To England at the Outbreak of the Balkan War
A cloud has lowered that shall not soon pass o'er.The world takes sides: whether for impious aimsWith Tyranny whose bloody toll enflamesA generous people to heroic war;Whether with Freedom, stretched in her own gore,Whose pleading hands and suppliant distressStill offer hearts that thirst for RighteousnessA glorious cause to strike or perish for.England, which side is thine? Thou hast had sonsWould shrink not from the choice however grim,Were Justice trampled on and Courage downed;Which will they be--cravens or champions?Oh, if a doubt intrude, remember himWhose death made Missolonghi holy ground.
I stood beside his sepulchre whose fame,Hurled over Europe once on bolt and blast,Now glows far off as storm-clouds overpastGlow in the sunset flushed with glorious flame.Has Nature marred his mould? Can Art acclaimNo hero now, no man with whom men sideAs with their hearts' high needs personified?There are will say, One such our lips could name;Columbia gave him birth. Him Genius mostGifted to rule. Against the world's great manLift their low calumny and sneering criesThe Pharisaic multitude, the hostOf piddling slanderers whose little eyesKnow not what greatness is and never can.
Words in this poem
- 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,]
- generous a.
- Of honorable birth or origin; highborn. [F. généreux, fr. L. generous of noble birth, noble, excellent, magnanimous, fr. genus birth, race: cf. It. generoso. See 2d Gender.]
- suppliant a.
- Asking earnestly and submissively; entreating; beseeching; supplicating. [F., p.pr. of supplier to entreat, L. supplicare. See Supplicate, and cf. Supplicant.]
- righteousness n.
- The quality or state of being righteous; holiness; purity; uprightness; rectitude. [AS. rihtwisnes.]
- glorious a.
- Exhibiting attributes, qualities, or acts that are worthy of or receive glory; noble; praiseworthy; excellent; splendid; illustrious; inspiring admiration; as, glorious deeds. [OF. glorios, glorious, F. glorieux, fr. L. gloriosus. See Glory, n.]
- hast
- , 2d pers. sing. pres. of. Fave, contr. of havest.
- sepulchre n.
- The place in which the dead body of a human being is interred, or a place set apart for that purpose; a grave; a tomb. [OE. sepulcre, OF. sepulcre, F. sépulcre, fr. L. sepulcrum, sepulchrum, fr. sepelire to bury.]
- mould n.
- Crumbling, soft, friable earth; esp., earth containing the remains or constituents of organic matter, and suited to the growth of plants; soil. [OE. molde, AS. molde; akin to D. mul, G. mull, mulm, OHG. molt, molta, Icel. mold, Dan. muld, Sw. mull, Goth. mulda, and E. meal flour. See Meal, and cf. Mole a]
- acclaim v. i.
- To shout applause.
- needs adv.
- Of necessity; necessarily; indispensably; -- often with must, and equivalent to of need. [Orig. gen. of need, used as an adverb. Cf. - wards.]
- columbia n.
- America; the United States; -- a poetical appellation given in honor of Columbus, the discoverer. Dr. T. Dwight.
- pharisaic a.
- Of or pertaining to the Pharisees; resembling the Pharisees. [L. Pharisaicus, Gr. pharisaïque. See Pharisee.]
- piddling a.
- Trifling; trivial; frivolous; paltry; -- applied to persons and things.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
To England at the Outbreak of the Balkan War is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems, Project Gutenberg ebook #617; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Alan Seeger, To England at the Outbreak of the Balkan War, in Poems (1916), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #617, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/seeger-poems/to-england-at-the-outbreak-of-the-balkan-war.html, id L12961.
Form and metre
To England at the Outbreak of the Balkan War is 28 lines in 2 stanzas of 14 lines each. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 84%). 95% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.0 syllables. 2 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 50% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
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 -AABBCCBDEFDEF o'er · aimsA · enflamesA · warB · goreB · distressC · righteousnessC · forB · sonsD · grimE · downedF · championsD · himE · groundF
- 2 ABBAACCADEFDFE fameA · blastB · overpastB · flameA · acclaimA · sideC · personifiedC · nameA · mostD · manE · criesF · hostD · eyesF · canE
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 |
|---|---|---|
| A cloud has lowered that shall not soon pass o'er. | 11 | ···/˘······ |
| The world takes sides: whether for impious aims | 11 | ·······˘/˘· |
| With Tyranny whose bloody toll enflames | 10 | ·/˘˘·/˘··· |
| A generous people to heroic war; | 10 | ·/˘/˘·˘/˘· |
| Whether with Freedom, stretched in her own gore, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Whose pleading hands and suppliant distress | 10 | ·/˘··/˘˘˘/ |
| Still offer hearts that thirst for Righteousness | 10 | ·/˘····/˘˘ |
| A glorious cause to strike or perish for. | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| England, which side is thine? Thou hast had sons | 10 | /˘········ |
| Would shrink not from the choice however grim, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Were Justice trampled on and Courage downed; | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| Which will they be--cravens or champions? | 10 | ····/˘·/˘˘ |
| Oh, if a doubt intrude, remember him | 10 | ····˘/˘/˘· |
| Whose death made Missolonghi holy ground. | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| I stood beside his sepulchre whose fame, | 9 | ··˘/····· |
| Hurled over Europe once on bolt and blast, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Now glows far off as storm-clouds overpast | 10 | ·········· |
| Glow in the sunset flushed with glorious flame. | 10 | ···/···/˘· |
| Has Nature marred his mould? Can Art acclaim | 10 | ·/˘·····˘/ |
| No hero now, no man with whom men side | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| As with their hearts' high needs personified? | 10 | ······˘/˘· |
| There are will say, One such our lips could name; | 10 | ······/··· |
| Columbia gave him birth. Him Genius most | 10 | ˘/˘····/˘· |
| Gifted to rule. Against the world's great man | 10 | /˘········ |
| Lift their low calumny and sneering cries | 10 | ···/˘˘·/˘· |
| The Pharisaic multitude, the host | 9 | ····/˘··· |
| Of piddling slanderers whose little eyes | 10 | ·/˘/˘˘·/˘· |
| Know not what greatness is and never can. | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
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.