October, 1746
A fleet with flags arrayedSailed from the port of Brest,And the Admiral's ship displayedThe signal: "Steer southwest."For this Admiral D'AnvilleHad sworn by cross and crownTo ravage with fire and steelOur helpless Boston Town.
There were rumors in the street,In the houses there was fearOf the coming of the fleet,And the danger hovering near.And while from mouth to mouthSpread the tidings of dismay,I stood in the Old South,Saying humbly: "Let us pray!
"O Lord! we would not advise;But if in thy ProvidenceA tempest should ariseTo drive the French fleet hence,And scatter it far and wide,Or sink it in the sea,We should be satisfied,And thine the glory be."
This was the prayer I made,For my soul was all on flame,And even as I prayedThe answering tempest came;It came with a mighty power,Shaking the windows and walls,And tolling the bell in the tower,As it tolls at funerals.
The lightning suddenlyUnsheathed its flaming sword,And I cried: "Stand still, and seeThe salvation of the Lord!"The heavens were black with cloud,The sea was white with hail,And ever more fierce and loudBlew the October gale.
The fleet it overtook,And the broad sails in the vanLike the tents of Cushan shook,Or the curtains of Midian.Down on the reeling decksCrashed the o'erwhelming seas;Ah, never were there wrecksSo pitiful as these!
Like a potter's vessel brokeThe great ships of the line;They were carried away as a smoke,Or sank like lead in the brine.O Lord! before thy pathThey vanished and ceased to be,When thou didst walk in wrathWith thine horses through the sea!
Words in this poem
- humbly adv.
- With humility; lowly.
- shook v. t.
- To pack, as staves, in a shook.
- broke v. i.
- To transact business for another. Brome. [See Broker, and cf. Brook.]
- didst
- , the 2d pers. sing. imp. of Do.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
October, 1746 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, October, 1746, in A Psalm of Life, and Other Poems (1839–1882), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #1365, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/longfellow-poems/october-1746.html, id L17787.
Form and metre
October, 1746 is 56 lines in 7 stanzas of 8 lines each. Every stanza rhymes ABABCDCD. The metre is iambic trimeter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 85%). 93% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 6.7 syllables. 6 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 34% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in iambic trimeter.
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 ABABCDCD arrayedA · brestB · displayedA · southwestB · d'anvilleC · crownD · steelC · townD
- 2 ABABCDCD streetA · fearB · fleetA · nearB · mouthC · dismayD · southC · prayD
- 3 ABABCDCD adviseA · providenceB · ariseA · henceB · wideC · seaD · satisfiedC · beD
- 4 ABABCDCD madeA · flameB · prayedA · cameB · powerC · wallsD · towerC · funeralsD
- 5 ABABCDCD suddenlyA · swordB · seeA · lordB · cloudC · hailD · loudC · galeD
- 6 ABABCDCD overtookA · vanB · shookA · midianB · decksC · seasD · wrecksC · theseD
- 7 ABABCDCD brokeA · lineB · smokeA · brineB · pathC · beD · wrathC · seaD
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 trimeter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| A fleet with flags arrayed | 6 | ····˘/ |
| Sailed from the port of Brest, | 6 | ······ |
| And the Admiral's ship displayed | 7 | ··/˘·˘/ |
| The signal: "Steer southwest." | 6 | ·/˘··/ |
| For this Admiral D'Anville | 6 | ··/˘/· |
| Had sworn by cross and crown | 6 | ······ |
| To ravage with fire and steel | 7 | ·/˘·/·· |
| Our helpless Boston Town. | 6 | //˘/˘· |
| There were rumors in the street, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| In the houses there was fear | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Of the coming of the fleet, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| And the danger hovering near. | 7 | ··/˘/˘· |
| And while from mouth to mouth | 6 | ······ |
| Spread the tidings of dismay, | 7 | ··/˘·˘/ |
| I stood in the Old South, | 6 | ······ |
| Saying humbly: "Let us pray! | 7 | /˘/˘··· |
| "O Lord! we would not advise; | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| But if in thy Providence | 7 | ····/˘˘ |
| A tempest should arise | 6 | ·/˘·˘/ |
| To drive the French fleet hence, | 6 | ······ |
| And scatter it far and wide, | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| Or sink it in the sea, | 6 | ······ |
| We should be satisfied, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| And thine the glory be." | 6 | ···/˘· |
| This was the prayer I made, | 6 | ······ |
| For my soul was all on flame, | 7 | ······· |
| And even as I prayed | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| The answering tempest came; | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| It came with a mighty power, | 7 | ····/˘/ |
| Shaking the windows and walls, | 7 | /˘·/˘·· |
| And tolling the bell in the tower, | 8 | ·/˘····/ |
| As it tolls at funerals. | 7 | ····/˘˘ |
| The lightning suddenly | 6 | ·/˘/˘˘ |
| Unsheathed its flaming sword, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| And I cried: "Stand still, and see | 7 | ······· |
| The salvation of the Lord!" | 7 | ·˘/˘··· |
| The heavens were black with cloud, | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| The sea was white with hail, | 6 | ······ |
| And ever more fierce and loud | 6 | ·/···· |
| Blew the October gale. | 6 | ··˘/˘· |
| The fleet it overtook, | 6 | ····˘/ |
| And the broad sails in the van | 7 | ······· |
| Like the tents of Cushan shook, | 7 | ······· |
| Or the curtains of Midian. | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Down on the reeling decks | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Crashed the o'erwhelming seas; | 6 | ······ |
| Ah, never were there wrecks | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| So pitiful as these! | 6 | ·/˘˘·· |
| Like a potter's vessel broke | 7 | ··/˘/˘· |
| The great ships of the line; | 6 | ······ |
| They were carried away as a smoke, | 9 | ··/˘˘/··· |
| Or sank like lead in the brine. | 7 | ······· |
| O Lord! before thy path | 6 | ······ |
| They vanished and ceased to be, | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| When thou didst walk in wrath | 6 | ······ |
| With thine horses through the sea! | 7 | ··/˘··· |
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