Laurel · Thomas Hardy · Poems of the Past and the Present

The Souls of the Slain

Thomas Hardy (1840–1928) · 1901

anapaestic dimeter · ABCCAB · 96 lines · from Poems of the Past and the Present

The thick lids of Night closed upon meAlone at the BillOf the Isle by the Race —Many-caverned, bald, wrinkled of face—And with darkness and silence the spirit was on meTo brood and be still.

No wind fanned the flats of the ocean,Or promontory sides,Or the ooze by the strand,Or the bent-bearded slope of the land,Whose base took its rest amid everlong motionOf criss-crossing tides.

Soon from out of the Southward seemed nearingA whirr, as of wingsWaved by mighty-vanned flies,Or by night-moths of measureless size,And in softness and smoothness well-nigh beyond hearingOf corporal things.

And they bore to the bluff, and alighted—A dim-discerned trainOf sprites without mould,Frameless souls none might touch or might hold—On the ledge by the turreted lantern, farsightedBy men of the main.

And I heard them say “Home!” and I knew themFor souls of the felledOn the earth’s nether bordUnder Capricorn, whither they’d warred,And I neared in my awe, and gave heedfulness to themWith breathings inheld.

Then, it seemed, there approached from the northwardA senior soul-flameOf the like filmy hue:And he met them and spake: “Is it you,O my men?” Said they, “Aye! We bear homeward and hearthwardTo list to our fame!”

“I’ve flown there before you,” he said then:“Your households are well;But—your kin linger lessOn your glory arid war-mightinessThan on dearer things.”—“Dearer?” cried these from the dead then,“Of what do they tell?”

“Some mothers muse sadly, and murmurYour doings as boys—Recall the quaint waysOf your babyhood’s innocent days.Some pray that, ere dying, your faith had grown firmer,And higher your joys.

“A father broods: ‘Would I had set himTo some humble trade,And so slacked his high fire,And his passionate martial desire;Had told him no stories to woo him and whet himTo this due crusade!”

“And, General, how hold out our sweethearts,Sworn loyal as doves?”—“Many mourn; many thinkIt is not unattractive to prinkThem in sables for heroes. Some fickle and fleet heartsHave found them new loves.”

“And our wives?” quoth another resignedly,“Dwell they on our deeds?”—“Deeds of home; that live yetFresh as new—deeds of fondness or fret;Ancient words that were kindly expressed or unkindly,These, these have their heeds.”

—“Alas! then it seems that our gloryWeighs less in their thoughtThan our old homely acts,And the long-ago commonplace factsOf our lives—held by us as scarce part of our story,And rated as nought!”

Then bitterly some: “Was it wise nowTo raise the tomb-doorFor such knowledge? Away!”But the rest: “Fame we prized till to-day;Yet that hearts keep us green for old kindness we prize nowA thousand times more!”

Thus speaking, the trooped apparitionsBegan to disbandAnd resolve them in two:Those whose record was lovely and trueBore to northward for home: those of bitter traditionsAgain left the land,

And, towering to seaward in legions,They paused at a spotOverbending the Race—That engulphing, ghast, sinister place—Whither headlong they plunged, to the fathomless regionsOf myriads forgot.

And the spirits of those who were homingPassed on, rushingly,Like the Pentecost Wind;And the whirr of their wayfaring thinnedAnd surceased on the sky, and but left in the gloamingSea-mutterings and me.

