To the Memory Of: General Sir E—D P—K—M
Brave spirit! mourn’d with fond regret,Lost in life’s pride, in valour’s noon,Oh, who could deem thy star should setSo darkly and so soon!
Fatal, though bright, the fire of mindWhich mark’d and closed thy brief career,And the fair wreath, by Hope entwined,Lies wither’d on thy bier.
The soldier’s death hath been thy doom,The soldier’s tear thy mead shall be;Yet, son of war! a prouder tombMight Fate have rear’d for thee.
Thou shouldst have died, O high-soul’d chief!In those bright days of glory fled,When triumph so prevail’d o’er griefWe scarce could mourn the dead.
Noontide of fame! each tear-drop thenWas worthy of a warrior’s grave:When shall affection weep againSo proudly o’er the brave?
There, on the battle-fields of Spain,Midst Roncesvalles’ mountain-scene,Or on Vitoria’s blood-red plain,Meet had thy deathbed been.
We mourn not that a hero’s lifeThus in its ardent prime should close;Hadst thou but fallen in nobler strife,But died midst conquer’d foes!
Yet hast thou still (though victory’s flameIn that last moment cheer’d thee not)Left Glory’s isle another name,That ne’er may be forgot:
And many a tale of triumph wonShall breathe that name in Memory’s ear,And long may England mourn a sonWithout reproach or fear.
Words in this poem
- deem v. t.
- To decide; to judge; to sentence; to condemn. [OE. demen to judge, condemn, AS. d, fr. d doom; akin to OFries. d, OS. ad, D. doemen, OHG. tuommen, Icel. dæma, Sw. dömma, Dan. dömme, Goth. d. See Doom, n., an]
- career n.
- A race course: the ground run over. [F. carrière race course, high road, street, fr. L. carrus wagon. See Car.]
- bier n.
- A handbarrow or portable frame on which a corpse is placed or borne to the grave. [OE. bæe, beere, AS. b, b; akin to D. baar, OHG. bara, G. bahre, Icel barar, Dbaare, L. feretrum, Gr. , from the same bear to produce. See 1st Bear, and cf. Barr]
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
- scarce a.
- Not plentiful or abundant; in small quantity in proportion to the demand; not easily to be procured; rare; uncommon. [OE. scars, OF. escars, eschars, LL. scarpsus, for L. excerptus, p. p. of excerpere to pick out, and hence to contract, to shorten; ex (see Ex-) + carpere. See C]
- noontide n.
- The time of noon; midday. [From noon + tide time; cf. AS. n the ninth hour.]
- deathbed n.
- The bed in which a person dies; hence, the closing hours of life of one who dies by sickness or the like; the last sickness.
- strife n.
- The act of striving; earnest endeavor. [OF. estrif. See Strive.]
- hast
- , 2d pers. sing. pres. of. Fave, contr. of havest.
- isle v. t.
- To cause to become an island, or like an island; to surround or encompass; to island.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
To the Memory Of: General Sir E—D P—K—M 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, To the Memory Of: General Sir E—D P—K—M, in Poems (1808–1835), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #66785, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/hemans-poems/to-the-memory-of-general-sir-e-d-p-k-m.html, id L13471.
Form and metre
To the Memory Of: General Sir E—D P—K—M is 36 lines in 9 stanzas of 4 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABAB, complete in 8 of its 9 stanzas. The metre is common measure, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 91%). 92% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.7 syllables. 1 line ends on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 28% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
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 ABAB regretA · noonB · setA · soonB
- 2 ABAB mindA · careerB · entwinedA · bierB
- 3 ABAB doomA · beB · tombA · theeB
- 4 ABAB chiefA · fledB · griefA · deadB
- 5 ABAB thenA · graveB · againA · braveB
- 6 A-A- spainA · scene · plainA · been
- 7 ABAB lifeA · closeB · strifeA · foesB
- 8 ABAB flameA · notB · nameA · forgotB
- 9 ABAB wonA · earB · sonA · fearB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Brave spirit! mourn’d with fond regret, | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| Lost in life’s pride, in valour’s noon, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Oh, who could deem thy star should set | 8 | ········ |
| So darkly and so soon! | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Fatal, though bright, the fire of mind | 8 | /˘···/·· |
| Which mark’d and closed thy brief career, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| And the fair wreath, by Hope entwined, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Lies wither’d on thy bier. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| The soldier’s death hath been thy doom, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| The soldier’s tear thy mead shall be; | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Yet, son of war! a prouder tomb | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Might Fate have rear’d for thee. | 6 | ······ |
| Thou shouldst have died, O high-soul’d chief! | 8 | ········ |
| In those bright days of glory fled, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| When triumph so prevail’d o’er grief | 8 | ·/˘·˘/·· |
| We scarce could mourn the dead. | 6 | ······ |
| Noontide of fame! each tear-drop then | 8 | /˘······ |
| Was worthy of a warrior’s grave: | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| When shall affection weep again | 8 | ··˘/˘·˘/ |
| So proudly o’er the brave? | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| There, on the battle-fields of Spain, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Midst Roncesvalles’ mountain-scene, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Or on Vitoria’s blood-red plain, | 8 | ········ |
| Meet had thy deathbed been. | 6 | ···/·· |
| We mourn not that a hero’s life | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Thus in its ardent prime should close; | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Hadst thou but fallen in nobler strife, | 9 | ···/˘·/˘· |
| But died midst conquer’d foes! | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Yet hast thou still (though victory’s flame | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| In that last moment cheer’d thee not) | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Left Glory’s isle another name, | 8 | ·/˘·˘/˘· |
| That ne’er may be forgot: | 6 | ····˘/ |
| And many a tale of triumph won | 8 | ·/···/˘· |
| Shall breathe that name in Memory’s ear, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And long may England mourn a son | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Without reproach or fear. | 6 | ··˘/·· |
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