Northward
Under the high unclouded sunThat makes the ship and shadow one,I sail away as from the fortBooms sullenly the noonday gun.
The odorous airs blow thin and fine,The sparkling waves like emeralds shine,The lustre of the coral reefsGleams whitely through the tepid brine.
And glitters o'er the liquid milesThe jewelled ring of verdant isles,Where generous Nature holds her courtOf ripened bloom and sunny smiles.
Encinctured by the faithful seasInviolate gardens load the breeze,Where flaunt like giant-warders' plumesThe pennants of the cocoa-trees.
Enthroned in light and bathed in balm,In lonely majesty the PalmBlesses the isles with waving hands,--High-Priest of the eternal Calm.
Yet Northward with an equal mindI steer my course, and leave behindThe rapture of the Southern skies,--The wooing of the Southern wind.
For here o'er Nature's wanton bloomFalls far and near the shade of gloom,Cast from the hovering vulture-wingsOf one dark thought of woe and doom.
I know that in the snow-white pinesThe brave Norse fire of freedom shines,And fain for this I leave the landWhere endless summer pranks the vines.
O strong, free North, so wise and brave!O South, too lovely for a slave!Why read ye not the changeless truth,--The free can conquer but to save?
May God upon these shining sandsSend Love and Victory clasping hands,And Freedom's banners wave in peaceFor ever o'er the rescued lands!
And here, in that triumphant hour,Shall yielding beauty wed with power;And blushing earth and smiling seaIn dalliance deck the bridal bower.
Words in this poem
- noonday n.
- Midday; twelve o'clock in the day; noon.
- lustre n.
- A period of five years; a lustrum. [L. lustrum: cf. F. lustre.]
- whitely a.
- Like, or coming near to, white.
- generous a.
- Of honorable birth or origin; highborn. [F. généreux, fr. L. generous of noble birth, noble, excellent, magnanimous, fr. genus birth, race: cf. It. generoso. See 2d Gender.]
- sunny a.
- Of or pertaining to the sun; proceeding from, or resembling the sun; hence, shining; bright; brilliant; radiant.
- inviolate a.
- Not violated; uninjured; unhurt; unbroken. [L. inviolatus. See In- not, and Violate.]
- flaunt n.
- Anything displayed for show.
- northward a.
- Toward the north; nearer to the north than to the east or west point. [AS. noredhweard.]
- norse a.
- Of or pertaining to ancient Scandinavia, or to the language spoken by its inhabitants. [Dan. Norsk, fr. nord north. See North.]
- fain v. t.
- To be glad ; to wish or desire.
- changeless a.
- That can not be changed; constant; as, a changeless purpose.
- 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,]
- dalliance n.
- The act of dallying, trifling, or fondling; interchange of caresses; wanton play. [From Dally.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Northward is in the public domain. This text is taken from Pike County Ballads and Other Poems, Project Gutenberg ebook #6062; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: John Hay, Northward, in Pike County Ballads and Other Poems (1871), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #6062, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/hay-pike-county/northward.html, id L21620.
Form and metre
Northward is 44 lines in 11 stanzas of 4 lines each. It is in rhyming couplets, 50% of the lines: octosyllabic couplets. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 91%).
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-A sunA · oneA · fort · gunA
- 2 AA-A fineA · shineA · reefs · brineA
- 3 AA-A milesA · islesA · court · smilesA
- 4 AA-A seasA · breezeA · plumes · treesA
- 5 AA-A balmA · palmA · hands · calmA
- 6 AA-A mindA · behindA · skies · windA
- 7 AA-A bloomA · gloomA · wings · doomA
- 8 AA-A pinesA · shinesA · land · vinesA
- 9 AA-A braveA · slaveA · truth · saveA
- 10 AA-A sandsA · handsA · peace · landsA
- 11 AA-A hourA · powerA · sea · bowerA
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Under the high unclouded sun | 8 | ········ |
| That makes the ship and shadow one, | 8 | ·····/·· |
| I sail away as from the fort | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| Booms sullenly the noonday gun. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| The odorous airs blow thin and fine, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| The sparkling waves like emeralds shine, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| The lustre of the coral reefs | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Gleams whitely through the tepid brine. | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| And glitters o'er the liquid miles | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| The jewelled ring of verdant isles, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Where generous Nature holds her court | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| Of ripened bloom and sunny smiles. | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Encinctured by the faithful seas | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Inviolate gardens load the breeze, | 8 | ˘/˘/˘··· |
| Where flaunt like giant-warders' plumes | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| The pennants of the cocoa-trees. | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Enthroned in light and bathed in balm, | 8 | ········ |
| In lonely majesty the Palm | 8 | ·/˘/˘˘·· |
| Blesses the isles with waving hands,-- | 8 | /˘···/˘· |
| High-Priest of the eternal Calm. | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| Yet Northward with an equal mind | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| I steer my course, and leave behind | 8 | ········ |
| The rapture of the Southern skies,-- | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| The wooing of the Southern wind. | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| For here o'er Nature's wanton bloom | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Falls far and near the shade of gloom, | 8 | ········ |
| Cast from the hovering vulture-wings | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Of one dark thought of woe and doom. | 8 | ········ |
| I know that in the snow-white pines | 8 | ········ |
| The brave Norse fire of freedom shines, | 8 | ···/·/˘· |
| And fain for this I leave the land | 8 | ········ |
| Where endless summer pranks the vines. | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| O strong, free North, so wise and brave! | 8 | ········ |
| O South, too lovely for a slave! | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Why read ye not the changeless truth,-- | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| The free can conquer but to save? | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| May God upon these shining sands | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Send Love and Victory clasping hands, | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| And Freedom's banners wave in peace | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| For ever o'er the rescued lands! | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| And here, in that triumphant hour, | 9 | ····˘/˘/˘ |
| Shall yielding beauty wed with power; | 9 | ·/˘/˘··/˘ |
| And blushing earth and smiling sea | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| In dalliance deck the bridal bower. | 8 | ·/˘··/˘/ |
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