The Vigil of Arms

Felicia Hemans (1793–1835) · 1808–1835

iambic tetrameter · 64 lines · from Poems

A sounding step was heard by nightIn a church where the mighty slept,As a mail-clad youth, till morning’s light,Midst the tombs his vigil kept.He walk’d in dreams of power and fame,He lifted a proud bright eye,For the hours were few that withheld his nameFrom the roll of chivalry.

Down the moonlit aisles he paced alone,With a free and stately tread;And the floor gave back a muffled toneFrom the couches of the dead:The silent many that round him lay,The crown’d and helm’d that were,The haughty chiefs of the war array--Each in his sepulchre!

But no dim warning of time or fateThat youth’s flush’d hopes could chill;He moved through the trophies of buried stateWith each proud pulse throbbing still.He heard, as the wind through the chancel sung,A swell of the trumpet’s breath;He look’d to the banners on high that hung,And not to the dust beneath.

And a royal masque of splendour seem’dBefore him to unfold;Through the solemn arches on it stream’d,With many a gleam of gold:There were crested knight, and gorgeous dame,Glittering athwart the gloom;And he follow’d, till his bold step cameTo his warrior-father’s tomb.

But there the still and shadowy mightOf the monumental stone,And the holy sleep of the soft lamp’s lightThat over its quiet shone,And the image of that sire, who diedIn his noonday of renown--These had a power unto which the prideOf fiery life bow’d down.

And a spirit from his early yearsCame back o’er his thoughts to move,Till his eye was fill’d with memory’s tears,And his heart with childhood’s love!And he look’d, with a change in his softening glance,To the armour o’er the grave--For there they hung, the shield and lance,And the gauntlet of the brave.

And the sword of many a field was there,With its cross for the hour of need,When the knight’s bold war-cry hath sunk in prayer,And the spear is a broken reed!--Hush! did a breeze through the armour sigh?Did the folds of the banner shake?Not so!--from the tomb’s dark mysteryThere seem’d a voice to break!

He had heard that voice bid clarions blow,He had caught its last blessing’s breath--’Twas the same--but its awful sweetness nowHad an under-tone of death!And it said--“The sword hath conquer’d kings,And the spear through realms hath pass’d;But the cross, alone, of all these things,Might aid me at the last.”

Words in this poem 15

clad v.: To clothe. Holland.
vigil n.: Abstinence from sleep, whether at a time when sleep is customary or not; the act of keeping awake, or the state of being awake, or the state of being awake; sleeplessness; wakefulness; watch. [OE. vigile, L. vigilia, from vigil awake, watchful, probably akin to E. wake: cf. F. vigile. See Wake, v. i., and cf. Reveille, Surveillance, Vedette, Vegetable]
moonlit a.: Illumined by the moon.
haughty a.: High; lofty; bold. [OE. hautein, F. hautain, fr. haut high, OF. also halt, fr. L. altus. See Altitude.]
sepulchre n.: The place in which the dead body of a human being is interred, or a place set apart for that purpose; a grave; a tomb. [OE. sepulcre, OF. sepulcre, F. sépulcre, fr. L. sepulcrum, sepulchrum, fr. sepelire to bury.]
masque n.: A mask; a masquerade.
splendour n.: Great brightness; brilliant luster; brilliancy; as, the splendor ot the sun. B. Jonson. [L. fr. splendere to shine: cf. F. splendeur.]
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.]
dame n.: A mistress of a family, who is a lady; a womam in authority; especially, a lady. [F. dame, LL. domna, fr. L. domina mistress, lady, fem. of dominus master, ruler, lord; akin to domare to tame, subdue. See Tame, and cf. Dam mother, Dan, Danger]
monumental a.: Of, pertaining to, or suitable for, a monument; as, a monumental inscription. [L. monumentalis: cf. F. monumental.]
sire n.: A lord, master, or other person in authority. See Sir. [F. sire, originally, an older person. See Sir.]
noonday n.: Midday; twelve o'clock in the day; noon.
childhood n.: The state of being a child; the time in which persons are children; the condition or time from infancy to puberty. [AS. cildhad; cild child + -had. See Child, and hood.]
armour n.: Defensive arms for the body; any clothing or covering worn to protect one's person in battle. [OE. armure, fr. F. armure, OF. armeure, fr. L. armatura. See Armature.]
gauntlet n.: A glove of such material that it defends the hand from wounds. [F. gantelet, dim. of gant glove, LL. wantus, of Teutonic origin; cf. D. want, Sw. & Dan. vante, Icel. vöttr, for vantr.]

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

About this text

The Vigil of Arms 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 Vigil of Arms, in Poems (1808–1835), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #66785, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/hemans-poems/the-vigil-of-arms.html, id L19513.