Words in this poem 36

isle v. t.: To cause to become an island, or like an island; to surround or encompass; to island.
amid prep.: In the midst or middle of; surrounded or encompassed by; among. [OE. amidde, amiddes, on midden, AS. on middan, in the middle, fr. midde the middle. The s is an adverbial ending, originally marking the genitive; the t is a la]
whirr v. i.: To whirl round, or revolve, with a whizzing noise; to fly or more quickly with a buzzing or whizzing sound; to whiz.
measureless a.: Without measure; unlimited; immeasurable.
bluff a.: Having a broad, flattened front; as, the bluff bows of a ship. [Cf. OD. blaf flat, broad, blaffaert one with a broad face, also, a boaster; or G. verblüffen to confuse, LG. bluffen to frighten; to unknown origin.]
mould n.: Crumbling, soft, friable earth; esp., earth containing the remains or constituents of organic matter, and suited to the growth of plants; soil. [OE. molde, AS. molde; akin to D. mul, G. mull, mulm, OHG. molt, molta, Icel. mold, Dan. muld, Sw. mull, Goth. mulda, and E. meal flour. See Meal, and cf. Mole a]
turreted a.: Furnished with a turret or turrets; specifically (Zoöl.), having the whorls somewhat flattened on the upper side and often ornamented by spines or tubercles; -- said of certain spiral shells.
nether a.: Situated down or below; lying beneath, or in the lower part; having a lower position; belonging to the region below; lower; under; -- opposed to upper. [OE. nethere, neithere, AS. ni, fr. the adv. ni downward; akin to neo below, beneath, D. neder down, G. nieder, Sw. nedre below, nether, a. & adv., and also to S]
bord n.: A board; a table. [See Board, n.]
capricorn n.: The tenth sign of zodiac, into which the sun enters at the winter solstice, about December 21. See Tropic. [L. capricornus; caper goat + cornu horn: cf. F. capricorne.]
whither adv.: To what place; -- used interrogatively; as, whither goest thou [OE. whider. AS. hwider; akin to E. where, who; cf. Goth. hvadre whither. See Who, and cf. Hither, Thither.]
northward a.: Toward the north; nearer to the north than to the east or west point. [AS. noredhweard.]
filmy a.: Composed of film or films.
homeward a.: Being in the direction of home; as, the homeward way.
flown a.: Flushed, inflated.
sadly adv.: Wearily; heavily; firmly.
quaint a.: Prudent; wise; hence, crafty; artful; wily. [OE. queint, queynte, coint, prudent, wise, cunning, pretty, odd, OF. cointe cultivated, amiable, agreeable, neat, fr. L. cognitus known, p. p. of cognoscere to ]
whet v. t.: To rub or on with some substance, as a piece of stone, for the purpose of sharpening; to sharpen by attrition; as, to whet a knife. [AS. hwettan; akin to D. wetten, G. wetzen, OHG. wezzen, Icel. hvetja, Sw. vättja, and AS. hwæt vigorous, brave, OS. hwat, OHG. waz, was, sharp, Icel. hvatr, bol]
prink v. i.: To dress or adjust one's self for show; to prank. [Probably a nasalized form of prick. See Prick, v. t., and cf. Prig, Prank.]
quoth v. t.: Said; spoke; uttered; -- used only in the first and third persons in the past tenses, and always followed by its nominative, the word or words said being the object; as, quoth I. quoth he. [AS.cweedhan, imp cwæedh, pl. cwædon; akin to OS. queedhan, OHG. quethan, quedan, Icel. kveedha, Goth. qiþan. sq. root22. Cf. Bequeath.]
resignedly adv.: With submission.
dwell v. i.: To delay; to linger. [OE. dwellen, dwelien, to err, linger, AS. dwellan to deceive, hinder, delay, dwelian to err; akin to Icel. dvelja to delay, tarry, Sw. dväljas to dwell, Dan. dv]
fondness n.: The quality or state of being fond; foolishness.
unkindly a.: Not kindly; unkind; ungracious.
homely a.: Belonging to, or having the characteristics of, home; domestic; familiar; intimate. [From Home, n.]
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]
bitterly adv.: In a bitter manner.
disband v. t.: To loose the bands of; to set free; to disunite; to scatter; to disperse; to break up the organization of; especially, to dismiss from military service; as, to disband an army. [Pref. dis- + band: cf. OF. desbander, F. débander, to unbind, unbend. See Band, and cf. Disbend, Disbind.]
towering a.: Very high; elevated; rising aloft; as, a towering height.
seaward a.: Directed or situated toward the sea. Donne.
ghast v. t.: To strike aghast; to affright. [OE. gasten. See Ghastly, a.]
fathomless a.: Incapable of being fathomed; immeasurable; that can not be sounded.
homing a.: Home-returning; -- used specifically of carrier pigeons.
rushingly adv.: In a rushing manner.
wayfaring a.: Traveling; passing; being on a journey.
gloaming n.: Twilight; dusk; the fall of the evening. [Scot. & North of Eng., and in poetry.] Hogg. [See Gloom.]

Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.

About this text

The Souls of the Slain is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems of the Past and the Present, Project Gutenberg ebook #3168; 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 Hardy, The Souls of the Slain, in Poems of the Past and the Present (1901), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #3168, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/hardy-past-and-present/the-souls-of-the-slain.html, id L16860.

Form and metre

The Souls of the Slain is 96 lines in 16 stanzas of 6 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABCCAB, complete in 14 of its 16 stanzas. The metre is anapaestic dimeter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 85%). 88% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.9 syllables. 22 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 43% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.

See other poems in anapaestic dimeter.

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 ABCCAB me^A · bill^B · race^C · face^C · me^A · still^B
2 ABCCAB ocean^A · sides^B · strand^C · land^C · motion^A · tides^B
3 ABCCAB nearing^A · wings^B · flies^C · size^C · hearing^A · things^B
4 ABCCAB alighted^A · train^B · mould^C · hold^C · farsighted^A · main^B
5 ABCCAB them^A · felled^B · bord^C · warred^C · them^A · inheld^B
6 ABCCAB northward^A · flame^B · hue^C · you^C · hearthward^A · fame^B
7 ABCCAB then^A · well^B · less^C · mightiness^C · then^A · tell^B
8 ABCCAB murmur^A · boys^B · ways^C · days^C · firmer^A · joys^B
9 ABCCAB him^A · trade^B · fire^C · desire^C · him^A · crusade^B
10 ABCCAB sweethearts^A · doves^B · think^C · prink^C · hearts^A · loves^B
11 -ABB-A resignedly · deeds^A · yet^B · fret^B · unkindly · heeds^A
12 ABCCAB glory^A · thought^B · acts^C · facts^C · story^A · nought^B
13 ABCCAB now^A · door^B · away^C · day^C · now^A · more^B
14 ABCCAB apparitions^A · disband^B · two^C · true^C · traditions^A · land^B
15 ABCCAB legions^A · spot^B · race^C · place^C · regions^A · forgot^B
16 A-BBA- homing^A · rushingly · wind^B · thinned^B · gloaming^A · me

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 anapaestic dimeter. How this is done.

