The Surrender of Spain
Land of unconquered Pelayo! land of the Cid Campeador!Sea-girdled mother of men! Spain, name of glory and power;Cradle of world-grasping Emperors, grave of the reckless invader,How art thou fallen, my Spain! how art thou sunk at this hour!
Once thy magnanimous sons trod, victors, the portals of Asia,Once the Pacific waves rushed, joyful thy banners to see;For it was Trajan that carried the battle-flushed eagles to Dacia,Cortes that planted thy flag fast by the uttermost sea.
Hast thou forgotten those days illumined with glory and honour,When the far isles of the sea thrilled to the tread of Castile?When every land under Heaven was flecked by the shade of thy banner,--When every beam of the sun flashed on thy conquering steel?
Then through red fields of slaughter, through death and defeat anddisaster,Still flared thy banner aloft, tattered, but free from a stain,--Now to the upstart Savoyard thou bendest to beg for a master!How the red flush of her shame mars the proud beauty of Spain!
Has the red blood run cold that boiled by the Xenil and Darro?Are the high deeds of the sires sung to the children no more?On the dun hills of the North hast thou heard of no plough-boy Pizarro?Roams no young swine-herd Cortes hid by the Tagus' wild shore?
Once again does Hispania bend low to the yoke of the stranger!Once again will she rise, flinging her gyves in the sea!Princeling of Piedmont! unwitting thou weddest with doubt and withdanger,King over men who have learned all that it costs to be free.
Words in this poem
- invader n.
- One who invades; an assailant; an encroacher; an intruder.
- rushed a.
- Abounding or covered with rushes.
- cortes n.
- The legislative assembly, composed of nobility, clergy, and representatives of cities, which in Spain and in Portugal answers, in some measure, to the Parliament of Great Britain. [Sp. & Pg., fr. corte court.]
- uttermost a.
- Extreme; utmost; being; in the farthest, greatest, or highest degree; as, the uttermost extent or end. [From Utter, a.; cf. Utmost, and Outermost.]
- hast
- , 2d pers. sing. pres. of. Fave, contr. of havest.
- honour n.
- Esteem due or paid to worth; high estimation; respect; consideration; reverence; veneration; manifestation of respect or reverence. [OE. honor, honour, onour, onur, OF. honor, onor, honur, onur, honour, onour, F. honneur, fr. L. honor, honos.]
- defeat v. t.
- To undo; to disfigure; to destroy. [From F. défait, OF. desfait, p. p. ofe défaire, OF. desfaire, to undo; L. dis- + facere to do. See Feat, Fact, and cf. Disfashion.]
- disaster n.
- An unpropitious or baleful aspect of a planet or star; malevolent influence of a heavenly body; hence, an ill portent. [F. désastre; pref. dés- (L. dis-) + astre star, fr. L. astrum; a word of astrological origin. See Aster, Astral, Star.]
- savoyard n.
- A native or inhabitant of Savoy. [F.]
- princeling n.
- A petty prince; a young prince.
- piedmont a.
- Noting the region of foothills near the base of a mountain chain. [F. pied foot + mont mountain.]
- unwitting a.
- Not knowing; unconscious; ignorant.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Surrender of Spain 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, The Surrender of Spain, in Pike County Ballads and Other Poems (1871), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #6062, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/hay-pike-county/the-surrender-of-spain.html, id L21578.
Form and metre
The Surrender of Spain is 26 lines in 6 stanzas. The metre is dactylic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 72%).
See other poems in dactylic pentameter.
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 campeador · powerA · invader · hourA
- 2 -A-A asia · seeA · dacia · seaA
- 4 -ABAB and · disasterA · stainB · masterA · spainB
- 5 ABAB darroA · moreB · pizarroA · shoreB
- 6 AB-AB strangerA · seaB · with · dangerA · freeB
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 dactylic pentameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Land of unconquered Pelayo! land of the Cid Campeador! | 15 | ·····˘/˘······· |
| Sea-girdled mother of men! Spain, name of glory and power; | 14 | ·/˘/˘·····/˘·/ |
| Cradle of world-grasping Emperors, grave of the reckless invader, | 16 | /˘··/˘/˘···/˘˘/˘ |
| How art thou fallen, my Spain! how art thou sunk at this hour! | 14 | ···/˘········/ |
| Once thy magnanimous sons trod, victors, the portals of Asia, | 15 | ··˘/˘··/˘·/˘·/˘ |
| Once the Pacific waves rushed, joyful thy banners to see; | 14 | ··˘/˘··/˘·/˘·· |
| For it was Trajan that carried the battle-flushed eagles to Dacia, | 17 | ···/˘·/˘·/˘·/˘·/˘ |
| Cortes that planted thy flag fast by the uttermost sea. | 13 | ··/˘·····/˘˘· |
| Hast thou forgotten those days illumined with glory and honour, | 16 | ··˘/˘··˘/˘·/˘·/˘ |
| When the far isles of the sea thrilled to the tread of Castile? | 15 | ··············· |
| When every land under Heaven was flecked by the shade of thy banner,-- | 16 | ·/˘···/·······/˘ |
| When every beam of the sun flashed on thy conquering steel? | 13 | ·/˘·······/˘· |
| Then through red fields of slaughter, through death and defeat and | 13 | ·····/˘···˘/· |
| disaster, | 3 | ˘/˘ |
| Still flared thy banner aloft, tattered, but free from a stain,-- | 14 | ···/˘˘//˘····· |
| Now to the upstart Savoyard thou bendest to beg for a master! | 16 | ···/····/˘····/˘ |
| How the red flush of her shame mars the proud beauty of Spain! | 14 | ··········/˘·· |
| Has the red blood run cold that boiled by the Xenil and Darro? | 15 | ··············· |
| Are the high deeds of the sires sung to the children no more? | 14 | ··········/˘·· |
| On the dun hills of the North hast thou heard of no plough-boy Pizarro? | 17 | ··············˘/˘ |
| Roams no young swine-herd Cortes hid by the Tagus' wild shore? | 13 | ············· |
| Once again does Hispania bend low to the yoke of the stranger! | 16 | ·˘/···········/˘ |
| Once again will she rise, flinging her gyves in the sea! | 13 | ·˘/···/˘····· |
| Princeling of Piedmont! unwitting thou weddest with doubt and with | 15 | /˘·/·˘/˘·/˘···· |
| danger, | 2 | /˘ |
| King over men who have learned all that it costs to be free. | 13 | ············· |
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