The Two Monuments

Felicia Hemans (1793–1835) · 1808–1835

iambic tetrameter · 73 lines · from Poems

“Oh! bless’d are they who live and die like ‘him,’Loved with such love, and with such sorrow mourn’d!”Wordsworth.

Banners hung drooping from on highIn a dim cathedral’s nave,Making a gorgeous canopyO’er a noble, noble grave!

And a marble warrior’s form beneath,With helm and crest array’d,As on his battle-bed of death,Lay in their crimson shade.

Triumph yet linger’d in his eye,Ere by the dark night seal’d;And his head was pillow’d haughtilyOn standard and on shield.

And shadowing that proud trophy-pile,With the glory of his wing,An eagle sat--yet seem’d the whilePanting through heaven to spring.

He sat upon a shiver’d lance,There by the sculptor bound;But in the light of his lifted glanceWas that which scorn’d the ground.

And a burning flood of gem-like hues,From a storied window pour’d,There fell, there centred, to suffuseThe conqueror and his sword.

A flood of hues--but one rich dyeO’er all supremely spread,With a purple robe of royaltyMantling the mighty dead.

Meet was that robe for him whose nameWas a trumpet-note in war,His pathway still the march of fame,His eye the battle-star.

But faintly, tenderly was thrown,From the colour’d light, one ray,Where a low and pale memorial-stoneBy the couch of glory lay.

Few were the fond words chisell’d there,Mourning for parted worth;But the very heart of love and prayerHad given their sweetness forth.

They spoke of one whose life had beenAs a hidden streamlet’s course,Bearing on health and joy unseenFrom its clear mountain-source:

Whose young, pure memory, lying deepMidst rock, and wood, and hill,Dwelt in the homes where poor men sleep,A soft light, meek and still:

Whose gentle voice, too early call’dUnto Music’s land away,Had won for God the earth’s, enthrall’dBy words of silvery sway.

These were his victories--yet, enroll’dIn no high song of fame,The pastor of the mountain-foldLeft but to heaven his name.

To heaven, and to the peasant’s hearth,A blessed household-sound;And finding lowly love on earth,Enough, enough, he found!

Bright and more bright before me gleam’dThat sainted image still,Till one sweet moonlight memory seem’dThe regal fane to fill.

Oh! how my silent spirit turn’dFrom those proud trophies nigh!How my full heart within me burn’dLike Him to live and die!

“Love had he seen in huts where poor men lie.”Wordsworth.

Words in this poem 17

gorgeous a.: Imposing through splendid or various colors; showy; fine; magnificent. [OF. gorgias beautiful, glorious, vain, luxurious; cf. OF. gorgias ruff, neck handkerchief, and F. gorge throat, and se pengorger to assume airs. Cf. Gorge, n.]
haughtily adv.: In a haughty manner; arrogantly. [From Haughty.]
shadowing n.: Shade, or gradation of light and color; shading. Feltham.
trophy n.: A sign or memorial of a victory raised on the field of battle, or, in case of a naval victory, on the nearest land. Sometimes trophies were erected in the chief city of the conquered people. [F. trophée (cf. It. & Sp. trofeo), L. tropaeum, trophaeum, Gr. Trope.]
sculptor n.: One who sculptures; one whose occupation is to carve statues, or works of sculpture. [L. sculptor, fr. sculpere, sculptum, to carve; cf. scalpere to cut, carve, scratch, and Gr. sculpteur.]
storied a.: Told in a story. [From Story.]
suffuse v. t.: To overspread, as with a fluid or tincture; to fill or cover, as with something fluid; as, eyes suffused with tears; cheeks suffused with blushes. [L. suffusus, p.p. of suffundere to overspread; sub under + fundere to pour. See Fuse to melt.]
supremely adv.: In a supreme manner.
mantling n.: The representation of a mantle, or the drapery behind and around a coat of arms: -- called also lambrequin.
pathway n.: A footpath; a beaten track; any path or course. Also used figuratively.
tenderly adv.: In a tender manner; with tenderness; mildly; gently; softly; in a manner not to injure or give pain; with pity or affection; kindly.
spoke n.: The radius or ray of a wheel; one of the small bars which are inserted in the hub, or nave, and which serve to support the rim or felly. [OE. spoke, spake, AS, spaca; akin to D. speek, LG. speke, OHG. speihha, G. speiche. sq. root170. Cf. Spike a nail.]
streamlet n.: A small stream; a rivulet; a rill.
unseen a.: Not seen or discovered.
enthrall v. t.: To hold in thrall; to enslave. See Inthrall. [Pref. en- + thrall. Cf. Inthrall.]
sainted a.: Consecrated; sacred; holy; pious.
fane n.: A temple; a place consecrated to religion; a church. [L. fanum a place dedicated to some deity, a sanctuary, fr. fari to speak. See Fame.]

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

About this text

The Two Monuments 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 Two Monuments, in Poems (1808–1835), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #66785, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/hemans-poems/the-two-monuments.html, id L19772.

Form and metre

The Two Monuments is 73 lines in 19 stanzas. The commonest rhyme scheme is ABAB, in 9 of the 19 stanzas; the rest vary or could not be confirmed. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 87%).

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.

