In Equal Sacrifice
THUS of old the Douglas did:He left his land as he was bidWith the royal heart of Robert the BruceIn a golden case with a golden lid,To carry the same to the Holy Land;By which we see and understandThat that was the place to carry a heartAt loyalty and love's command,And that was the case to carry it in.The Douglas had not far to winBefore he came to the land of Spain,Where long a holy war had beenAgainst the too-victorious Moor;And there his courage could not endureNot to strike a blow for GodBefore he made his errand sure.And ever it was intended so,That a man for God should strike a blow,No matter the heart he has in chargeFor the Holy Land where hearts should go.But when in battle the foe were met,The Douglas found him sore beset,With only strength of the fighting armFor one more battle passage yet--And that as vain to save the dayAs bring his body safe away--Only a signal deed to doAnd a last sounding word to say.The heart he wore in a golden chainHe swung and flung forth into the plain,And followed it crying 'Heart or death!'And fighting over it perished fain.So may another do of right,Give a heart to the hopeless fight,The more of right the more he loves;So may another redouble mightFor a few swift gleams of the angry brand,Scorning greatly not to demandIn equal sacrifice with hisThe heart he bore to the Holy Land.
Words in this poem
- fain v. t.
- To be glad ; to wish or desire.
- redouble v. t.
- To double again or repeatedly; to increase by continued or repeated additions; to augment greatly; to multiply. [Pref. re- + double: cf. F. redoubler. Cf. Reduplicate.]
- angry a.
- Troublesome; vexatious; rigorous. [See Anger.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
In Equal Sacrifice is in the public domain. This text is taken from A Boy's Will, Project Gutenberg ebook #3021; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Robert Frost, In Equal Sacrifice, in A Boy's Will (1913), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #3021, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/frost-boys-will/in-equal-sacrifice.html, id L04640.
Form and metre
In Equal Sacrifice is 40 lines in a single stanza. It is in rhyming couplets, 55% of the lines: octosyllabic couplets. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 84%). 91% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.6 syllables. 40% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
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 AA-ABB-BCCCCDD-DEE-EFF-FGG-GHH-HII-IJJ-J didA · bidA · bruce · lidA · landB · understandB · heart · commandB · inC · winC · spainC · beenC · moorD · endureD · god · sureD · soE · blowE · charge · goE · metF · besetF · arm · yetF · dayG · awayG · do · sayG · chainH · plainH · death · fainH · rightI · fightI · loves · mightI · brandJ · demandJ · his · landJ
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 |
|---|---|---|
| THUS of old the Douglas did: | 7 | ····/˘· |
| He left his land as he was bid | 8 | ········ |
| With the royal heart of Robert the Bruce | 10 | ··/˘··/˘·· |
| In a golden case with a golden lid, | 10 | ··/˘···/˘· |
| To carry the same to the Holy Land; | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| By which we see and understand | 8 | ······˘/ |
| That that was the place to carry a heart | 10 | ······/˘·· |
| At loyalty and love's command, | 8 | ·/˘˘··˘/ |
| And that was the case to carry it in. | 10 | ······/˘·· |
| The Douglas had not far to win | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Before he came to the land of Spain, | 9 | ········· |
| Where long a holy war had been | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Against the too-victorious Moor; | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| And there his courage could not endure | 9 | ···/˘··˘/ |
| Not to strike a blow for God | 7 | ······· |
| Before he made his errand sure. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And ever it was intended so, | 8 | ·/··˘/˘· |
| That a man for God should strike a blow, | 9 | ········· |
| No matter the heart he has in charge | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| For the Holy Land where hearts should go. | 9 | ··/˘····· |
| But when in battle the foe were met, | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| The Douglas found him sore beset, | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| With only strength of the fighting arm | 9 | ·/˘···/˘· |
| For one more battle passage yet-- | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| And that as vain to save the day | 8 | ········ |
| As bring his body safe away-- | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| Only a signal deed to do | 8 | /˘·/˘··· |
| And a last sounding word to say. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| The heart he wore in a golden chain | 9 | ······/˘· |
| He swung and flung forth into the plain, | 9 | ········· |
| And followed it crying 'Heart or death!' | 9 | ·/˘·/˘··· |
| And fighting over it perished fain. | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| So may another do of right, | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| Give a heart to the hopeless fight, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| The more of right the more he loves; | 8 | ········ |
| So may another redouble might | 9 | ··˘/˘˘/˘· |
| For a few swift gleams of the angry brand, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Scorning greatly not to demand | 8 | /˘/˘··˘/ |
| In equal sacrifice with his | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| The heart he bore to the Holy Land. | 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.