Ways of War
A terrible and splendid trustHeartens the host of Inisfail:Their dream is of the swift sword-thrust,A lightning glory of the Gael.
Croagh Patrick is the place of prayers,And Tara the assembling place:But each sweet wind of Ireland bearsThe trump of battle on its race.
From Dursey Isle to Donegal,From Howth to Achill, the glad noiseRings: and the heirs of glory fall,Or victory crowns their fighting joys.
A dream! a dream! an ancient dream!Yet, ere peace come to Inisfail,Some weapons on some field must gleam,Some burning glory fire the Gael.
That field may lie beneath the sun,Fair for the treading of an host:That field in realms of thought be won,And armed minds do their uttermost:
Some way, to faithful Inisfail,Shall come the majesty and aweOf martial truth, that must prevailTo lay on all the eternal law.
Words in this poem
- gael n.
- A Celt or the Celts of the Scotch Highlands or of Ireland; now esp., a Scotch Highlander of Celtic origin. [See Gaelic.]
- isle v. t.
- To cause to become an island, or like an island; to surround or encompass; to island.
- uttermost a.
- Extreme; utmost; being; in the farthest, greatest, or highest degree; as, the uttermost extent or end. [From Utter, a.; cf. Utmost, and Outermost.]
- 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,]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Ways of War is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems, Project Gutenberg ebook #66520; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Lionel Johnson, Ways of War, in Poems (1895), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #66520, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/johnson-lionel-poems/ways-of-war.html, id L12492.
Form and metre
Ways of War is 24 lines in 6 stanzas of 4 lines each. Every stanza rhymes ABAB. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 86%).
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 ABAB trustA · inisfailB · thrustA · gaelB
- 2 ABAB prayersA · placeB · bearsA · raceB
- 3 ABAB donegalA · noiseB · fallA · joysB
- 4 ABAB dreamA · inisfailB · gleamA · gaelB
- 5 ABAB sunA · hostB · wonA · uttermostB
- 6 ABAB inisfailA · aweB · prevailA · lawB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| A terrible and splendid trust | 8 | ·/˘˘·/˘· |
| Heartens the host of Inisfail: | 8 | /˘······ |
| Their dream is of the swift sword-thrust, | 8 | ········ |
| A lightning glory of the Gael. | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| Croagh Patrick is the place of prayers, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| And Tara the assembling place: | 8 | ·/˘·˘/˘· |
| But each sweet wind of Ireland bears | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| The trump of battle on its race. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| From Dursey Isle to Donegal, | 8 | ········ |
| From Howth to Achill, the glad noise | 8 | ········ |
| Rings: and the heirs of glory fall, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Or victory crowns their fighting joys. | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| A dream! a dream! an ancient dream! | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Yet, ere peace come to Inisfail, | 8 | ········ |
| Some weapons on some field must gleam, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Some burning glory fire the Gael. | 8 | ·/˘/˘/·· |
| That field may lie beneath the sun, | 8 | ········ |
| Fair for the treading of an host: | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| That field in realms of thought be won, | 8 | ········ |
| And armed minds do their uttermost: | 8 | ·····/˘˘ |
| Some way, to faithful Inisfail, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Shall come the majesty and awe | 8 | ···/˘˘·· |
| Of martial truth, that must prevail | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| To lay on all the eternal law. | 9 | ·····˘/˘· |
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.