Casabianca
The boy stood on the burning deck,Whence all but him had fled;The flame that lit the battle’s wreckShone round him o’er the dead.
Yet beautiful and bright he stood,As born to rule the storm;A creature of heroic blood,A proud though childlike form.
The flames rolled on--he would not goWithout his father’s word;That father, faint in death below,His voice no longer heard.
He called aloud, “Say, father, sayIf yet my task is done?”He knew not that the chieftain layUnconscious of his son.
“Speak, father!” once again he cried,“If I may yet be gone!”And but the booming shots replied,And fast the flames rolled on.
Upon his brow he felt their breath,And in his waving hair;And looked from that lone post of deathIn still, yet brave despair.
And shouted but once more aloud“My father! must I stay?”While o’er him fast, through sail and shroud,The wreathing fires made way.
They wrapt the ship in splendour wild,They caught the flag on high,And streamed above the gallant childLike banners in the sky.
Then came a burst of thunder sound--The boy--oh! where was he?--Ask of the winds that far aroundWith fragments strew the sea;
With mast, and helm, and pennon fair.That well had borne their part--But the noblest thing that perished thereWas that young, faithful heart.
Words in this poem
- childlike a.
- Resembling a child, or that which belongs to children; becoming a child; meek; submissive; dutiful.
- aloud adv.
- With a loud voice, or great noise; loudly; audibly. [Pref. a- + loud.]
- shots n.
- The refuse of cattle taken from a drove.
- lone n.
- A lane. See Loanin.
- splendour n.
- Great brightness; brilliant luster; brilliancy; as, the splendor ot the sun. B. Jonson. [L. fr. splendere to shine: cf. F. splendeur.]
- pennon n.
- A wing; a pinion. [Cf. Pinion.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Casabianca is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems Every Child Should Know The What-Every-Child-Should-Know-Library, Project Gutenberg ebook #16436; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Mary E. Burt, Casabianca, in Poems Every Child Should Know (1904), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #16436, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/poems-every-child/casabianca.html, id L25174.
Form and metre
Casabianca is 40 lines in 10 stanzas of 4 lines each. Every stanza rhymes ABAB. The metre is common measure, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 93%).
See other poems in common measure.
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 ABAB deckA · fledB · wreckA · deadB
- 2 ABAB stoodA · stormB · bloodA · formB
- 3 ABAB goA · wordB · belowA · heardB
- 4 ABAB sayA · doneB · layA · sonB
- 5 ABAB criedA · goneB · repliedA · onB
- 6 ABAB breathA · hairB · deathA · despairB
- 7 ABAB aloudA · stayB · shroudA · wayB
- 8 ABAB wildA · highB · childA · skyB
- 9 ABAB soundA · heB · aroundA · seaB
- 10 ABAB fairA · partB · thereA · heartB
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 common measure. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| The boy stood on the burning deck, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Whence all but him had fled; | 6 | ······ |
| The flame that lit the battle’s wreck | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Shone round him o’er the dead. | 6 | ······ |
| Yet beautiful and bright he stood, | 8 | ·/˘˘···· |
| As born to rule the storm; | 6 | ······ |
| A creature of heroic blood, | 8 | ·/˘·˘/˘· |
| A proud though childlike form. | 6 | ···/·· |
| The flames rolled on--he would not go | 8 | ········ |
| Without his father’s word; | 6 | ···/˘· |
| That father, faint in death below, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| His voice no longer heard. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| He called aloud, “Say, father, say | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
| If yet my task is done?” | 6 | ······ |
| He knew not that the chieftain lay | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Unconscious of his son. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| “Speak, father!” once again he cried, | 8 | ·/˘·˘/·· |
| “If I may yet be gone!” | 6 | ······ |
| And but the booming shots replied, | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| And fast the flames rolled on. | 6 | ······ |
| Upon his brow he felt their breath, | 8 | ········ |
| And in his waving hair; | 6 | ···/˘· |
| And looked from that lone post of death | 8 | ········ |
| In still, yet brave despair. | 6 | ····˘/ |
| And shouted but once more aloud | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| “My father! must I stay?” | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| While o’er him fast, through sail and shroud, | 8 | ········ |
| The wreathing fires made way. | 7 | ·/˘/˘·· |
| They wrapt the ship in splendour wild, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| They caught the flag on high, | 6 | ······ |
| And streamed above the gallant child | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Like banners in the sky. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Then came a burst of thunder sound-- | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| The boy--oh! where was he? | 6 | ······ |
| --Ask of the winds that far around | 8 | ········ |
| With fragments strew the sea; | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| With mast, and helm, and pennon fair. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| That well had borne their part-- | 6 | ······ |
| But the noblest thing that perished there | 9 | ··/˘··/˘· |
| Was that young, faithful heart. | 6 | ···/˘· |
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