A Tradition of J. B. L—, T. G. B—, and J. L
THREE captains went to Indian wars,And only one returned:Their mate of yore, he singly woreThe laurels all had earned.
At home he sought the ancient aisleWherein, untrumped of fame,The three had sat in pupilage,And each had carved his name.
The names, rough-hewn, of equal size,Stood on the panel still;Unequal since.—“’Twas theirs to aim,Mine was it to fulfil!”
—“Who saves his life shall lose it, friends!”Outspake the preacher then,Unweeting he his listener, whoLooked at the names again.
That he had come and they’d been stayed,’Twas but the chance of war:Another chance, and they’d sat here,And he had lain afar.
Yet saw he something in the livesOf those who’d ceased to liveThat sphered them with a majestyWhich living failed to give.
Transcendent triumph in returnNo longer lit his brain;Transcendence rayed the distant urnWhere slept the fallen twain.
Words in this poem
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- yore adv.
- In time long past; in old time; long since. [OE. , yare, , AS. geára;akin to geár a year, E. year. Year.]
- pupilage n.
- The state of being a pupil.
- 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,]
- unweeting a.
- Unwitting. Chaucer. [See Un- not, and Weet, Wit.]
- stayed a.
- Staid; fixed; settled; sober; -- now written staid. See Staid.
- afar adv.
- At, to, or from a great distance; far away; -- often used with from preceding, or off following; as, he was seen from afar; I saw him afar off. [Pref. a-.(for on or of) + far.]
- transcendence
- The quality or state of being transcendent; superior excellence; supereminence. [Cf. L. transcendentia, F. transcendance.]
- twain a.
- Two;- nearly obsolete in common discourse, but used in poetry and burlesque. [OE. twein, tweien, tweyne, AS. twegen, masc. See Two.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
A Tradition of J. B. L—, T. G. B—, and J. L is in the public domain. This text is taken from Wessex Poems and Other Verses, Project Gutenberg ebook #3167; 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, A Tradition of J. B. L—, T. G. B—, and J. L, in Wessex Poems and Other Verses (1898), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #3167, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/hardy-wessex-poems/a-tradition-of-j-b-l-t-g-b-and-j-l.html, id L04462.
Form and metre
A Tradition of J. B. L—, T. G. B—, and J. L is 28 lines in 7 stanzas of 4 lines each. The metre is common measure, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 93%). 99% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.0 syllables. 2 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 29% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in common measure.
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 wars · returnedA · wore · earnedA
- 2 -A-A aisle · fameA · pupilage · nameA
- 4 -A-A friends · thenA · who · againA
- 6 -A-A lives · liveA · majesty · giveA
- 7 ABAB returnA · brainB · urnA · twainB
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 common measure. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| THREE captains went to Indian wars, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| And only one returned: | 6 | ·/˘·˘/ |
| Their mate of yore, he singly wore | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| The laurels all had earned. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| At home he sought the ancient aisle | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Wherein, untrumped of fame, | 6 | ······ |
| The three had sat in pupilage, | 8 | ·····/˘˘ |
| And each had carved his name. | 6 | ······ |
| The names, rough-hewn, of equal size, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Stood on the panel still; | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Unequal since.—“’Twas theirs to aim, | 8 | ˘/˘····· |
| Mine was it to fulfil!” | 6 | ······ |
| —“Who saves his life shall lose it, friends!” | 8 | ········ |
| Outspake the preacher then, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Unweeting he his listener, who | 8 | ˘/˘··/˘· |
| Looked at the names again. | 6 | ····˘/ |
| That he had come and they’d been stayed, | 8 | ········ |
| ’Twas but the chance of war: | 6 | ······ |
| Another chance, and they’d sat here, | 8 | ˘/˘····· |
| And he had lain afar. | 6 | ····˘/ |
| Yet saw he something in the lives | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Of those who’d ceased to live | 6 | ······ |
| That sphered them with a majesty | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Which living failed to give. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Transcendent triumph in return | 8 | ˘/˘/˘·˘/ |
| No longer lit his brain; | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Transcendence rayed the distant urn | 8 | ˘/˘··/˘· |
| Where slept the fallen twain. | 6 | ···/˘· |
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.