On the Slain at Chickamauga
Happy are they and charmed in lifeWho through long wars arrive unscarredAt peace. To such the wreath be given,If they unfalteringly have striven--In honor, as in limb, unmarred.Let cheerful praise be rife,And let them live their years at ease,Musing on brothers who victorious died--Loved mates whose memory shall ever please.
And yet mischance is honorable too--Seeming defeat in conflict justifiedWhose end to closing eyes is his from view.The will, that never can relent--The aim, survivor of the bafflement,Make this memorial due.
Silence and Solitude may hint(Whose home is in yon piny wood)What I, though tableted, could never tell--The din which here befell,And striving of the multitude.The iron cones and spheres of deathSet round me in their rust,These, too, if just,Shall speak with more than animated breath.Thou who beholdest, if thy thought,Not narrowed down to personal cheer,Take in the import of the quiet here--The after-quiet--the calm full fraught;Thou too wilt silent stand--Silent as I, and lonesome as the land.
They said that Fame her clarion droppedBecause great deeds were done no more--That even Duty knew no shining ends,And Glory--’twas a fallen star!But battle can heroes and bards restore.Nay, look at Kenesaw:Perils the mailed ones never knewAre lightly braved by the ragged coats of blue,And gentler hearts are bared to deadlier war.
Beauty and youth, with manners sweet, and friends--Gold, yet a mind not unenriched had heWhom here low violets veil from eyes.But all these gifts transcended be:His happier fortune in this mound you see.
When, after storms that woodlands rue,To valleys comes atoning dawn,The robins blithe their orchard-sports renew;And meadow-larks, no more withdrawn,Caroling fly in the languid blue;The while, from many a hid recess,Alert to partake the blessedness,The pouring mites their airy dance pursue.So, after ocean’s ghastly gales,When laughing light of hoyden morning breaks,Every finny hider wakes--From vaults profound swims up with glittering scales;Through the delightsome sea he sails,With shoals of shining tiny thingsFrolic on every wave that flingsAgainst the prow its showery spray;All creatures joying in the morn,Save them forever from joyance torn,Whose bark was lost where now the dolphins play;Save them that by the fabled shore,Down the pale stream are washed away,Far to the reef of bones are borne;And never revisits them the light,Nor sight of long-sought land and pilot more;Nor heed they now the lone bird’s flightRound the lone spar where mid-sea surges pour.
No trophy this--a Stone unhewn,And stands where here the field immuresThe nameless brave whose palms are won.Outcast they sleep; yet fame is nigh--Pure fame of deeds, not doers;Nor deeds of men who bleeding dieIn cheer of hymns that round them float:In happy dreams such close the eye.But withering famine slowly wore,And slowly fell disease did gloat.Even Nature’s self did aid deny;They choked in horror the pensive sigh.Yea, off from home sad Memory bore(Though anguished Yearning heaved that way),Lest wreck of reason might befall.As men in gales shun the lee shore,Though there the homestead be, and call,And thitherward winds and waters sway--As such lorn mariners, so fared they.But naught shall now their peace molest.Their fame is this: they did endure--Endure, when fortitude was vainTo kindle any approving strainWhich they might hear. To these who rest,This healing sleep alone was sure.
Words in this poem 32
- rife a.
- Prevailing; prevalent; abounding. [AS. rif abundant, or Icel. rifr munificent; akin to OD. riff, rijve, abundant.]
- 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,]
- 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.]
- relent v. i.
- To become less rigid or hard; to yield; to dissolve; to melt; to deliquesce. [F. ralentir, fr. L. pref. re- re- + ad to + lentus pliant, flexible, slow. See Lithe.]
- survivor n.
- One who survives or outlives another person, or any time, event, or thing.
- bafflement n.
- The process or act of baffling, or of being baffled; frustration; check.
- piny a.
- Abounding with pines.
- fraught n.
- A freight; a cargo. [OE.fraight, fraght; akin to Dan. fragt, Sw. frakt, D. vracht, G. fracht, cf. OHG. fr merit, reward; perh. from corresponding to E. for + The root of E. own. Cf.]
- lonesome a.
- Secluded from society; not frequented by human beings; solitary.
- clarion n.
- A kind of trumpet, whose note is clear and shrill. [OE. clarioun, OF. clarion, F. clairon, LL. clario, claro; so called from its clear tone, fr. L. clarus clear. See Clear.]
- mailed a.
- Protected by an external coat, or covering, of scales or plates.
- blithe a.
- Gay; merry; sprightly; joyous; glad; cheerful; as, a blithe spirit. [AS. bli blithe, kind; akin to Goth. blei kind, Icel. bli mild, gentle, Dan. & Sw. blid gentle, D. blijd blithe, OHG. blidi kind, blithe.]
- caroling n.
