Goliath and David (For D.C.T., Killed at Fricourt, March, 1916)
Yet once an earlier David tookSmooth pebbles from the brook:Out between the lines he wentTo that one-sided tournament,A shepherd boy who stood out fineAnd young to fight a PhilistineClad all in brazen mail. He swearsThat he's killed lions, he's killed bears,And those that scorn the God of ZionShall perish so like bear or lion.But ... the historian of that fightHad not the heart to tell it right.
Striding within javelin range,Goliath marvels at this strangeGoodly-faced boy so proud of strength.David's clear eye measures the length;With hand thrust back, he cramps one knee,Poises a moment thoughtfully,And hurls with a long vengeful swing.The pebble, humming from the slingLike a wild bee, flies a sure lineFor the forehead of the Philistine;Then ... but there comes a brazen clink,And quicker than a man can thinkGoliath's shield parries each cast.Clang! clang! and clang! was David's last.Scorn blazes in the Giant's eye,Towering unhurt six cubits high.Says foolish David, "Damn your shield!And damn my sling! but I'll not yield."He takes his staff of Mamre oak,A knotted shepherd-staff that's brokeThe skull of many a wolf and foxCome filching lambs from Jesse's flocks.Loud laughs Goliath, and that laughCan scatter chariots like blown chaffTo rout; but David, calm and brave,Holds his ground, for God will save.Steel crosses wood, a flash, and oh!Shame for beauty's overthrow!(God's eyes are dim, His ears are shut.)One cruel backhand sabre-cut"I'm hit! I'm killed!" young David cries,Throws blindly forward, chokes ... and dies.And look, spike-helmeted, grey, grim,Goliath straddles over him.
Words in this poem
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- tournament n.
- A mock fight, or warlike game, formerly in great favor, in which a number of combatants were engaged, as an exhibition of their address and bravery; hence, figuratively, a real battle. [OE. turnement, tornement, OF. torneiement, tornoiement, F. tournoiement a turning or wheeling round. See Tourney.]
- philistine n.
- A native or an inhabitant of ancient Philistia, a coast region of southern Palestine. [L. Philistinus, Heb. Phlishthi, pl. Phlishthim.]
- clad v.
- To clothe. Holland.
- zion n.
- A hill in Jerusalem, which, after the capture of that city by the Israelites, became the royal residence of David and his successors. [Heb. tsiy, originally, a hill.]
- 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,]
- vengeful a.
- Vindictive; retributive; revengeful.
- clink v. t.
- To cause to give out a slight, sharp, tinkling, sound, as by striking metallic or other sonorous bodies together. [OE. clinken; akin to G. klingen, D. klinken, SW. klinga, Dan. klinge; prob. of imitative origin. Cf. Clank, Clench, Click, v. i.]
- clang v. t.
- To strike together so as to produce a ringing metallic sound. [L. clangere; akin to Gr. clank.]
- towering a.
- Very high; elevated; rising aloft; as, a towering height.
- damn v. t.
- To condemn; to declare guilty; to doom; to adjudge to punishment; to sentence; to censhure. [OE. damnen dap), OF. damner, dampner, F. damner, fr. L. damnare, damnatum, to condemn, fr. damnum damage, a fine, penalty. Cf. Condemn, Damage.]
- broke v. i.
- To transact business for another. Brome. [See Broker, and cf. Brook.]
- backhand n.
- A kind of handwriting in which the downward slope of the letters is from left to right. [Back, adv. + hand.]
- blindly adv.
- Without sight, discernment, or understanding; without thought, investigation, knowledge, or purpose of one's own.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Goliath and David (For D.C.T., Killed at Fricourt, March, 1916) is in the public domain. This text is taken from Fairies and Fusiliers, Project Gutenberg ebook #10122; 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 Graves, Goliath and David (For D.C.T., Killed at Fricourt, March, 1916), in Fairies and Fusiliers (1917), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #10122, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/graves-fairies/goliath-and-david-for-d-c-t-killed-at-fricourt-march-1916.html, id L02416.
Form and metre
Goliath and David (For D.C.T., Killed at Fricourt, March, 1916) is 46 lines in 2 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 88%). 96% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.9 syllables. 4 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 35% 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 AABBCCDDCCEE tookA · brookA · wentB · tournamentB · fineC · philistineC · swearsD · bearsD · zionC · lionC · fightE · rightE
- 2 AABB--CC--DDEEFFGGHHIIJJKKLLMMNNOO rangeA · strangeA · strengthB · lengthB · knee · thoughtfully · swingC · slingC · line · philistine · clinkD · thinkD · castE · lastE · eyeF · highF · shieldG · yieldG · oakH · brokeH · foxI · flocksI · laughJ · chaffJ · braveK · saveK · ohL · overthrowL · shutM · cutM · criesN · diesN · grimO · himO
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Yet once an earlier David took | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Smooth pebbles from the brook: | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Out between the lines he went | 7 | ······· |
| To that one-sided tournament, | 8 | ···/˘/˘˘ |
| A shepherd boy who stood out fine | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| And young to fight a Philistine | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Clad all in brazen mail. He swears | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| That he's killed lions, he's killed bears, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And those that scorn the God of Zion | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| Shall perish so like bear or lion. | 9 | ·/˘····/˘ |
| But ... the historian of that fight | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| Had not the heart to tell it right. | 8 | ········ |
| Striding within javelin range, | 8 | /˘··/˘˘· |
| Goliath marvels at this strange | 8 | ˘/˘/˘··· |
| Goodly-faced boy so proud of strength. | 8 | /˘······ |
| David's clear eye measures the length; | 8 | /˘··/˘·· |
| With hand thrust back, he cramps one knee, | 8 | ········ |
| Poises a moment thoughtfully, | 8 | /˘·/˘/˘˘ |
| And hurls with a long vengeful swing. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| The pebble, humming from the sling | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| Like a wild bee, flies a sure line | 8 | ········ |
| For the forehead of the Philistine; | 9 | ··/˘··/˘· |
| Then ... but there comes a brazen clink, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And quicker than a man can think | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Goliath's shield parries each cast. | 8 | /˘˘·/˘·· |
| Clang! clang! and clang! was David's last. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Scorn blazes in the Giant's eye, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Towering unhurt six cubits high. | 8 | /˘˘/·/˘· |
| Says foolish David, "Damn your shield! | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| And damn my sling! but I'll not yield." | 8 | ········ |
| He takes his staff of Mamre oak, | 7 | ······· |
| A knotted shepherd-staff that's broke | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| The skull of many a wolf and fox | 8 | ···/···· |
| Come filching lambs from Jesse's flocks. | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Loud laughs Goliath, and that laugh | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| Can scatter chariots like blown chaff | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| To rout; but David, calm and brave, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Holds his ground, for God will save. | 7 | ······· |
| Steel crosses wood, a flash, and oh! | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Shame for beauty's overthrow! | 7 | ··/˘/˘· |
| (God's eyes are dim, His ears are shut.) | 8 | ········ |
| One cruel backhand sabre-cut | 8 | ·/˘/·/˘· |
| "I'm hit! I'm killed!" young David cries, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Throws blindly forward, chokes ... and dies. | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| And look, spike-helmeted, grey, grim, | 8 | ···/˘˘·· |
| Goliath straddles over him. | 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.