Heroes

Emma Lazarus (1849–1887) · 1867–1887

iambic pentameter · 78 lines · from Poems, Volume I

In rich Virginian woods,The scarlet creeper reddens over graves,Among the solemn trees enlooped with vines;Heroic spirits haunt the solitudes,--The noble souls of half a million braves,Amid the murmurous pines.

Ah! who is left behind,Earnest and eloquent, sincere and strong,To consecrate their memories with wordsNot all unmeet? with fitting dirge and songTo chant a requiem purer than the wind,And sweeter than the birds?

Here, though all seems at peace,The placid, measureless sky serenely fair,The laughter of the breeze among the leaves,The bars of sunlight slanting through the trees,The reckless wild-flowers blooming everywhere,The grasses' delicate sheaves,--

Nathless each breeze that blows,Each tree that trembles to its leafy headWith nervous life, revives within our mind,Tender as flowers of May, the thoughts of thoseWho lie beneath the living beauty, dead,--Beneath the sunshine, blind.

For brave dead soldiers, these:Blessings and tears of aching thankfulness,Soft flowers for the graves in wreaths enwove,The odorous lilac of dear memories,The heroic blossoms of the wilderness,And the rich rose of love.

But who has sung their praise,Not less illustrious, who are living yet?Armies of heroes, satisfied to passCalmly, serenely from the whole world's gaze,And cheerfully accept, without regret,Their old life as it was,

With all its petty pain,Its irritating littleness and care;They who have scaled the mountain, with contentSublime, descend to live upon the plain;Steadfast as though they breathed the mountain-airStill, wheresoe'er they went.

They who were brave to act,And rich enough their action to forget;Who, having filled their day with chivalry,Withdraw and keep their simpleness intact,And all unconscious add more lustre yetUnto their victory.

On the broad Western plainsTheir patriarchal life they live anew;Hunters as mighty as the men of old,Or harvesting the plenteous, yellow grains,Gathering ripe vintage of dusk bunches blue,Or working mines of gold;

Or toiling in the town,Armed against hindrance, weariness, defeat,With dauntless purpose not to serve or yield,And calm, defiant, they struggle on,As sturdy and as valiant in the street,As in the camp and field.

And those condemned to live,Maimed, helpless, lingering still through suffering years,May they not envy now the restful sleepOf the dear fellow-martyrs they survive?Not o'er the dead, but over these, your tears,O brothers, ye may weep!

New England fields I see,The lovely, cultured landscape, waving grain,Wide haughty rivers, and pale, English skies.And lo! a farmer ploughing busily,Who lifts a swart face, looks upon the plain,--I see, in his frank eyes,

The hero's soul appear.Thus in the common fields and streets they stand;The light that on the past and distant gleams,They cast upon the present and the near,With antique virtues from some mystic land,Of knightly deeds and dreams.

