Spain in America I
When scarce the echoes of Manila Bay,Circling each slumbering billowy hemisphere,Had met where Spain's forlorn Armada layLocked amid hostile hills, and whispered nearThe double omen of that groan and cheer--Haste to do now what must be done anonOr some mad hope of selling triumph dearDrove the ships forth: soon was Teresa gone,Furor, Pluton, Vizcaya, Oquendo, and Colon.
And when the second morning dawned sereneO'er vivid waves and foam-fringed mountains, dressedLike Nessus in their robe's envenomed sheen,Scarce by some fiery fleck the place was guessedWhere each hulk smouldered; while from crest to crestLeapt through the North the news of victory,Victory tarnished by a boorish jestYet touched with pity, lest the unkindly seaShould too much aid the strong and leave no enemy.
As the anguished soul, that gasped for difficult breath,Passes to silence from its house of pain,So from those wrecks, in fumes of lurid death,Passed into peace the heavy pride of Spain,Passed from that aching tenement, half fain,Back to her castled hills and windy moors,No longer tossed upon the treacherous mainOnce boasted hers, which with its watery luresToo long enticed her sons to unhallowed sepultures.
Words in this poem 18
- scarce a.
- Not plentiful or abundant; in small quantity in proportion to the demand; not easily to be procured; rare; uncommon. [OE. scars, OF. escars, eschars, LL. scarpsus, for L. excerptus, p. p. of excerpere to pick out, and hence to contract, to shorten; ex (see Ex-) + carpere. See C]
- billowy a.
- Of or pertaining to billows; swelling or swollen into large waves; full of billows or surges; resembling billows.
- forlorn a.
- Deserted abandoned; lost. [OE., p.p. of forlesen to lose utterly, AS. forleósan (p.p. forloren); pref. for- + leósan (in comp.) to lose; cf. D. verliezen to lose, G. verlieren, Sw. förlor]
- armada n.
- A fleet of armed ships; a squadron. Specifically, the Spanish fleet which was sent to assail England, a. d. 1558. [Sp. armada, L. as if armata (sc. classic fleet), fr. armatus, p. p. of armare. See Arm, v. t. Army.]
- amid prep.
- In the midst or middle of; surrounded or encompassed by; among. [OE. amidde, amiddes, on midden, AS. on middan, in the middle, fr. midde the middle. The s is an adverbial ending, originally marking the genitive; the t is a la]
- anon adv.
- Straightway; at once. [OE. anoon, anon, anan, lit., in one (moment), fr. AS. on in + an one. See On and One.]
- drove n.
- A collection of cattle driven, or cattle collected for driving; a number of animals, as oxen, sheep, or swine, driven in a body. [AS. draf, fr. drifan to drive. See Drive.]
- sheen v. i.
- To shine; to glisten.
- fleck n.
- A flake; also, a lock, as of wool. J. Martin.
- hulk n.
- The body of a ship or decked vessel of any kind; esp., the body of an old vessel laid by as unfit for service. [OE. hulke a heavy ship, AS. hulc a light, swift ship; akin to D. hulk a ship of burden, G. holk, OHG. holcho; perh. fr. LL. holcas, Gr. Wolf, Holcad.]
- boorish a.
- Like a boor; clownish; uncultured; unmannerly.
- jest n.
- A deed; an action; a gest. [OE. jeste, geste, deed, action, story, tale, OF. geste, LL. gesta, orig., exploits, neut. pl. from L. gestus, p. p. of gerere to bear, carry, accomplish, perfor]
- unkindly a.
- Not kindly; unkind; ungracious.
- lurid a.
- Pale yellow; ghastly pale; wan; gloomy; dismal. [L. luridus.]
- aching a.
- That aches; continuously painful. See Ache.
- fain v. t.
- To be glad ; to wish or desire.
- castled a.
- Having a castle or castles; supporting a castle; as, a castled height or crag.
- unhallowed a.
- Not consecrated; hence, profane; unholy; impious; wicked. [Pref. un- not + hallowed.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Spain in America I is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems, Project Gutenberg ebook #49721; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: George Santayana, Spain in America I, in Poems (1922), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #49721, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/santayana-poems/spain-in-america-i.html, id L21749.
Form and metre
Spain in America I is 27 lines in 3 stanzas of 9 lines each. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 82%).
See 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 ABABB-BCC bayA · hemisphereB · layA · nearB · cheerB · anon · dearB · goneC · colonC
- 2 ABABB-B-- sereneA · dressedB · sheenA · guessedB · crestB · victory · jestB · sea · enemy
- 3 ABABBCBC- breathA · painB · deathA · spainB · fainB · moorsC · mainB · luresC · sepultures
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 |
|---|---|---|
| When scarce the echoes of Manila Bay, | 10 | ···/˘·˘/˘· |
| Circling each slumbering billowy hemisphere, | 11 | /˘·/˘/˘˘/˘· |
| Had met where Spain's forlorn Armada lay | 10 | ····˘/˘/˘· |
| Locked amid hostile hills, and whispered near | 10 | ·˘//˘··/˘· |
| The double omen of that groan and cheer-- | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| Haste to do now what must be done anon | 10 | ········˘/ |
| Or some mad hope of selling triumph dear | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| Drove the ships forth: soon was Teresa gone, | 10 | ······˘/˘· |
| Furor, Pluton, Vizcaya, Oquendo, and Colon. | 13 | /˘··˘/˘˘/˘·/˘ |
| And when the second morning dawned serene | 10 | ···/˘/˘·˘/ |
| O'er vivid waves and foam-fringed mountains, dressed | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| Like Nessus in their robe's envenomed sheen, | 10 | ·········· |
| Scarce by some fiery fleck the place was guessed | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Where each hulk smouldered; while from crest to crest | 10 | ·········· |
| Leapt through the North the news of victory, | 10 | ·······/˘˘ |
| Victory tarnished by a boorish jest | 10 | /˘˘/˘··/˘· |
| Yet touched with pity, lest the unkindly sea | 11 | ···/˘··˘/˘· |
| Should too much aid the strong and leave no enemy. | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| As the anguished soul, that gasped for difficult breath, | 11 | ··/˘····/˘· |
| Passes to silence from its house of pain, | 10 | /˘·/˘····· |
| So from those wrecks, in fumes of lurid death, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Passed into peace the heavy pride of Spain, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Passed from that aching tenement, half fain, | 10 | ···/˘/˘˘·· |
| Back to her castled hills and windy moors, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| No longer tossed upon the treacherous main | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| Once boasted hers, which with its watery lures | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| Too long enticed her sons to unhallowed sepultures. | 13 | ··˘/···˘/˘··· |
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