCC, complete in 5 of its 6 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 94%). 93% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.2 syllables. 17% 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 ABABCC weptA · flowB · sleptA · growB · clearC · thereC
- 2 ABABCC ledA · soilB · bledA · toilB · cheerC · hearC
- 3 ABABCC raiseA · shoreB · praiseA · moreB · stringC · bringC
- 4 -A-ABB home · moveA · gloom · loveA · shareB · thereB
- 5 ABABCC foeA · headB · woeA · saidB · wallC · allC
- 6 ABABCC raceA · seizeB · faceA · theseB · moanC · stoneC
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 |
|---|---|---|
| By Babel's streams we sate and wept, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| When Sion bade our sorrows flow; | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Our harps on lofty willows slept | 9 | /˘··/˘/·· |
| That near those distant waters grow: | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| The willows high, the waters clear, | 8 | ·/···/˘· |
| Beheld our toils and sorrows there. | 9 | ˘//˘··/˘· |
| The cruel foe, that captive led | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Our nation from their native soil, | 9 | /˘/˘··/˘· |
| The tyrant foe, by whom we bled, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Required a song, as well as toil: | 10 | ˘/˘˘······ |
| "Come, with a song your sorrows cheer, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| "A song, that Sion loved to hear." | 7 | ······· |
| How shall we, cruel tyrant, raise | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| A song on such a distant shore?-- | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| If I forget my Sion's praise, | 7 | ··˘/··· |
| May my right hand assume no more | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| To strike the silver sounding string, | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| And thence the slumbering music bring. | 9 | ···/˘˘/˘· |
| If I forget that happy home, | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
| My perjured tongue, forbear to move! | 9 | ·/˘˘·˘/·· |
| My eyes, be closed in endless gloom-- | 9 | ····˘·/˘· |
| My joy, my rapture, and my love! | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| No rival grief my mind can share, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| For thou shalt reign unrivalled there. | 9 | ·······˘· |
| Remember, Lord, that hated foe | 8 | ˘/˘··/˘· |
| (When conquered Sion drooped her head) | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| Who laughing at our deepest woe, | 9 | ·/˘·/˘/˘· |
| Thus to our tears and sorrows said, | 9 | ··/˘··/˘· |
| "From its proud height degrade her wall, | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| "Destroy her towers--and ruin all." | 9 | ˘/·/˘·/˘· |
| Thou, Babel's offspring, hated race, | 8 | ·/˘/·/˘· |
| May some avenging monster seize, | 8 | ··˘/˘/˘· |
| And dash your venom in your face | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| For crimes and cruelties like these: | 7 | ···/˘·· |
| And, deaf to pity's melting moan, | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| With infant blood stain every stone. | 9 | ·/˘··/˘˘· |
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.