Words in this poem 26

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]
murmurous a.: Attended with murmurs; exciting murmurs or complaint; murmuring. [Cf. L. murmuriosus, OF. murmuros.]
unmeet a.: Not meet or fit; not proper; unbecoming; unsuitable; -- usually followed by for.
dirge n.: A piece of music of a mournful character, to accompany funeral rites; a funeral hymn. [Contraction of Lat. dirige, direct thou (imperative of dirigere), the first word of a funeral hymn (Lat. transl. of Psalm v. 8) beginning, "Dirige, Domine, in c]
requiem n.: A mass said or sung for the repose of a departed soul. [Acc. of L. requies rest, the first words of the Mass being "Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine," give eternal rest to them, O lord; pref. re- re + quies quiet. S]
placid a.: Pleased; contented; unruffied; undisturbed; serene; peaceful; tranquil; quiet; gentle. [L. placidus, originally, pleasing, mild, from placere to please: cf. F. placide. See Please.]
measureless a.: Without measure; unlimited; immeasurable.
serenely adv.: In a serene manner; clearly.
nathless adv.: Nevertheless. Chaucer. Milton. E. Arnold. [OE. natheles, na the les, not the less, AS. na never. See Na, The, conj., and cf. Nevertheless.]
sunshine n.: The light of the sun, or the place where it shines; the direct rays of the sun, the place where they fall, or the warmth and light which they give.
aching a.: That aches; continuously painful. See Ache.
cheerfully adv.: In a cheerful manner, gladly.
scaled a.: Covered with scales, or scalelike structures; -- said of a fish, a reptile, a moth, etc.
went n.: Course; way; path; journey; direction.
simpleness n.: The quality or state of being simple; simplicity.
intact a.: Untouched, especially by anything that harms, defiles, or the like; uninjured; undefiled; left complete or entire. Buckle. [L. intactus; pref. in- not + tactus, p. p. of tangere to touch: cf. F. intact. See In- not, and Tact, Tangent.]
lustre n.: A period of five years; a lustrum. [L. lustrum: cf. F. lustre.]
defeat v. t.: To undo; to disfigure; to destroy. [From F. défait, OF. desfait, p. p. ofe défaire, OF. desfaire, to undo; L. dis- + facere to do. See Feat, Fact, and cf. Disfashion.]
dauntless a.: Incapable of being daunted; undaunted; bold; fearless; intrepid.
defiant a.: Full of defiance; bold; insolent; as, a defiant spirit or act. [Cf. F. défiant, p. pr. of défier. See Defy.]
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, ]
restful a.: Being at rest; quiet.
cultured a.: Under culture; cultivated.
haughty a.: High; lofty; bold. [OE. hautein, F. hautain, fr. haut high, OF. also halt, fr. L. altus. See Altitude.]
busily adv.: In a busy manner.
knightly a.: Of or pertaining to a knight; becoming a knight; chivalrous; as, a knightly combat; a knightly spirit. [AS. cnihtlic boyish.]

Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.

About this text

Heroes is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Poems of Emma Lazarus, Volume 1, Project Gutenberg ebook #3295; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.

Cite as: Emma Lazarus, Heroes, in Poems, Volume I (1867–1887), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #3295, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/lazarus-poems/heroes.html, id L01881.

Form and metre

Heroes is 78 lines in 13 stanzas of 6 lines each. The commonest rhyme scheme is ABCABC, in 5 of the 13 stanzas; the rest vary or could not be confirmed. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 87%). 90% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.7 syllables. 5 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 13% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.

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 -AB-AB woods · graves^A · vines^B · solitudes · braves^A · pines^B
2 ABCBAC behind^A · strong^B · words^C · song^B · wind^A · birds^C
3 -AB-AB peace · fair^A · leaves^B · trees · everywhere^A · sheaves^B
4 ABCABC blows^A · head^B · mind^C · those^A · dead^B · blind^C
5 AB-AB- these^A · thankfulness^B · enwove · memories^A · wilderness^B · love
6 AB-AB- praise^A · yet^B · pass · gaze^A · regret^B · was
7 ABCABC pain^A · care^B · content^C · plain^A · air^B · went^C
8 AB-AB- act^A · forget^B · chivalry · intact^A · yet^B · victory
9 ABCABC plains^A · anew^B · old^C · grains^A · blue^B · gold^C
10 -AB-AB town · defeat^A · yield^B · on · street^A · field^B
11 ABCABC live^A · years^B · sleep^C · survive^A · tears^B · weep^C
12 -AB-AB see · grain^A · skies^B · busily · plain^A · eyes^B
13 ABCABC appear^A · stand^B · gleams^C · near^A · land^B · dreams^C

