The Swiss Mercenaries
When the regiment of HalberdiersIs proudly marching by,The eagle of the mountain screamsFrom out his stormy sky;Who speaketh to the precipice,And to the chasm sheer;Who hovers o'er the thrones of kings,And bids the caitiffs fear.King of the peak and glacier,King of the cold, white scalps--He lifts his head, at that close tread,The eagle of the Alps.
O shame! those men that march below--O ignominy dire!Are the sons of my free mountainsSold for imperial hire.Ah! the vilest in the dungeon!Ah! the slave upon the seas--Is great, is pure, is glorious,Is grand compared with these,Who, born amid my holy rocks,In solemn places high,Where the tall pines bend like rushesWhen the storm goes sweeping by;
Yet give the strength of foot they learnedBy perilous path and flood,And from their blue-eyed mothers won,The old, mysterious blood;The daring that the good south windInto their nostrils blew,And the proud swelling of the heartWith each pure breath they drew;The graces of the mountain glens,With flowers in summer gay;And all the glories of the hillsTo earn a lackey's pay.
Their country free and joyous--She of the rugged sides--She of the rough peaks arrogantWhereon the tempest rides:Mother of the unconquered thoughtAnd of the savage form,Who brings out of her sturdy heartThe hero and the storm:Who giveth freedom unto man,And life unto the beast;Who hears her silver torrents ringLike joy-bells at a feast;
Who hath her caves for palaces,And where her châlets stand--The proud, old archer of Altorf,With his good bow in his hand.Is she to suckle jailers?Shall shame and glory rest,Amid her lakes and glaciers,Like twins upon her breast?Shall the two-headed eagle,Marked with her double blow,Drink of her milk through all those heartsWhose blood he bids to flow?
Say, was it pomp ye needed,And all the proud arrayOf courtly joust and high paradeUpon a gala day?Look up; have not my valleysTheir torrents white with foam--Their lines of silver bullionOn the blue hillocks of home?Doth not sweet May embroiderMy rocks with pearls and flowers?Her fingers trace a richer laceThan yours in all my bowers.
Are not my old peaks gildedWhen the sun arises proud,And each one shakes a white mist plumeOut of the thunder-cloud?O, neighbor of the golden sky--Sons of the mountain sod--Why wear a base king's colorsFor the livery of God?O shame! despair! to see my AlpsTheir giant shadows flingInto the very waiting-roomOf tyrant and of king!
O thou deep heaven, unsullied yet,Into thy gulfs sublime--Up azure tracts of flaming light--Let my free pinion climb;Till from my sight, in that clear light,Earth and her crimes be gone--The men who act the evil deeds--The caitiffs who look on.Far, far into that space immense,Beyond the vast white veil,Where distant stars come out and shine,And the great sun grows pale.
Words in this poem
- precipice n.
- A sudden or headlong fall. Fuller. [F. précipice, L. praecipitium, fr. praeceps, - cipitis, headlong; prae before + caput, capitis, the head. See Pre-, and Chief.]
- dire a.
- Ill-boding; portentous; as, dire omens. [L. dirus; of uncertain origin.]
- dungeon n.
- A close, dark prison, commondonjon or keep of a castle, these being used as prisons. [OE. donjoun highest tower of a castle, tower, prison, F. donjon tower or platform in the midst of a castle, turret, or closet on the top of a house, a keep of a]
- glorious a.
- Exhibiting attributes, qualities, or acts that are worthy of or receive glory; noble; praiseworthy; excellent; splendid; illustrious; inspiring admiration; as, glorious deeds. [OF. glorios, glorious, F. glorieux, fr. L. gloriosus. See Glory, n.]
- amid prep.
- In the midst or middle of; surrounded or encompassed by; among. [OE. amidde, amiddes, on midden, AS. on middan, in the middle, fr. midde the middle. The s is an adverbial ending, originally marking the genitive; the t is a la]
- whereon adv.
- On which; -- used relatively; as, the earth whereon we live.
- suckle n.
- A teat. Sir T. Herbert.
- 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,]
- courtly a.
- Relating or belonging to a court. [From Court.]
- gala n.
- Pomp, show, or festivity. Macaulay. Gala day, a day of mirth and festivity; a holiday. [F. gala show, pomp, fr. It. gala finery, gala; of German origin. See Gallant.]
- bullion n.
- Uncoined gold or silver in the mass. [Cf. OE. bullyon a hook used for fastening the dress, a button, stud, an embossed ornament of various kinds, e.g., on the cover of a book, on bridles or poitrels]
- pinion n.
- A moth of the genus Lithophane, as L. antennata, whose larva bores large holes in young peaches and apples.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Swiss Mercenaries 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, The Swiss Mercenaries, in Poems (1888), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #8775, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/hugo-poems/the-swiss-mercenaries.html, id L26829.
Form and metre
The Swiss Mercenaries is 96 lines in 8 stanzas of 12 lines each. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 89%).