2 -A-A high · nave^A · canopy · grave^A
3 -A-A beneath · array'd^A · death · shade^A
4 -A-A eye · seal'd^A · haughtily · shield^A
5 ABAB pile^A · wing^B · while^A · spring^B
6 ABAB lance^A · bound^B · glance^A · ground^B
7 ABAB hues^A · pour'd^B · suffuse^A · sword^B
8 -A-A dye · spread^A · royalty · dead^A
9 A-A- name^A · war · fame^A · star
10 ABAB thrown^A · ray^B · stone^A · lay^B
11 A-A- there^A · worth · prayer^A · forth
12 -A-A been · course^A · unseen · source^A
13 ABAB deep^A · hill^B · sleep^A · still^B
14 ABAB call'd^A · away^B · enthrall'd^A · sway^B
15 ABAB enroll'd^A · fame^B · fold^A · name^B
16 -A-A hearth · sound^A · earth · found^A
17 ABAB gleam'd^A · still^B · seem'd^A · fill^B
18 ABAB turn'd^A · nigh^B · burn'd^A · die^B

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
“Oh! bless’d are they who live and die like ‘him,’	10	··········
Loved with such love, and with such sorrow mourn’d!”	10	·······/˘·
Wordsworth.	2	/˘
Banners hung drooping from on high	8	/˘·/˘···
In a dim cathedral’s nave,	7	···˘/˘·
Making a gorgeous canopy	8	/˘·/˘/˘˘
O’er a noble, noble grave!	7	··/˘/˘·
And a marble warrior’s form beneath,	10	··/˘/˘˘···
With helm and crest array’d,	6	····˘/
As on his battle-bed of death,	8	···/˘···
Lay in their crimson shade.	6	···/˘·
Triumph yet linger’d in his eye,	8	/˘·/˘···
Ere by the dark night seal’d;	6	······
And his head was pillow’d haughtily	9	······/˘˘
On standard and on shield.	6	·/˘···
And shadowing that proud trophy-pile,	9	·/˘˘··/˘·
With the glory of his wing,	7	··/˘···
An eagle sat--yet seem’d the while	8	·/˘·····
Panting through heaven to spring.	7	/˘·/˘··
He sat upon a shiver’d lance,	8	·····/˘·
There by the sculptor bound;	6	···/˘·
But in the light of his lifted glance	9	······/˘·
Was that which scorn’d the ground.	6	······
And a burning flood of gem-like hues,	9	··/˘·····
From a storied window pour’d,	7	··/˘/˘·
There fell, there centred, to suffuse	9	···/˘˘·˘/
The conqueror and his sword.	7	·/˘˘···
A flood of hues--but one rich dye	8	········
O’er all supremely spread,	7	··˘/˘˘·
With a purple robe of royalty	9	··/˘··/˘˘
Mantling the mighty dead.	7	/˘˘·/˘·
Meet was that robe for him whose name	8	········
Was a trumpet-note in war,	7	··/˘···
His pathway still the march of fame,	8	·/······
His eye the battle-star.	6	···/˘·
But faintly, tenderly was thrown,	8	·/˘/˘˘··
From the colour’d light, one ray,	7	··/˘···
Where a low and pale memorial-stone	10	·····˘/˘˘·
By the couch of glory lay.	7	····/˘·
Few were the fond words chisell’d there,	8	········
Mourning for parted worth;	6	/˘·/˘·
But the very heart of love and prayer	9	··/˘·····
Had given their sweetness forth.	7	·/˘·/˘·
They spoke of one whose life had been	8	········
As a hidden streamlet’s course,	7	··/˘···
Bearing on health and joy unseen	8	/˘····˘/
From its clear mountain-source:	6	···/˘·
Whose young, pure memory, lying deep	9	···/˘˘/˘·
Midst rock, and wood, and hill,	6	······
Dwelt in the homes where poor men sleep,	8	········
A soft light, meek and still:	6	······
Whose gentle voice, too early call’d	8	·/˘··/˘·
Unto Music’s land away,	7	··/˘·˘/
Had won for God the earth’s, enthrall’d	8	······˘/
By words of silvery sway.	7	···/˘˘·
These were his victories--yet, enroll’d	9	···/˘˘·˘/
In no high song of fame,	6	······
The pastor of the mountain-fold	8	·/˘··/˘·
Left but to heaven his name.	7	···/˘··
To heaven, and to the peasant’s hearth,	9	·/˘···/˘·
A blessed household-sound;	5	··/··
And finding lowly love on earth,	8	·/˘/˘···
Enough, enough, he found!	6	˘/˘/··
Bright and more bright before me gleam’d	8	········
That sainted image still,	6	·/˘/˘·
Till one sweet moonlight memory seem’d	9	···/·/˘˘·
The regal fane to fill.	6	·/˘···
Oh! how my silent spirit turn’d	8	···/˘/˘·
From those proud trophies nigh!	6	···/˘·
How my full heart within me burn’d	8	········
Like Him to live and die!	6	······
“Love had he seen in huts where poor men lie.”	10	··········
Wordsworth.	2	/˘

Notes from the edition 1

Notes from The Poems of Felicia Hemans (Project Gutenberg #66785), largely Mrs Hemans's own.

Stanza 13, line 3 “Love had he seen in huts where poor men lie.” Wordsworth.

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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