Line	Syl.	Stress
The thick lids of Night closed upon me	9	·········
Alone at the Bill	5	˘/···
Of the Isle by the Race —	6	······
Many-caverned, bald, wrinkled of face—	8	//˘·/˘··
And with darkness and silence the spirit was on me	12	··/˘·/˘·/···
To brood and be still.	5	·····
No wind fanned the flats of the ocean,	9	·······/˘
Or promontory sides,	6	·/˘˘˘·
Or the ooze by the strand,	6	······
Or the bent-bearded slope of the land,	9	···/˘····
Whose base took its rest amid everlong motion	12	·····˘/···/˘
Of criss-crossing tides.	5	··/˘·
Soon from out of the Southward seemed nearing	9	·····/·/˘
A whirr, as of wings	5	·····
Waved by mighty-vanned flies,	8	·˘·/˘·˘·
Or by night-moths of measureless size,	9	·····/˘˘·
And in softness and smoothness well-nigh beyond hearing	13	··/˘·/˘····/˘
Of corporal things.	5	·/˘˘·
And they bore to the bluff, and alighted—	10	·······˘/˘
A dim-discerned train	5	··˘/·
Of sprites without mould,	5	·····
Frameless souls none might touch or might hold—	10	··········
On the ledge by the turreted lantern, farsighted	12	·····/˘/˘/·˘
By men of the main.	5	·····
And I heard them say “Home!” and I knew them	10	··········
For souls of the felled	5	·····
On the earth’s nether bord	6	···/˘·
Under Capricorn, whither they’d warred,	8	··/˘/˘··
And I neared in my awe, and gave heedfulness to them	13	·············
With breathings inheld.	5	·/˘··
Then, it seemed, there approached from the northward	10	····˘/··/˘
A senior soul-flame	5	·/˘··
Of the like filmy hue:	6	···/˘·
And he met them and spake: “Is it you,	9	·········
O my men?” Said they, “Aye! We bear homeward and hearthward	13	········/˘···
To list to our fame!”	6	···/˘·
“I’ve flown there before you,” he said then:	9	·········
“Your households are well;	5	·/···
But—your kin linger less	6	···/˘·
On your glory arid war-mightiness	10	··/˘/˘·/˘˘
Than on dearer things.”—“Dearer?” cried these from the dead then,	13	··/˘·/˘······
“Of what do they tell?”	5	·····
“Some mothers muse sadly, and murmur	9	·/˘·/˘·/˘
Your doings as boys—	5	·/˘··
Recall the quaint ways	5	/····
Of your babyhood’s innocent days.	8	··/˘·/˘·
Some pray that, ere dying, your faith had grown firmer,	12	····/˘····/˘
And higher your joys.	5	·/˘··
“A father broods: ‘Would I had set him	9	·/˘······
To some humble trade,	5	··/˘·
And so slacked his high fire,	8	···˘··/˘
And his passionate martial desire;	8	··/˘/˘˘/
Had told him no stories to woo him and whet him	12	····/˘······
To this due crusade!”	5	···˘/
“And, General, how hold out our sweethearts,	9	·/˘···//·
Sworn loyal as doves?”	5	·/˘··
—“Many mourn; many think	6	/˘·/˘·
It is not unattractive to prink	9	····˘/˘··
Them in sables for heroes. Some fickle and fleet hearts	13	··/˘·/˘·/˘···
Have found them new loves.”	5	·····
“And our wives?” quoth another resignedly,	11	·/··˘/˘˘/˘˘
“Dwell they on our deeds?”	6	···/˘·
—“Deeds of home; that live yet	6	······
Fresh as new—deeds of fondness or fret;	9	·····/˘··
Ancient words that were kindly expressed or unkindly,	13	/˘···/˘˘/·˘/˘
These, these have their heeds.”	5	·····
—“Alas! then it seems that our glory	9	˘/····//˘
Weighs less in their thought	5	·····
Than our old homely acts,	7	·/˘·/˘·
And the long-ago commonplace facts	9	···˘//˘··
Of our lives—held by us as scarce part of our story,	13	·/········//˘
And rated as nought!”	5	·/˘··
Then bitterly some: “Was it wise now	8	·/˘·····
To raise the tomb-door	5	·····
For such knowledge? Away!”	6	··/˘˘/
But the rest: “Fame we prized till to-day;	9	·········
Yet that hearts keep us green for old kindness we prize now	13	········/˘···
A thousand times more!”	5	·/˘··
Thus speaking, the trooped apparitions	9	·/˘···˘/˘
Began to disband	5	˘/·˘/
And resolve them in two:	6	·˘/···
Those whose record was lovely and true	9	··˘/·/˘··
Bore to northward for home: those of bitter traditions	13	··/˘····/˘˘/˘
Again left the land,	5	˘/···
And, towering to seaward in legions,	9	·/˘·/˘·/˘
They paused at a spot	5	·····
Overbending the Race—	6	······
That engulphing, ghast, sinister place—	8	·····/˘·
Whither headlong they plunged, to the fathomless regions	13	/˘/·····/˘˘/˘
Of myriads forgot.	6	·/˘˘˘/
And the spirits of those who were homing	10	··/˘····/˘
Passed on, rushingly,	5	··/˘˘
Like the Pentecost Wind;	6	··/˘··
And the whirr of their wayfaring thinned	8	·····/˘·
And surceased on the sky, and but left in the gloaming	13	···········/˘
Sea-mutterings and me.	6	·/˘˘··

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