To the Memory Of: Who Fell in the Battle of Waterloo
Weep’st thou for him, whose doom was seal’dOn England’s proudest battle-field?For him, the lion-heart, who diedIn victory’s full resistless tide?Oh, mourn him not!By deeds like his that field was won,And Fate could yield to Valour’s sonNo brighter lot.
He heard his band’s exulting cry,He saw the vanquish’d eagles fly;And envied be his death of fame!It shed a sunbeam o’er his nameThat nought shall dim:No cloud obscured his glory’s day,It saw no twilight of decay.Weep not for him!
And breathe no dirge’s plaintive moan,A hero claims far loftier tone!Oh, proudly shall the war-song swell,Recording how the mighty fellIn that dread hour,When England, midst the battle-storm--The avenging angel--rear’d her formIn tenfold power.
Yet, gallant heart! to swell thy praise,Vain were the minstrel’s noblest lays;Since he, the soldier’s guiding star,The Victor-chief, the lord of war,Has own’d thy fame:And oh! like his approving word,What trophied marble could recordA warrior’s name?
Words in this poem
- resistless a.
- Having no power to resist; making no opposition.
- exulting a.
- Rejoicing triumphantly or exceedingly; exultant.
- sunbeam n.
- A beam or ray of the sun. [AS. sunnebeam.]
- 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,]
- dirge n.
- A piece of music of a mournful character, to accompany funeral rites; a funeral hymn. [Contraction of Lat. dirige, direct thou (imperative of dirigere), the first word of a funeral hymn (Lat. transl. of Psalm v. 8) beginning, "Dirige, Domine, in c]
- approving a.
- Expressing approbation; commending; as, an approving smile.
- trophied a.
- Adorned with trophies.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
To the Memory Of: Who Fell in the Battle of Waterloo 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: Who Fell in the Battle of Waterloo, in Poems (1808–1835), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #66785, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/hemans-poems/to-the-memory-of-who-fell-in-the-battle-of-waterloo.html, id L13472.
Form and metre
To the Memory Of: Who Fell in the Battle of Waterloo is 32 lines in 4 stanzas of 8 lines each. The rhyme scheme is AABBCDDC, complete in 3 of its 4 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 93%). 96% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.2 syllables. 2 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 22% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
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 AABBCDDC seal'dA · fieldA · diedB · tideB · notC · wonD · sonD · lotC
- 2 AABBCDDC cryA · flyA · fameB · nameB · dimC · dayD · decayD · himC
- 3 AABBCDDC moanA · toneA · swellB · fellB · hourC · stormD · formD · powerC
- 4 AA--B--B praiseA · laysA · star · war · fameB · word · record · nameB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Weep’st thou for him, whose doom was seal’d | 8 | ········ |
| On England’s proudest battle-field? | 8 | ·/˘/˘/˘· |
| For him, the lion-heart, who died | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| In victory’s full resistless tide? | 9 | ·/˘˘·˘/˘· |
| Oh, mourn him not! | 4 | ···· |
| By deeds like his that field was won, | 8 | ········ |
| And Fate could yield to Valour’s son | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| No brighter lot. | 4 | ·/˘· |
| He heard his band’s exulting cry, | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| He saw the vanquish’d eagles fly; | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| And envied be his death of fame! | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| It shed a sunbeam o’er his name | 8 | ···/···· |
| That nought shall dim: | 4 | ···· |
| No cloud obscured his glory’s day, | 9 | ··˘/˘·/˘· |
| It saw no twilight of decay. | 8 | ···/··˘/ |
| Weep not for him! | 4 | ···· |
| And breathe no dirge’s plaintive moan, | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| A hero claims far loftier tone! | 9 | ·/˘··/˘˘· |
| Oh, proudly shall the war-song swell, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Recording how the mighty fell | 8 | ˘/˘··/˘· |
| In that dread hour, | 5 | ···/˘ |
| When England, midst the battle-storm-- | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| The avenging angel--rear’d her form | 9 | ·˘/˘/˘··· |
| In tenfold power. | 5 | ·/·/˘ |
| Yet, gallant heart! to swell thy praise, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Vain were the minstrel’s noblest lays; | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Since he, the soldier’s guiding star, | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| The Victor-chief, the lord of war, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Has own’d thy fame: | 4 | ···· |
| And oh! like his approving word, | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| What trophied marble could record | 8 | ·/˘/˘·˘/ |
| A warrior’s name? | 5 | ·/˘˘· |
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.