My Napoleon
Above all others, everywhere I seeHis image cold or burning!My brain it thrills, and oftentime sets freeThe thoughts within me yearning.My quivering lips pour forth the wordsThat cluster in his name of glory--The star gigantic with its rays of swordsWhose gleams irradiate all modern story.
I see his finger pointing where the shellShould fall to slay most rabble,And save foul regicides; or strike the knellOf weaklings 'mid the tribunes' babble.A Consul then, o'er young but proud,With midnight poring thinned, and sallow,But dreams of Empire pierce the transient cloud,And round pale face and lank locks form the halo.
And soon the Caesar, with an eye a-flameWhole nations' contact urgingTo gain his soldiers gold and fameOh, Sun on high emerging,Whose dazzling lustre fired the hellsEmbosomed in grim bronze, which, free, aroseTo change five hundred thousand base-born Tells,Into his host of half-a-million heroes!
What! next a captive? Yea, and caged apart.No weight of arms enfoldedCan crush the turmoil in that seething heartWhich Nature--not her journeymen--self-moulded.Let sordid jailers vex their prize;But only bends that brow to lightning,As gazing from the seaward rock, his sighsCleave through the storm and haste where France looms bright'ning.
Alone, but greater! Broke the sceptre, true!Yet lingers still some power--In tears of woe man's metal may renewThe temper of high hour;For, bating breath, e'er list the kingsThe pinions clipped may grow! the EagleMay burst, in frantic thirst for home, the ringsAnd rend the Bulldog, Fox, and Bear, and Beagle!
And, lastly, grandest! 'tween dark sea and hereEternal brightness coming!The eye so weary's freshened with a tearAs rises distant drumming,And wailing cheer--they pass the paleHis army mourns though still's the end hid;And from his war-stained cloak, he answers "Hail!"And spurns the bed of gloom for throne aye-splendid!
Words in this poem
- irradiate v. t.
- To throw rays of light upon; to illuminate; to brighten; to adorn with luster. [L. irradiatus, p. p. of irradiate. See In- in, and Radiate.]
- lustre n.
- A period of five years; a lustrum. [L. lustrum: cf. F. lustre.]
- caged a.
- Confined in, or as in, a cage; like a cage or prison.
- turmoil v. t.
- To harass with commotion; to disquiet; to worry.
- sordid a.
- Filthy; foul; dirty. [L. sordidus, fr. sordere to be filthy or dirty; probably akin to E. swart: cf. F. sordide. See Swart, a.]
- seaward a.
- Directed or situated toward the sea. Donne.
- broke v. i.
- To transact business for another. Brome. [See Broker, and cf. Brook.]
- sceptre n.
- A staff or baton borne by a sovereign, as a ceremonial badge or emblem of authority; a royal mace. [F. sceptre, L. sceptrum, from Gr. shaft. See Shaft, and cf. Scape a stem, shaft.]
- bating prep.
- With the exception of; excepting. [Strictly p. pr. of Bat to abate.]
- beagle n.
- A small hound, or hunting dog, twelve to fifteen inches high, used in hunting hares and other small game. See Illustration in Appendix. [OE. begele; perh. of Celtic origin; cf. Ir. & Gael. beag small, little, W. bach. F. bigle is from English.]
- lastly adv.
- In the last place; in conclusion.
- drumming n.
- The act of beating upon, or as if upon, a drum; also, the noise which the male of the ruffed grouse makes in spring, by beating his wings upon his sides.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
My Napoleon is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems, Project Gutenberg ebook #8775, the various hands translation; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Victor Hugo, My Napoleon, in Poems (1888), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #8775, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/hugo-poems/my-napoleon.html, id L26736.
Form and metre
My Napoleon is 48 lines in 6 stanzas of 8 lines each. Every stanza rhymes ABABCDCD. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 95%).
See other poems in iambic pentameter.
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 ABABCDCD seeA · burningB · freeA · yearningB · wordsC · gloryD · swordsC · storyD
- 2 ABABCDCD shellA · rabbleB · knellA · babbleB · proudC · sallowD · cloudC · haloD
- 3 ABABCDCD flameA · urgingB · fameA · emergingB · hellsC · aroseD · tellsC · heroesD
- 4 ABABCDCD apartA · enfoldedB · heartA · mouldedB · prizeC · lightningD · sighsC · bright'ningD
- 5 ABABCDCD trueA · powerB · renewA · hourB · kingsC · eagleD · ringsC · beagleD
- 6 ABABCDCD hereA · comingB · tearA · drummingB · paleC · hidD · hailC · splendidD
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 pentameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Above all others, everywhere I see | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| His image cold or burning! | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| My brain it thrills, and oftentime sets free | 10 | ·········· |
| The thoughts within me yearning. | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| My quivering lips pour forth the words | 9 | ·/˘˘····· |
| That cluster in his name of glory-- | 9 | ·/˘····/˘ |
| The star gigantic with its rays of swords | 10 | ··˘/˘····· |
| Whose gleams irradiate all modern story. | 11 | ··˘/˘··/˘/˘ |
| I see his finger pointing where the shell | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| Should fall to slay most rabble, | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| And save foul regicides; or strike the knell | 10 | ·········· |
| Of weaklings 'mid the tribunes' babble. | 9 | ·/˘····/˘ |
| A Consul then, o'er young but proud, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| With midnight poring thinned, and sallow, | 10 | ·/·/˘·˘·/˘ |
| But dreams of Empire pierce the transient cloud, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| And round pale face and lank locks form the halo. | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| And soon the Caesar, with an eye a-flame | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Whole nations' contact urging | 7 | ·/˘/·/˘ |
| To gain his soldiers gold and fame | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Oh, Sun on high emerging, | 7 | ····˘/˘ |
| Whose dazzling lustre fired the hells | 10 | ·/˘˘/˘/˘·· |
| Embosomed in grim bronze, which, free, arose | 10 | ········˘/ |
| To change five hundred thousand base-born Tells, | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| Into his host of half-a-million heroes! | 11 | ·······/˘/˘ |
| What! next a captive? Yea, and caged apart. | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| No weight of arms enfolded | 7 | ····˘/˘ |
| Can crush the turmoil in that seething heart | 10 | ···/···/˘· |
| Which Nature--not her journeymen--self-moulded. | 11 | ·/˘······/˘ |
| Let sordid jailers vex their prize; | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| But only bends that brow to lightning, | 9 | ·/˘····/˘ |
| As gazing from the seaward rock, his sighs | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| Cleave through the storm and haste where France looms bright'ning. | 11 | ··········· |
| Alone, but greater! Broke the sceptre, true! | 10 | ˘/·/˘··/˘· |
| Yet lingers still some power-- | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| In tears of woe man's metal may renew | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| The temper of high hour; | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| For, bating breath, e'er list the kings | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| The pinions clipped may grow! the Eagle | 10 | ·/˘·˘···/˘ |
| May burst, in frantic thirst for home, the rings | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| And rend the Bulldog, Fox, and Bear, and Beagle! | 11 | ···/·····/˘ |
| And, lastly, grandest! 'tween dark sea and here | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| Eternal brightness coming! | 7 | ˘/˘/˘/˘ |
| The eye so weary's freshened with a tear | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| As rises distant drumming, | 7 | ·/˘/˘/˘ |
| And wailing cheer--they pass the pale | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| His army mourns though still's the end hid; | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| And from his war-stained cloak, he answers "Hail!" | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| And spurns the bed of gloom for throne aye-splendid! | 11 | ·········/˘ |
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.