- A song of joy or devotion; a singing, as of carols. Coleridge.
- blessedness n.
- The state of being blessed; happiness; felicity; bliss; heavenly joys; the favor of God.
- finny a.
- Having, or abounding in, fins, as fishes; pertaining to fishes.
- hider n.
- One who hides or conceals.
- delightsome a.
- Very pleasing; delightful.
- showery a.
- Raining in showers; abounding with frequent showers of rain.
- morn n.
- The first part of the day; the morning; -- used chiefly in poetry. [OE. morwen, morgen, AS. morgen; akin to D. morgen, OS. morgan, G. morgen, Icel. morginn, morgunn, Sw. morgon, Dan. morgen, Goth. maúrgins. Cf. Morrow, Morning.]
- joyance n.
- Enjoyment; gayety; festivity; joyfulness. [OF. joiance.]
- lone n.
- A lane. See Loanin.
- trophy n.
- A sign or memorial of a victory raised on the field of battle, or, in case of a naval victory, on the nearest land. Sometimes trophies were erected in the chief city of the conquered people. [F. trophée (cf. It. & Sp. trofeo), L. tropaeum, trophaeum, Gr. Trope.]
- nameless a.
- Without a name; not having been given a name; as, a nameless star.
- outcast a.
- Cast out; degraded. [Cf. Sw. utkasta to cast out.]
- withering a.
- Tending to wither; causing to shrink or fade.
- famine n.
- General scarcity of food; dearth; a want of provisions; destitution. [F. famine, fr. L. fames hunger; cf. Gr. hani loss, lack, ha to leave.]
- gloat v. i.
- To look steadfastly; to gaz In vengeance gloating on another's pain. [Akin to Icel. glotta to smile scornfully, G. glotzen to gloat.]
- thitherward adv.
- To ward that place; in that direction.
- lorn a.
- Lost; undone; ruined. [Strong p. p. of Lose. See Lose, Forlorn.]
- molest v. t.
- To trouble; to disturb; to render uneasy; to interfere with; to vex. [F. molester, L. molestare, fr. molestus troublesome, fr. moles a heavy mass, load, burden. See 3d Mole.]
- fortitude n.
- Power to resist attack; strength; firmness. [L. fortitudo, fr. fortis strong. See Fort.]
- approving a.
- Expressing approbation; commending; as, an approving smile.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
On the Slain at Chickamauga 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, On the Slain at Chickamauga, in Battle-Pieces and Aspects of the War (1866), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #12384, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/melville-battle-pieces/on-the-slain-at-chickamauga.html, id L00927.
Form and metre
On the Slain at Chickamauga is 95 lines in 7 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 88%). 91% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.3 syllables. 5 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 17% 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 ABCCBAD-D lifeA · unscarredB · givenC · strivenC · unmarredB · rifeA · easeD · died · pleaseD
- 2 A-ABBA tooA · justified · viewA · relentB · bafflementB · dueA
- 3 --AA-BCCBDEEDFF hint · wood · tellA · befellA · multitude · deathB · rustC · justC · breathB · thoughtD · cheerE · hereE · fraughtD · standF · landF
- 4 -A--A-BBA dropped · moreA · ends · star · restoreA · kenesaw · knewB · blueB · warA
- 5 -A-AA friends · heA · eyes · beA · seeA
- 6 ABABACCADEEDDFFGHHGIGHJIJI rueA · dawnB · renewA · withdrawnB · blueA · recessC · blessednessC · pursueA · galesD · breaksE · wakesE · scalesD · sailsD · thingsF · flingsF · sprayG · mornH · tornH · playG · shoreI · awayG · borneH · lightJ · moreI · flightJ · pourI
- 7 ---A-ABACBAACDECEDDFGHHFG unhewn · immures · won · nighA · doers · dieA · floatB · eyeA · woreC · gloatB · denyA · sighA · boreC · wayD · befallE · shoreC · callE · swayD · theyD · molestF · endureG · vainH · strainH · restF · sureG
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Happy are they and charmed in life | 8 | /˘······ |
| Who through long wars arrive unscarred | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| At peace. To such the wreath be given, | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| If they unfalteringly have striven-- | 10 | ········/˘ |
| In honor, as in limb, unmarred. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Let cheerful praise be rife, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| And let them live their years at ease, | 8 | ········ |
| Musing on brothers who victorious died-- | 10 | /˘·/˘·˘/˘· |
| Loved mates whose memory shall ever please. | 8 | ···/˘·/· |
| And yet mischance is honorable too-- | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
| Seeming defeat in conflict justified | 10 | /˘˘/·/˘/˘· |
| Whose end to closing eyes is his from view. | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| The will, that never can relent-- | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| The aim, survivor of the bafflement, | 9 | ··˘/··/˘˘ |
| Make this memorial due. | 7 | ··˘/˘˘· |
| Silence and Solitude may hint | 8 | /˘·/˘··· |
| (Whose home is in yon piny wood) | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| What I, though tableted, could never tell-- | 8 | ···/˘·/· |
| The din which here befell, | 6 | ····˘/ |
| And striving of the multitude. | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| The iron cones and spheres of death | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Set round me in their rust, | 6 | ······ |
