The Burial in the Desert

Felicia Hemans (1793–1835) · 1808–1835

common measure · 49 lines · from Poems

“How weeps yon gallant bandO’er him their valour could not save!For the bayonet is red with gore,And he, the beautiful and brave,Now sleeps in Egypt’s sand.” Wilson.

In the shadow of the PyramidOur brother’s grave we made,When the battle-day was done,And the desert’s parting sunA field of death survey’d.

The blood-red sky above usWas darkening into night,And the Arab watching silentlyOur sad and hurried rite;

The voice of Egypt’s riverCame hollow and profound;And one lone palm-tree, where we stood,Rock’d with a shivery sound:

While the shadow of the PyramidHung o’er the grave we made,When the battle-day was done,And the desert’s parting sunA field of death survey’d.

The fathers of our brotherWere borne to knightly tombs,With torch-light and with anthem-note,And many waving plumes:

But he, the last and noblestOf that high Norman race,With a few brief words of soldier-loveWas gather’d to his place;

In the shadow of the Pyramid,Where his youthful form we laid,When the battle-day was done,And the desert’s parting sunA field of death survey’d.

But let him, let him slumberBy the old Egyptian wave!It is well with those who bear their fameUnsullied to the grave!

When brightest names are breathed on,When loftiest fall so fast,We would not call our brother backOn dark days to be cast,--

From the shadow of the Pyramid,Where his noble heart we laid,When the battle-day was done,And the desert’s parting sunA field of death survey’d.

Words in this poem

lone n.: A lane. See Loanin.
shivery a.: Tremulous; shivering. Mallet.
knightly a.: Of or pertaining to a knight; becoming a knight; chivalrous; as, a knightly combat; a knightly spirit. [AS. cnihtlic boyish.]
anthem v. t.: To celebrate with anthems.

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

About this text

The Burial in the Desert is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Poems of Felicia Hemans, Project Gutenberg ebook #66785; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.

Cite as: Felicia Hemans, The Burial in the Desert, in Poems (1808–1835), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #66785, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/hemans-poems/the-burial-in-the-desert.html, id L19592.

Form and metre

The Burial in the Desert is 49 lines in 11 stanzas. The commonest rhyme scheme is AABBA, in 4 of the 11 stanzas; the rest vary or could not be confirmed. The metre is common measure, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 89%).

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- band · save^A · gore · brave^A · wilson
2 AABBA pyramid^A · made^A · done^B · sun^B · survey'd^A
3 -A-A us · night^A · silently · rite^A
4 -A-A river · profound^A · stood · sound^A
5 AABBA pyramid^A · made^A · done^B · sun^B · survey'd^A
6 -A-A brother · tombs^A · note · plumes^A
7 -A-A noblest · race^A · love · place^A
8 AABBA pyramid^A · laid^A · done^B · sun^B · survey'd^A
9 -A-A slumber · wave^A · fame · grave^A
10 -A-A on · fast^A · back · cast^A
11 AABBA pyramid^A · laid^A · done^B · sun^B · survey'd^A

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
“How weeps yon gallant band	6	···/˘·
O’er him their valour could not save!	8	···/˘···
For the bayonet is red with gore,	9	··/˘·····
And he, the beautiful and brave,	7	···/˘··
Now sleeps in Egypt’s sand.” Wilson.	8	···/˘·/˘
In the shadow of the Pyramid	8	··/···/˘
Our brother’s grave we made,	7	/˘/˘···
When the battle-day was done,	7	··/˘···
And the desert’s parting sun	7	··/˘/˘·
A field of death survey’d.	6	····˘/
The blood-red sky above us	7	·······
Was darkening into night,	7	·/˘˘···
And the Arab watching silently	8	··/˘/˘/˘
Our sad and hurried rite;	7	/˘··/˘·
The voice of Egypt’s river	7	···/˘/˘
Came hollow and profound;	6	·/˘·˘/
And one lone palm-tree, where we stood,	8	········
Rock’d with a shivery sound:	7	···/˘˘·
While the shadow of the Pyramid	8	··/···/˘
Hung o’er the grave we made,	6	······
When the battle-day was done,	7	··/˘···
And the desert’s parting sun	7	··/˘/˘·
A field of death survey’d.	6	····˘/
The fathers of our brother	8	·/˘·/˘/˘
Were borne to knightly tombs,	6	···/˘·
With torch-light and with anthem-note,	8	·····/˘·
And many waving plumes:	6	·/˘/˘·
But he, the last and noblest	7	·····/˘
Of that high Norman race,	6	···/˘·
With a few brief words of soldier-love	9	······/˘·
Was gather’d to his place;	6	·/˘···
In the shadow of the Pyramid,	8	··/···/˘
Where his youthful form we laid,	7	··/˘···
When the battle-day was done,	7	··/˘···
And the desert’s parting sun	7	··/˘/˘·
A field of death survey’d.	6	····˘/
But let him, let him slumber	7	·····/˘
By the old Egyptian wave!	7	···˘/˘·
It is well with those who bear their fame	9	·········
Unsullied to the grave!	6	˘/˘···
When brightest names are breathed on,	7	·/˘····
When loftiest fall so fast,	6	······
We would not call our brother back	8	····//˘·
On dark days to be cast,--	6	······
From the shadow of the Pyramid,	8	··/···/˘
Where his noble heart we laid,	7	··/˘···
When the battle-day was done,	7	··/˘···
And the desert’s parting sun	7	··/˘/˘·
A field of death survey’d.	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.

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