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 -A-A-B-B-C-C halberdiers · byA · screams · skyA · precipice · sheerB · kings · fearB · glacier · scalpsC · tread · alpsC
- 2 -A-A-B-B-CBC below · direA · mountains · hireA · dungeon · seasB · glorious · theseB · rocks · highC · rushesB · byC
- 3 -A-A-B-B-C-C learned · floodA · won · bloodA · wind · blewB · heart · drewB · glens · gayC · hills · payC
- 4 -A-A-B-B-C-C joyous · sidesA · arrogant · ridesA · thought · formB · heart · stormB · man · beastC · ring · feastC
- 5 -A-A-B-B-C-C palaces · standA · altorf · handA · jailers · restB · glaciers · breastB · eagle · blowC · hearts · flowC
- 6 ABAB-C-C-D-D neededA · arrayB · paradeA · dayB · valleys · foamC · bullion · homeC · embroider · flowersD · lace · bowersD
- 7 AABA-C-C-DBD gildedA · proudA · plumeB · cloudA · sky · sodC · colors · godC · alps · flingD · roomB · kingD
- 8 -ABABC-C-D-D yet · sublimeA · lightB · climbA · lightB · goneC · deeds · onC · immense · veilD · shine · paleD
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 |
|---|---|---|
| When the regiment of Halberdiers | 9 | ··/˘˘···· |
| Is proudly marching by, | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| The eagle of the mountain screams | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| From out his stormy sky; | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Who speaketh to the precipice, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘˘ |
| And to the chasm sheer; | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Who hovers o'er the thrones of kings, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| And bids the caitiffs fear. | 6 | ······ |
| King of the peak and glacier, | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| King of the cold, white scalps-- | 6 | ······ |
| He lifts his head, at that close tread, | 8 | ········ |
| The eagle of the Alps. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| O shame! those men that march below-- | 8 | ········ |
| O ignominy dire! | 6 | ·/˘·˘· |
| Are the sons of my free mountains | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Sold for imperial hire. | 8 | ··˘/˘˘/˘ |
| Ah! the vilest in the dungeon! | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Ah! the slave upon the seas-- | 7 | ······· |
| Is great, is pure, is glorious, | 8 | ·····/˘˘ |
| Is grand compared with these, | 6 | ··˘/·· |
| Who, born amid my holy rocks, | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
| In solemn places high, | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| Where the tall pines bend like rushes | 8 | ······/˘ |
| When the storm goes sweeping by; | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Yet give the strength of foot they learned | 8 | ········ |
| By perilous path and flood, | 7 | ·/˘˘··· |
| And from their blue-eyed mothers won, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| The old, mysterious blood; | 7 | ··˘/˘˘· |
| The daring that the good south wind | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Into their nostrils blew, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| And the proud swelling of the heart | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| With each pure breath they drew; | 6 | ······ |
| The graces of the mountain glens, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| With flowers in summer gay; | 7 | ·/˘·/˘· |
| And all the glories of the hills | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| To earn a lackey's pay. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Their country free and joyous-- | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| She of the rugged sides-- | 6 | ···/˘· |
| She of the rough peaks arrogant | 8 | ·····/˘˘ |
| Whereon the tempest rides: | 6 | ˘/·/˘· |
| Mother of the unconquered thought | 8 | /˘······ |
| And of the savage form, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Who brings out of her sturdy heart | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| The hero and the storm: | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Who giveth freedom unto man, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| And life unto the beast; | 6 | ······ |
| Who hears her silver torrents ring | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Like joy-bells at a feast; | 6 | ······ |
| Who hath her caves for palaces, | 8 | ·····/˘˘ |
| And where her châlets stand-- | 6 | ······ |
| The proud, old archer of Altorf, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| With his good bow in his hand. | 7 | ······· |
| Is she to suckle jailers? | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| Shall shame and glory rest, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Amid her lakes and glaciers, | 7 | ˘/···/˘ |
| Like twins upon her breast? | 6 | ······ |
| Shall the two-headed eagle, | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| Marked with her double blow, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Drink of her milk through all those hearts | 8 | ········ |
| Whose blood he bids to flow? | 6 | ······ |
| Say, was it pomp ye needed, | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| And all the proud array | 6 | ····˘/ |
| Of courtly joust and high parade | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| Upon a gala day? | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Look up; have not my valleys | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Their torrents white with foam-- | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Their lines of silver bullion | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| On the blue hillocks of home? | 7 | ···/˘·· |
| Doth not sweet May embroider | 7 | ····˘/˘ |
| My rocks with pearls and flowers? | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Her fingers trace a richer lace | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Than yours in all my bowers. | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Are not my old peaks gilded | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| When the sun arises proud, | 7 | ···˘/˘· |
| And each one shakes a white mist plume | 8 | ········ |
| Out of the thunder-cloud? | 6 | ···/˘· |
| O, neighbor of the golden sky-- | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Sons of the mountain sod-- | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Why wear a base king's colors | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| For the livery of God? | 7 | ··/˘˘·· |
| O shame! despair! to see my Alps | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| Their giant shadows fling | 6 | ·/˘/·· |
| Into the very waiting-room | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Of tyrant and of king! | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| O thou deep heaven, unsullied yet, | 9 | ···/˘˘/˘· |
| Into thy gulfs sublime-- | 6 | ····˘/ |
| Up azure tracts of flaming light-- | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Let my free pinion climb; | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Till from my sight, in that clear light, | 8 | ········ |
| Earth and her crimes be gone-- | 6 | ······ |
| The men who act the evil deeds-- | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| The caitiffs who look on. | 6 | ······ |
| Far, far into that space immense, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Beyond the vast white veil, | 6 | ······ |
| Where distant stars come out and shine, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| And the great sun grows pale. | 6 | ······ |
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.