| These, too, if just, | 4 | ···· |
| Shall speak with more than animated breath. | 10 | ·····/˘·˘· |
| Thou who beholdest, if thy thought, | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| Not narrowed down to personal cheer, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Take in the import of the quiet here-- | 9 | ···/˘··/· |
| The after-quiet--the calm full fraught; | 8 | ···/···· |
| Thou too wilt silent stand-- | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Silent as I, and lonesome as the land. | 10 | /˘···/˘··· |
| They said that Fame her clarion dropped | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Because great deeds were done no more-- | 8 | ········ |
| That even Duty knew no shining ends, | 9 | ·//˘··/˘· |
| And Glory--’twas a fallen star! | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| But battle can heroes and bards restore. | 10 | ·/˘·/˘··˘/ |
| Nay, look at Kenesaw: | 6 | ······ |
| Perils the mailed ones never knew | 8 | /˘···/˘· |
| Are lightly braved by the ragged coats of blue, | 11 | ·/˘···/˘··· |
| And gentler hearts are bared to deadlier war. | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| Beauty and youth, with manners sweet, and friends-- | 10 | /˘···/˘··· |
| Gold, yet a mind not unenriched had he | 10 | ·········· |
| Whom here low violets veil from eyes. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| But all these gifts transcended be: | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| His happier fortune in this mound you see. | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| When, after storms that woodlands rue, | 8 | ·····/·· |
| To valleys comes atoning dawn, | 8 | ·/˘·˘/˘· |
| The robins blithe their orchard-sports renew; | 10 | ·/˘··/˘·˘/ |
| And meadow-larks, no more withdrawn, | 8 | ·/····˘/ |
| Caroling fly in the languid blue; | 8 | /˘···/˘· |
| The while, from many a hid recess, | 8 | ···/··˘/ |
| Alert to partake the blessedness, | 9 | ˘/·˘/·/˘˘ |
| The pouring mites their airy dance pursue. | 10 | ·/˘··/˘·˘/ |
| So, after ocean’s ghastly gales, | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| When laughing light of hoyden morning breaks, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘/˘· |
| Every finny hider wakes-- | 8 | /˘˘/˘/˘· |
| From vaults profound swims up with glittering scales; | 10 | ··˘/···/˘· |
| Through the delightsome sea he sails, | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| With shoals of shining tiny things | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Frolic on every wave that flings | 8 | /˘·/˘··· |
| Against the prow its showery spray; | 9 | ·····/˘˘· |
| All creatures joying in the morn, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| Save them forever from joyance torn, | 9 | ··˘/˘·/˘· |
| Whose bark was lost where now the dolphins play; | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Save them that by the fabled shore, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Down the pale stream are washed away, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Far to the reef of bones are borne; | 8 | ········ |
| And never revisits them the light, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| Nor sight of long-sought land and pilot more; | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Nor heed they now the lone bird’s flight | 8 | ········ |
| Round the lone spar where mid-sea surges pour. | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| No trophy this--a Stone unhewn, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| And stands where here the field immures | 8 | ········ |
| The nameless brave whose palms are won. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Outcast they sleep; yet fame is nigh-- | 8 | /······· |
| Pure fame of deeds, not doers; | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Nor deeds of men who bleeding die | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| In cheer of hymns that round them float: | 8 | ········ |
| In happy dreams such close the eye. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| But withering famine slowly wore, | 8 | ·/˘/˘/˘· |
| And slowly fell disease did gloat. | 8 | ·/˘·˘/·· |
| Even Nature’s self did aid deny; | 8 | //˘···˘/ |
| They choked in horror the pensive sigh. | 9 | ···/˘·/˘· |
| Yea, off from home sad Memory bore | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| (Though anguished Yearning heaved that way), | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| Lest wreck of reason might befall. | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| As men in gales shun the lee shore, | 8 | ········ |
| Though there the homestead be, and call, | 8 | ···/···· |
| And thitherward winds and waters sway-- | 9 | ·/˘˘··/˘· |
| As such lorn mariners, so fared they. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| But naught shall now their peace molest. | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Their fame is this: they did endure-- | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Endure, when fortitude was vain | 8 | ˘/·/˘··· |
| To kindle any approving strain | 9 | ·/˘/˘˘/˘· |
| Which they might hear. To these who rest, | 8 | ········ |
| This healing sleep alone was sure. | 8 | ·/˘·˘/·· |
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.