Form and metre

The Vigil of Arms is 64 lines in 8 stanzas of 8 lines each. The commonest rhyme scheme is ABABCDCD, in 3 of the 8 stanzas; the rest vary or could not be confirmed. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 81%).

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 ABABC-C- night^A · slept^B · light^A · kept^B · fame^C · eye · name^C · chivalry
2 ABABC-C- alone^A · tread^B · tone^A · dead^B · lay^C · were · array^C · sepulchre
3 ABABC-C- fate^A · chill^B · state^A · still^B · sung^C · breath · hung^C · beneath
4 ABABCDCD seem'd^A · unfold^B · stream'd^A · gold^B · dame^C · gloom^D · came^C · tomb^D
5 ABABCDCD might^A · stone^B · light^A · shone^B · died^C · renown^D · pride^C · down^D
6 ABABCDCD years^A · move^B · tears^A · love^B · glance^C · grave^D · lance^C · brave^D
7 ABAB-C-C there^A · need^B · prayer^A · reed^B · sigh · shake^C · mystery · break^C
8 -A-ABCBC blow · breath^A · now · death^A · kings^B · pass'd^C · things^B · last^C

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
A sounding step was heard by night	8	·/˘·····
In a church where the mighty slept,	8	·····/˘·
As a mail-clad youth, till morning’s light,	9	······/˘·
Midst the tombs his vigil kept.	7	····/˘·
He walk’d in dreams of power and fame,	9	·····/˘··
He lifted a proud bright eye,	7	·/˘····
For the hours were few that withheld his name	10	··/···˘/··
From the roll of chivalry.	7	····/˘˘
Down the moonlit aisles he paced alone,	9	··/····˘/
With a free and stately tread;	7	····/˘·
And the floor gave back a muffled tone	9	······/˘·
From the couches of the dead:	7	··/˘···
The silent many that round him lay,	9	·/˘/˘····
The crown’d and helm’d that were,	6	······
The haughty chiefs of the war array--	9	·/˘····˘/
Each in his sepulchre!	5	·····
But no dim warning of time or fate	9	···/˘····
That youth’s flush’d hopes could chill;	6	······
He moved through the trophies of buried state	10	····/˘·/˘·
With each proud pulse throbbing still.	7	····/˘·
He heard, as the wind through the chancel sung,	10	·······/˘·
A swell of the trumpet’s breath;	7	····/˘·
He look’d to the banners on high that hung,	10	····/˘····
And not to the dust beneath.	7	·······
And a royal masque of splendour seem’d	9	··/˘··/˘·
Before him to unfold;	6	····˘/
Through the solemn arches on it stream’d,	9	··/˘/˘···
With many a gleam of gold:	7	·/˘····
There were crested knight, and gorgeous dame,	9	··/˘··/˘·
Glittering athwart the gloom;	7	/˘˘˘/··
And he follow’d, till his bold step came	9	··/˘·····
To his warrior-father’s tomb.	8	··/˘˘/˘·
But there the still and shadowy might	9	·····/˘˘·
Of the monumental stone,	7	···˘/˘·
And the holy sleep of the soft lamp’s light	10	··/˘······
That over its quiet shone,	7	····/˘·
And the image of that sire, who died	10	··/˘··/˘··
In his noonday of renown--	7	··/˘·˘/
These had a power unto which the pride	10	···/˘·····
Of fiery life bow’d down.	7	·/˘˘···
And a spirit from his early years	9	··/˘··/˘·
Came back o’er his thoughts to move,	7	·······
Till his eye was fill’d with memory’s tears,	10	······/˘˘·
And his heart with childhood’s love!	7	····/··
And he look’d, with a change in his softening glance,	11	········/˘·
To the armour o’er the grave--	7	··/˘···
For there they hung, the shield and lance,	8	········
And the gauntlet of the brave.	7	··/˘···
And the sword of many a field was there,	10	····/˘····
With its cross for the hour of need,	9	·····/˘··
When the knight’s bold war-cry hath sunk in prayer,	10	··········
And the spear is a broken reed!	8	·····/˘·
--Hush! did a breeze through the armour sigh?	9	······/˘·
Did the folds of the banner shake?	8	·····/˘·
Not so!--from the tomb’s dark mystery	9	······/˘˘
There seem’d a voice to break!	6	······
He had heard that voice bid clarions blow,	10	······/˘˘·
He had caught its last blessing’s breath--	8	·····/˘·
’Twas the same--but its awful sweetness now	10	·····/˘/˘·
Had an under-tone of death!	7	·······
And it said--“The sword hath conquer’d kings,	9	······/˘·
And the spear through realms hath pass’d;	7	·······
But the cross, alone, of all these things,	9	···˘/····
Might aid me at the last.”	6	······

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