The Litany of War
Sandalphon, whose white wings to heaven upbearThe weight of human prayer,Stood silent in the still eternal LightOf God, one dreadful night.His wings were clogged with blood and foul with mire,His body seared with fire."Hast thou no word for Me?" the Master said.The angel sank his head:
"Word from the nations of the East and West,"He moaned, "that blood is best.The patriot prayers of either half of earth,Hear Thou, and judge their worth.Out of the obscene seas of slaughter, hear,First, the first nation's prayer:'O God, deliver Thy people. Let Thy swordDestroy our enemies, Lord!'
"Pure as the first, as passionate in trustThat their own cause is just;Puppets as fond in those dark hands of greed;As fervent in their creed;As blindly moved, as utterly betrayed,As urgent for Thine aid;Out of the obscene seas of slaughter, hearThe second nation's prayer:'O God, deliver Thy people. Let Thy swordDestroy our enemies, Lord.'
"Over their slaughtered children, one great cryFrom either enemy!From either host, thigh-deep in filth and shame,One prayer, one and the same;Out of the obscene seas of slaughter, hear,From East and West, one prayer:'O God, deliver Thy people. Let Thy swordDestroy our enemies, Lord.'"
Then, on the Cross of His creative pain,God bowed His head again.Then, East and West, over all seas and lands,Out-stretched His piercèd hands."And yet," Sandalphon whispered, "men denyThe Eternal Calvary."
Words in this poem
- upbear v. t.
- To bear up; to raise aloft; to support in an elevated situation; to sustain.
- dreadful a.
- Full of dread or terror; fearful.
- seared a.
- Scorched; cauterized; hence, figuratively, insensible; not susceptible to moral influences.
- hast
- , 2d pers. sing. pres. of. Fave, contr. of havest.
- greed n.
- An eager desire or longing; greediness; as, a greed of gain. [Akin to Goth. grdus hunger, Icel. graedhr. sq. root34. See Greedy.]
- fervent a.
- Hot; glowing; boiling; burning; as, a fervent summer. [F. fervent, L. fervens, -entis. p.pr. of fervere o the boiling hot, to boil, glow.]
- blindly adv.
- Without sight, discernment, or understanding; without thought, investigation, knowledge, or purpose of one's own.
- calvary n.
- The place where Christ was crucified, on a small hill outside of Jerusalem. Luke xxiii. 33. [L. calvaria a bare skull, fr. calva the scalp without hair. fr. calvus bald; cf. F. calvaire.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Litany of War is in the public domain. This text is taken from Collected Poems: Volume One, Project Gutenberg ebook #30501; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Alfred Noyes, The Litany of War, in Collected Poems, Volume One (1913), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #30501, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/noyes-collected/the-litany-of-war.html, id L21429.
Form and metre
The Litany of War is 40 lines in 5 verse paragraphs. It is in rhyming couplets, 85% of the lines: heroic couplets. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 82%).
See other poems in heroic couplets, 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 --AABBCC upbear · prayer · lightA · nightA · mireB · fireB · saidC · headC
- 2 AABBCCDD westA · bestA · earthB · worthB · hearC · prayerC · swordD · lordD
- 3 AABBCCDDEE trustA · justA · greedB · creedB · betrayedC · aidC · hearD · prayerD · swordE · lordE
- 4 --AABBCC cry · enemy · shameA · sameA · hearB · prayerB · swordC · lordC
- 5 AABB-- painA · againA · landsB · handsB · deny · calvary
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Sandalphon, whose white wings to heaven upbear | 10 | ·······/˘/ |
| The weight of human prayer, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Stood silent in the still eternal Light | 10 | ·/˘···˘/˘· |
| Of God, one dreadful night. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| His wings were clogged with blood and foul with mire, | 10 | ·········· |
| His body seared with fire. | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| "Hast thou no word for Me?" the Master said. | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| The angel sank his head: | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| "Word from the nations of the East and West," | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| He moaned, "that blood is best. | 6 | ······ |
| The patriot prayers of either half of earth, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| Hear Thou, and judge their worth. | 6 | ······ |
| Out of the obscene seas of slaughter, hear, | 10 | ···˘/··/˘· |
| First, the first nation's prayer: | 6 | ···/˘· |
| 'O God, deliver Thy people. Let Thy sword | 11 | ··˘/˘·/˘··· |
| Destroy our enemies, Lord!' | 8 | ˘//˘/˘˘· |
| "Pure as the first, as passionate in trust | 10 | ·····/˘˘·· |
| That their own cause is just; | 6 | ······ |
| Puppets as fond in those dark hands of greed; | 10 | /˘········ |
| As fervent in their creed; | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| As blindly moved, as utterly betrayed, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘˘˘/ |
| As urgent for Thine aid; | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Out of the obscene seas of slaughter, hear | 10 | ···˘/··/˘· |
| The second nation's prayer: | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| 'O God, deliver Thy people. Let Thy sword | 11 | ··˘/˘·/˘··· |
| Destroy our enemies, Lord.' | 8 | ˘//˘/˘˘· |
| "Over their slaughtered children, one great cry | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| From either enemy! | 6 | ·/˘/˘˘ |
| From either host, thigh-deep in filth and shame, | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| One prayer, one and the same; | 6 | ······ |
| Out of the obscene seas of slaughter, hear, | 10 | ···˘/··/˘· |
| From East and West, one prayer: | 6 | ······ |
| 'O God, deliver Thy people. Let Thy sword | 11 | ··˘/˘·/˘··· |
| Destroy our enemies, Lord.'" | 8 | ˘//˘/˘˘· |
| Then, on the Cross of His creative pain, | 10 | ······˘/˘· |
| God bowed His head again. | 6 | ····˘/ |
| Then, East and West, over all seas and lands, | 10 | ·········· |
| Out-stretched His piercèd hands. | 5 | ····· |
| "And yet," Sandalphon whispered, "men deny | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| The Eternal Calvary." | 7 | ·˘/˘/˘˘ |
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.