Inscription for Graves at Pea Ridge, Arkansas
Let none misgive we died amissWhen here we strove in furious fight:Furious it was; nathless was thisBetter than tranquil plight,And tame surrender of the CauseHallowed by hearts and by the laws.We here who warred for Man and Right,The choice of warring never laid with us.There we were ruled by the traitor’s choice.Nor long we stood to trim and poise,But marched, and fell--victorious!
They take no shame for dark defeatWhile prizing yet each victory won,Who fight for the Right through all retreat,Nor pause until their work is done.The Cape-of-Storms is proof to every throe;Vainly against that foreland beatWild winds aloft and wilder waves below:The black cliffs gleam through rents in sleetWhen the livid Antarctic storm-clouds glow.
Afar they fell. It was the zoneOf fig and orange, cane and lime(A land how all unlike their own,With the cold pine-grove overgrown),But still their Country’s clime.And there in youth they died for her--The Volunteers,For her went up their dying prayers:So vast the Nation, yet so strong the tie.What doubt shall come, then, to deterThe Republic’s earnest faith and courage high.
Words in this poem
- misgive v. t.
- To give or grant amiss. Laud.
- 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.]
- plight v. t.
- To weave; to braid; to fold; to plait. [OE. pliten; probably through Old French, fr. LL. plectare, L. plectere. See Plait, Ply.]
- 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.]
- prizing n.
- The application of a lever to move any weighty body, as a cask, anchor, cannon, car, etc. See Prize, n., 5. [See 2d Prize.]
- throe n.
- Extreme pain; violent pang; anguish; agony; especially, one of the pangs of travail in childbirth, or purturition. [OE. , , AS. a threatening, oppression, suffering, perhaps influenced by Icel. a throe, a pang, a longing; cf. AS. to suffer.]
- foreland n.
- A promontory or cape; a headland; as, the North and South Foreland in Kent, England.
- sleet n.
- The part of a mortar extending from the chamber to the trunnions.
- afar adv.
- At, to, or from a great distance; far away; -- often used with from preceding, or off following; as, he was seen from afar; I saw him afar off. [Pref. a-.(for on or of) + far.]
- clime n.
- A climate; a tract or region of the earth. See Climate. [L. clima. See Climate.]
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- 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
Inscription for Graves at Pea Ridge, Arkansas is in the public domain. This text is taken from Battle-Pieces and Aspects of the War, Project Gutenberg ebook #12384; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Herman Melville, Inscription for Graves at Pea Ridge, Arkansas, in Battle-Pieces and Aspects of the War (1866), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #12384, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/melville-battle-pieces/inscription-for-graves-at-pea-ridge-arkansas.html, id L00923.
Form and metre
Inscription for Graves at Pea Ridge, Arkansas is 31 lines in 3 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 89%). 95% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.2 syllables. 1 line ends on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 29% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
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 ABABCCBDD-D amissA · fightB · thisA · plightB · causeC · lawsC · rightB · usD · choiceD · poise · victoriousD
- 2 ABABCACAC defeatA · wonB · retreatA · doneB · throeC · beatA · belowC · sleetA · glowC
- 3 ABAABC--DCD zoneA · limeB · ownA · overgrownA · climeB · herC · volunteers · prayers · tieD · deterC · highD
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Let none misgive we died amiss | 8 | ··˘/··˘/ |
| When here we strove in furious fight: | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Furious it was; nathless was this | 8 | /˘··/˘·· |
| Better than tranquil plight, | 6 | /˘·/˘· |
| And tame surrender of the Cause | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| Hallowed by hearts and by the laws. | 8 | /˘······ |
| We here who warred for Man and Right, | 8 | ········ |
| The choice of warring never laid with us. | 9 | ···/˘/··· |
| There we were ruled by the traitor’s choice. | 9 | ······/˘· |
| Nor long we stood to trim and poise, | 8 | ········ |
| But marched, and fell--victorious! | 8 | ····˘/˘˘ |
| They take no shame for dark defeat | 8 | ······˘/ |
| While prizing yet each victory won, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Who fight for the Right through all retreat, | 9 | ·······˘/ |
| Nor pause until their work is done. | 8 | ········ |
| The Cape-of-Storms is proof to every throe; | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Vainly against that foreland beat | 8 | /˘···/˘· |
| Wild winds aloft and wilder waves below: | 9 | ··˘/·/··· |
| The black cliffs gleam through rents in sleet | 8 | ········ |
| When the livid Antarctic storm-clouds glow. | 10 | ··/˘˘/˘··· |
| Afar they fell. It was the zone | 8 | ˘/······ |
| Of fig and orange, cane and lime | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| (A land how all unlike their own, | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| With the cold pine-grove overgrown), | 8 | ······˘/ |
| But still their Country’s clime. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| And there in youth they died for her-- | 8 | ········ |
| The Volunteers, | 4 | ··˘/ |
| For her went up their dying prayers: | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| So vast the Nation, yet so strong the tie. | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| What doubt shall come, then, to deter | 8 | ······˘/ |
| The Republic’s earnest faith and courage high. | 11 | ·˘/˘/˘··/˘· |
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