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
In rich Virginian woods,	6	··˘/˘·
The scarlet creeper reddens over graves,	10	·/˘/˘/˘···
Among the solemn trees enlooped with vines;	10	···/˘·····
Heroic spirits haunt the solitudes,--	10	˘/˘/˘··/˘·
The noble souls of half a million braves,	10	·/˘····/˘·
Amid the murmurous pines.	7	˘/·/˘˘·
Ah! who is left behind,	6	······
Earnest and eloquent, sincere and strong,	10	/˘·/˘˘˘/··
To consecrate their memories with words	10	·/˘··/˘˘··
Not all unmeet? with fitting dirge and song	10	··˘/·/˘···
To chant a requiem purer than the wind,	10	···/˘/˘···
And sweeter than the birds?	6	·/˘···
Here, though all seems at peace,	6	······
The placid, measureless sky serenely fair,	11	·/˘/˘˘·˘/˘·
The laughter of the breeze among the leaves,	10	·/˘·······
The bars of sunlight slanting through the trees,	10	···/·/˘···
The reckless wild-flowers blooming everywhere,	10	·/˘·//˘/˘·
The grasses' delicate sheaves,--	7	·/˘/˘˘·
Nathless each breeze that blows,	6	/˘····
Each tree that trembles to its leafy head	10	···/˘··/˘·
With nervous life, revives within our mind,	10	·/˘·˘/··/·
Tender as flowers of May, the thoughts of those	10	/˘·/······
Who lie beneath the living beauty, dead,--	10	·····/˘/˘·
Beneath the sunshine, blind.	6	···/··
For brave dead soldiers, these:	6	···/˘·
Blessings and tears of aching thankfulness,	10	/˘···/˘···
Soft flowers for the graves in wreaths enwove,	10	·/˘·······
The odorous lilac of dear memories,	11	·/˘˘/···/˘˘
The heroic blossoms of the wilderness,	11	·˘/˘/˘··/˘˘
And the rich rose of love.	6	······
But who has sung their praise,	6	······
Not less illustrious, who are living yet?	10	··˘/˘··/˘·
Armies of heroes, satisfied to pass	10	/˘·/˘/˘···
Calmly, serenely from the whole world's gaze,	10	/˘˘/˘·····
And cheerfully accept, without regret,	10	·/˘˘˘/··˘/
Their old life as it was,	6	······
With all its petty pain,	6	···/˘·
Its irritating littleness and care;	10	·/˘·˘/˘˘··
They who have scaled the mountain, with content	10	·····/˘·˘/
Sublime, descend to live upon the plain;	10	˘/˘/······
Steadfast as though they breathed the mountain-air	10	/······/˘·
Still, wheresoe'er they went.	6	······
They who were brave to act,	6	······
And rich enough their action to forget;	10	··˘/·/˘·˘/
Who, having filled their day with chivalry,	10	·/˘····/˘˘
Withdraw and keep their simpleness intact,	10	˘/···/˘˘˘/
And all unconscious add more lustre yet	10	···/˘··/˘·
Unto their victory.	6	···/˘˘
On the broad Western plains	6	···/˘·
Their patriarchal life they live anew;	10	··˘/˘···˘/
Hunters as mighty as the men of old,	10	/˘·/˘·····
Or harvesting the plenteous, yellow grains,	10	·/˘·/˘˘/˘·
Gathering ripe vintage of dusk bunches blue,	10	/˘·/˘··/˘·
Or working mines of gold;	6	·/˘···
Or toiling in the town,	6	·/˘···
Armed against hindrance, weariness, defeat,	10	···/˘/˘˘˘/
With dauntless purpose not to serve or yield,	10	·/˘/˘·····
And calm, defiant, they struggle on,	9	··˘/˘·/˘·
As sturdy and as valiant in the street,	10	·/˘··/˘···
As in the camp and field.	6	······
And those condemned to live,	6	··˘/··
Maimed, helpless, lingering still through suffering years,	10	·/˘/˘··/˘·
May they not envy now the restful sleep	10	···/˘··/˘·
Of the dear fellow-martyrs they survive?	10	···/˘/˘·˘/
Not o'er the dead, but over these, your tears,	10	··········
O brothers, ye may weep!	6	·/˘···
New England fields I see,	6	·/˘···
The lovely, cultured landscape, waving grain,	10	·/˘/˘/·/˘·
Wide haughty rivers, and pale, English skies.	10	·/˘/˘··/˘·
And lo! a farmer ploughing busily,	10	···/˘/˘/˘˘
Who lifts a swart face, looks upon the plain,--	10	··········
I see, in his frank eyes,	6	······
The hero's soul appear.	6	·/˘·˘/
Thus in the common fields and streets they stand;	10	···/˘·····
The light that on the past and distant gleams,	10	·······/˘·
They cast upon the present and the near,	10	·····/˘···
With antique virtues from some mystic land,	10	·˘//˘··/˘·
Of knightly deeds and dreams.	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.

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