The Universal Republic
O vision of the coming time!When man has 'scaped the trackless slimeAnd reached the desert spring;When sands are crossed, the sward invitesThe worn to rest 'mid rare delightsAnd gratefully to sing.
E'en now the eye that's levelled high,Though dimly, can the hope espySo solid soon, one day;For every chain must then be broke,And hatred none will dare evoke,And June shall scatter May.
E'en now amid our miseryThe germ of Union many see,And through the hedge of thorn,Like to a bee that dawn awakes,On, Progress strides o'er shattered stakes,With solemn, scathing scorn.
Behold the blackness shrink, and flee!Behold the world rise up so freeOf coroneted things!Whilst o'er the distant youthful States,Like Amazonian bosom-plates,Spread Freedom's shielding wings.
Ye, liberated lands, we hail!Your sails are whole despite the gale!Your masts are firm, and will not fail--The triumph follows pain!Hear forges roar! the hammer clanks--It beats the time to nations' thanks--At last, a peaceful strain!
'Tis rust, not gore, that gnaws the guns,And shattered shells are but the runsWhere warring insects cope;And all the headsman's racks and bladesAnd pincers, tools of tyrants' aids,Are buried with the rope.
Upon the sky-line glows i' the darkThe Sun that now is but a spark;But soon will be unfurled--The glorious banner of us all,The flag that rises ne'er to fall,Republic of the World!
Words in this poem
- trackless a.
- Having no track; marked by no footsteps; untrodden; as, a trackless desert.
- dimly adv.
- In a dim or obscure manner; not brightly or clearly; with imperfect sight.
- broke v. i.
- To transact business for another. Brome. [See Broker, and cf. Brook.]
- evoke v. t.
- To call out; to summon forth. [L. evocare; e out + vocare to call, fr. vox, vocis, voice: cf. F évoquer. See Voice, and cf. Evocate.]
- 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,]
- 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]
- coroneted a.
- Wearing, or entitled to wear, a coronet; of noble birth or rank.
- amazonian a.
- Pertaining to or resembling an Amazon; of masculine manners; warlike.
- 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.]
- republic n.
- Common weal. B. Jonson. [F. république, L. respublica commonwealth; res a thing, an affair + publicus, publica, public. See Real, a., and Public.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Universal Republic 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 Universal Republic, in Poems (1888), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #8775, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/hugo-poems/the-universal-republic.html, id L26807.
Form and metre
The Universal Republic is 43 lines in 7 stanzas. The rhyme scheme is AABCCB, complete in 4 of its 7 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 94%).
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 AABCCB timeA · slimeA · springB · invitesC · delightsC · singB
- 2 --ABBA high · espy · dayA · brokeB · evokeB · mayA
- 3 --A--A misery · see · thornA · awakes · stakes · scornA
- 4 AABCCB fleeA · freeA · thingsB · statesC · platesC · wingsB
- 5 AAAB--B hailA · galeA · failA · painB · clanks · thanks · strainB
- 6 AABCCB gunsA · runsA · copeB · bladesC · aidsC · ropeB
- 7 AABCCB darkA · sparkA · unfurledB · allC · fallC · worldB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| O vision of the coming time! | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| When man has 'scaped the trackless slime | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And reached the desert spring; | 6 | ···/˘· |
| When sands are crossed, the sward invites | 8 | ······˘/ |
| The worn to rest 'mid rare delights | 8 | ······˘/ |
| And gratefully to sing. | 6 | ·/˘˘·· |
| E'en now the eye that's levelled high, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Though dimly, can the hope espy | 8 | ·/˘···/˘ |
| So solid soon, one day; | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| For every chain must then be broke, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| And hatred none will dare evoke, | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| And June shall scatter May. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| E'en now amid our misery | 9 | ··˘//˘/˘˘ |
| The germ of Union many see, | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| And through the hedge of thorn, | 6 | ······ |
| Like to a bee that dawn awakes, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| On, Progress strides o'er shattered stakes, | 8 | ·/···/˘· |
| With solemn, scathing scorn. | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| Behold the blackness shrink, and flee! | 8 | ˘/·/˘··· |
| Behold the world rise up so free | 8 | ˘/······ |
| Of coroneted things! | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| Whilst o'er the distant youthful States, | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Like Amazonian bosom-plates, | 8 | ··˘/˘/˘· |
| Spread Freedom's shielding wings. | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| Ye, liberated lands, we hail! | 8 | ·/˘·˘··· |
| Your sails are whole despite the gale! | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| Your masts are firm, and will not fail-- | 8 | ········ |
| The triumph follows pain! | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| Hear forges roar! the hammer clanks-- | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| It beats the time to nations' thanks-- | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| At last, a peaceful strain! | 6 | ···/˘· |
| 'Tis rust, not gore, that gnaws the guns, | 8 | ········ |
| And shattered shells are but the runs | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Where warring insects cope; | 6 | ·/˘/·· |
| And all the headsman's racks and blades | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And pincers, tools of tyrants' aids, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Are buried with the rope. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Upon the sky-line glows i' the dark | 9 | ········· |
| The Sun that now is but a spark; | 8 | ········ |
| But soon will be unfurled-- | 6 | ····˘/ |
| The glorious banner of us all, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| The flag that rises ne'er to fall, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Republic of the World! | 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.