Recessional
God of our fathers, known of old,Lord of our far-flung battle-line,Beneath whose awful Hand we holdDominion over palm and pine--Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet,Lest we forget--lest we forget!
The tumult and the shouting dies;The captains and the kings depart:Still stands Thine ancient sacrifice,An humble and a contrite heart.Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet,Lest we forget--lest we forget!
Far-called, our navies melt away;On dune and headland sinks the fire:Lo, all our pomp of yesterdayIs one with Nineveh and Tyre!Judge of the Nations, spare us yet,Lest we forget--lest we forget!
If, drunk with sight of power, we looseWild tongues that have not Thee in awe,Such boastings as the Gentiles use,Or lesser breeds without the Law--Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet,Lest we forget--lest we forget!
For heathen heart that puts her trustIn reeking tube and iron shard,All valiant dust that builds on dust,And guarding, calls not Thee to guard,For frantic boast and foolish word--Thy Mercy on Thy People, Lord!
Words in this poem
- depart v. i.
- To part; to divide; to separate. [OE. departen to divide, part, depart, F. départir to divide, distribute, se départir to separate one's self, depart; pref. dé- (L. de) + partir to part, depart,]
- contrite a.
- Thoroughly bruised or broken. [L. contritus bruised, p. p. of contrere to grind, bruise; con- + terere to rub, grind: cf. F. contrit See Trite.]
- dune n.
- A low hill of drifting sand usually formed on the coats, but often carried far inland by the prevailing winds. [The same word as down: cf. D. duin. See Down a bank of sand.]
- tyre n.
- Attire. See 2d and 3d Tire.
- shard n.
- A plant; chard.
- valiant a.
- Vigorous in body; strong; powerful; as, a valiant fencer. [OE. valiant, F. vaillant, OF. vaillant, valant, originally p. pr. of OF. & F. valoir to be worth, L. valere to be strong. See Wield, and cf. Avail, Convalesce, ]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Recessional is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Five Nations, Volume II, Project Gutenberg ebook #60261; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Rudyard Kipling, Recessional, in The Five Nations, Volume II (1903), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #60261, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/kipling-five-nations-2/recessional.html, id L20275.
Form and metre
Recessional is 30 lines in 5 stanzas of 6 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABABCC, complete in 3 of its 5 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 91%).
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 ABABCC oldA · lineB · holdA · pineB · yetC · forgetC
- 2 -A-ABB dies · departA · sacrifice · heartA · yetB · forgetB
- 3 ABABCC awayA · fireB · yesterdayA · tyreB · yetC · forgetC
- 4 ABABCC looseA · aweB · useA · lawB · yetC · forgetC
- 5 ABAB-- trustA · shardB · dustA · guardB · word · lord
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 |
|---|---|---|
| God of our fathers, known of old, | 8 | ··//˘··· |
| Lord of our far-flung battle-line, | 8 | ··/··/˘· |
| Beneath whose awful Hand we hold | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Dominion over palm and pine-- | 8 | ˘/˘····· |
| Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet, | 8 | ········ |
| Lest we forget--lest we forget! | 8 | ··˘/··˘/ |
| The tumult and the shouting dies; | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| The captains and the kings depart: | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| Still stands Thine ancient sacrifice, | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| An humble and a contrite heart. | 8 | ·/˘··˘/· |
| Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet, | 8 | ········ |
| Lest we forget--lest we forget! | 8 | ··˘/··˘/ |
| Far-called, our navies melt away; | 8 | ··//˘·˘/ |
| On dune and headland sinks the fire: | 9 | ···/˘··/˘ |
| Lo, all our pomp of yesterday | 8 | ··/··/˘· |
| Is one with Nineveh and Tyre! | 8 | ···/˘˘·· |
| Judge of the Nations, spare us yet, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Lest we forget--lest we forget! | 8 | ··˘/··˘/ |
| If, drunk with sight of power, we loose | 8 | ·····/·· |
| Wild tongues that have not Thee in awe, | 8 | ········ |
| Such boastings as the Gentiles use, | 8 | ·/˘··/·· |
| Or lesser breeds without the Law-- | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet, | 8 | ········ |
| Lest we forget--lest we forget! | 8 | ··˘/··˘/ |
| For heathen heart that puts her trust | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| In reeking tube and iron shard, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| All valiant dust that builds on dust, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| And guarding, calls not Thee to guard, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| For frantic boast and foolish word-- | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Thy Mercy on Thy People, Lord! | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
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