The Shade of Theseus: An Ancient Greek Tradition

Felicia Hemans (1793–1835) · 1808–1835

iambic tetrameter · 48 lines · from Poems

Know ye not when our deadFrom sleep to battle sprung?--When the Persian charger’s treadOn their covering greensward rung;When the trampling march of foesHad crush’d our vines and flowers,When jewel’d crests aroseThrough the holy laurel bowers;When banners caught the breeze,When helms in sunlight shone,When masts were on the seas,And spears on Marathon.

There was one, a leader crown’d,And arm’d for Greece that day;But the falchions made no soundOn his gleaming war-array.In the battle’s front he stood,With his tall and shadowy crest;But the arrows drew no blood,Though their path was through his breast.When banners caught the breeze,When helms in sunlight shone,When masts were on the seas,And spears on Marathon.

His sword was seen to flashWhere the boldest deeds were done;But it smote without a clash--The stroke was heard by none!His voice was not of thoseThat swell’d the rolling blast,And his steps fell hush’d like snows--’Twas the Shade of Theseus pass’d!When banners caught the breeze,When helms in sunlight shone,When masts were on the seas,And spears on Marathon.

Far sweeping through the foe,With a fiery charge he bore;And the Mede left many a bowOn the sounding ocean-shore.And the foaming waves grew red,And the sails were crowded fast,When the sons of Asia fled,As the Shade of Theseus pass’d!When banners caught the breeze,When helms in sunlight shone,When masts were on the seas,And spears on Marathon.

Words in this poem

charger n.: One who, or that which charges.
greensward n.: Turf green with grass.
rung n.: A floor timber in a ship. [OE. ronge, AS. hrung, a staff, rod, pole; akin to G. runge a short, thick piece of iron or wood, OD. ronghe a prop, support, Icel. röng a rib in a ship, Goth. H]

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

About this text

The Shade of Theseus: An Ancient Greek Tradition 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 Shade of Theseus: An Ancient Greek Tradition, in Poems (1808–1835), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #66785, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/hemans-poems/the-shade-of-theseus-an-ancient-greek-tradition.html, id L19342.

Form and metre

The Shade of Theseus: An Ancient Greek Tradition is 48 lines in 4 stanzas of 12 lines each. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 92%).

See 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 ABABCDCDE-E- dead^A · sprung^B · tread^A · rung^B · foes^C · flowers^D · arose^C · bowers^D · breeze^E · shone · seas^E · marathon
2 ABABCDCDE-E- crown'd^A · day^B · sound^A · array^B · stood^C · crest^D · blood^C · breast^D · breeze^E · shone · seas^E · marathon
3 ABABCDCDE-E- flash^A · done^B · clash^A · none^B · those^C · blast^D · snows^C · pass'd^D · breeze^E · shone · seas^E · marathon
4 ABABCDCDE-E- foe^A · bore^B · bow^A · shore^B · red^C · fast^D · fled^C · pass'd^D · breeze^E · shone · seas^E · marathon

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
Know ye not when our dead	6	····/·
From sleep to battle sprung?--	6	···/˘·
When the Persian charger’s tread	7	··/˘/˘·
On their covering greensward rung;	7	··/˘/˘·
When the trampling march of foes	7	··/˘···
Had crush’d our vines and flowers,	7	··/··/˘
When jewel’d crests arose	6	····˘/
Through the holy laurel bowers;	7	··/˘/˘/
When banners caught the breeze,	6	·/˘···
When helms in sunlight shone,	6	···/··
When masts were on the seas,	6	······
And spears on Marathon.	6	···/˘·
There was one, a leader crown’d,	7	····/˘·
And arm’d for Greece that day;	6	······
But the falchions made no sound	7	·······
On his gleaming war-array.	7	··/˘·˘/
In the battle’s front he stood,	7	··/˘···
With his tall and shadowy crest;	7	····/˘·
But the arrows drew no blood,	7	··/˘···
Though their path was through his breast.	7	·······
When banners caught the breeze,	6	·/˘···
When helms in sunlight shone,	6	···/··
When masts were on the seas,	6	······
And spears on Marathon.	6	···/˘·
His sword was seen to flash	6	······
Where the boldest deeds were done;	7	··/˘···
But it smote without a clash--	7	·······
The stroke was heard by none!	6	······
His voice was not of those	6	······
That swell’d the rolling blast,	6	···/˘·
And his steps fell hush’d like snows--	7	·······
’Twas the Shade of Theseus pass’d!	7	·······
When banners caught the breeze,	6	·/˘···
When helms in sunlight shone,	6	···/··
When masts were on the seas,	6	······
And spears on Marathon.	6	···/˘·
Far sweeping through the foe,	6	·/˘···
With a fiery charge he bore;	7	··/˘···
And the Mede left many a bow	7	····/··
On the sounding ocean-shore.	6	··/˘/·
And the foaming waves grew red,	7	··/˘···
And the sails were crowded fast,	7	····/˘·
When the sons of Asia fled,	7	····/˘·
As the Shade of Theseus pass’d!	7	·······
When banners caught the breeze,	6	·/˘···
When helms in sunlight shone,	6	···/··
When masts were on the seas,	6	······
And spears on Marathon.	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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