At the Consecration of Pulaski's Banner
When the dying flame of dayThrough the chancel shot its ray,Far the glimmering tapers shedFaint light on the cowled head;And the censer burning swung,Where, before the altar, hungThe crimson banner, that with prayerHad been consecrated there.And the nuns' sweet hymn was heard the while,Sung low, in the dim, mysterious aisle.
"Take thy banner! May it waveProudly o'er the good and brave;When the battle's distant wailBreaks the sabbath of our vale.When the clarion's music thrillsTo the hearts of these lone hills,When the spear in conflict shakes,And the strong lance shivering breaks.
"Take thy banner! and, beneathThe battle-cloud's encircling wreath,Guard it, till our homes are free!Guard it! God will prosper thee!In the dark and trying hour,In the breaking forth of power,In the rush of steeds and men,His right hand will shield thee then.
"Take thy banner! But when nightCloses round the ghastly fight,If the vanquished warrior bow,Spare him! By our holy vow,By our prayers and many tears,By the mercy that endears,Spare him! he our love hath shared!Spare him! as thou wouldst be spared!
"Take thy banner! and if e'erThou shouldst press the soldier's bier,And the muffled drum should beatTo the tread of mournful feet,Then this crimson flag shall beMartial cloak and shroud for thee."
The warrior took that banner proud,And it was his martial cloak and shroud!
Words in this poem
- cowled a.
- Wearing a cowl; hooded; as, a cowled monk.
- censer n.
- A vessel for perfumes; esp. one in which incense is burned. [For incenser, fr. OF. encensier, F. encensoir, fr. LL. incensarium, incensorium, fr. L. incensum incense. See Incense, and cf. Incensory.]
- vale n.
- A tract of low ground, or of land between hills; a valley. [OE. val, F. val, L. vallis; perhaps akin to Gr. Avalanche, Vail to lower, Valley.]
- lone n.
- A lane. See Loanin.
- prosper v. t.
- To favor; to render successful. [F. prospérer v. i., or L. prosperare, v. i., or L. prosperare, v. t., fr. prosper or prosperus. See Prosperous.]
- bier n.
- A handbarrow or portable frame on which a corpse is placed or borne to the grave. [OE. bæe, beere, AS. b, b; akin to D. baar, OHG. bara, G. bahre, Icel barar, Dbaare, L. feretrum, Gr. , from the same bear to produce. See 1st Bear, and cf. Barr]
- 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
At the Consecration of Pulaski's Banner is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Complete Poetical Works of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Project Gutenberg ebook #1365; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, At the Consecration of Pulaski's Banner, in The Complete Poetical Works (1839–1882), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #1365, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/longfellow-poems/at-the-consecration-of-pulaski-s-banner.html, id L17490.
Form and metre
At the Consecration of Pulaski's Banner is 42 lines in 6 stanzas. The rhyme scheme is AABBCCDD, complete in 3 of its 6 stanzas. The metre is trochaic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 84%). 93% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.6 syllables. 3 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 29% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in trochaic 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 AABBCCDDEE dayA · rayA · shedB · headB · swungC · hungC · prayerD · thereD · whileE · aisleE
- 2 AABBCCDD waveA · braveA · wailB · valeB · thrillsC · hillsC · shakesD · breaksD
- 3 AABBCCDD beneathA · wreathA · freeB · theeB · hourC · powerC · menD · thenD
- 4 AABBCCDD nightA · fightA · bowB · vowB · tearsC · endearsC · sharedD · sparedD
- 5 AABBCC e'erA · bierA · beatB · feetB · beC · theeC
- 6 AA proudA · shroudA
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 trochaic tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| When the dying flame of day | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Through the chancel shot its ray, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Far the glimmering tapers shed | 8 | ··/˘˘/˘· |
| Faint light on the cowled head; | 6 | ······ |
| And the censer burning swung, | 7 | ··/˘/˘· |
| Where, before the altar, hung | 7 | ····/˘· |
| The crimson banner, that with prayer | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| Had been consecrated there. | 7 | ··/˘·˘· |
| And the nuns' sweet hymn was heard the while, | 9 | ········· |
| Sung low, in the dim, mysterious aisle. | 10 | ·····˘/˘˘· |
| "Take thy banner! May it wave | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Proudly o'er the good and brave; | 7 | /˘····· |
| When the battle's distant wail | 7 | ··/˘/˘· |
| Breaks the sabbath of our vale. | 8 | ··/˘·/˘· |
| When the clarion's music thrills | 8 | ··/˘˘/˘· |
| To the hearts of these lone hills, | 7 | ······· |
| When the spear in conflict shakes, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| And the strong lance shivering breaks. | 8 | ····/˘˘· |
| "Take thy banner! and, beneath | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| The battle-cloud's encircling wreath, | 9 | ·/˘·˘/˘˘· |
| Guard it, till our homes are free! | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Guard it! God will prosper thee! | 7 | ····/˘· |
| In the dark and trying hour, | 8 | ····/˘/˘ |
| In the breaking forth of power, | 8 | ··/˘··/˘ |
| In the rush of steeds and men, | 7 | ······· |
| His right hand will shield thee then. | 7 | ······· |
| "Take thy banner! But when night | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Closes round the ghastly fight, | 7 | /˘··/˘· |
| If the vanquished warrior bow, | 9 | ··/˘˘/˘˘· |
| Spare him! By our holy vow, | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| By our prayers and many tears, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| By the mercy that endears, | 7 | ··/˘·˘/ |
| Spare him! he our love hath shared! | 9 | ···/˘···˘ |
| Spare him! as thou wouldst be spared! | 7 | ······· |
| "Take thy banner! and if e'er | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Thou shouldst press the soldier's bier, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| And the muffled drum should beat | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| To the tread of mournful feet, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Then this crimson flag shall be | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Martial cloak and shroud for thee." | 7 | /˘····· |
| The warrior took that banner proud, | 9 | ·/˘˘··/˘· |
| And it was his martial cloak and shroud! | 9 | ····/˘··· |
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