The Two Armies
Two armies stand enrolled beneathThe banner with the starry wreath;One, facing battle, blight and blast,Through twice a hundred fields has passed;Its deeds against a ruffian foe,Stream, valley, hill, and mountain know,Till every wind that sweeps the landGoes, glory laden, from the strand.
The other, with a narrower scope,Yet led by not less grand a hope,Hath won, perhaps, as proud a place,And wears its fame with meeker grace.Wives march beneath its glittering sign,Fond mothers swell the lovely line,And many a sweetheart hides her blushIn the young patriot's generous flush.
No breeze of battle ever fannedThe colors of that tender band;Its office is beside the bed,Where throbs some sick or wounded head.It does not court the soldier's tomb,But plies the needle and the loom;And, by a thousand peaceful deeds,Supplies a struggling nation's needs.
Nor is that army's gentle mightUnfelt amid the deadly fight;It nerves the son's, the husband's hand,It points the lover's fearless brand;It thrills the languid, warms the cold,Gives even new courage to the bold;And sometimes lifts the veriest clodTo its own lofty trust in God.
When Heaven shall blow the trump of peace,And bid this weary warfare cease,Their several missions nobly done,The triumph grasped, and freedom won,Both armies, from their toils at rest,Alike may claim the victor's crest,But each shall see its dearest prizeGleam softly from the other's eyes.
Words in this poem
- starry a.
- Abounding with stars; adorned with stars.
- 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.]
- needs adv.
- Of necessity; necessarily; indispensably; -- often with must, and equivalent to of need. [Orig. gen. of need, used as an adverb. Cf. - wards.]
- 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]
- clod n.
- A lump or mass, especially of earth, turf, or clay. [OE. clodde, latter form of clot. See Clot.]
- 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,]
- nobly adv.
- Of noble extraction; as, nobly born or descended.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Two Armies is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems of Henry Timrod; with Memoir, Project Gutenberg ebook #845; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Henry Timrod, The Two Armies, in Poems (1860–1867), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #845, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/timrod-poems/the-two-armies.html, id L10517.
Form and metre
The Two Armies is 40 lines in 5 stanzas of 8 lines each. Every stanza rhymes AABBCCDD. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 92%). 91% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.3 syllables. 2 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 18% 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 AABBCCDD beneathA · wreathA · blastB · passedB · foeC · knowC · landD · strandD
- 2 AABBCCDD scopeA · hopeA · placeB · graceB · signC · lineC · blushD · flushD
- 3 AABBCCDD fannedA · bandA · bedB · headB · tombC · loomC · deedsD · needsD
- 4 AABBCCDD mightA · fightA · handB · brandB · coldC · boldC · clodD · godD
- 5 AABBCCDD peaceA · ceaseA · doneB · wonB · restC · crestC · prizeD · eyesD
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Two armies stand enrolled beneath | 9 | ·/˘·˘/˘·· |
| The banner with the starry wreath; | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| One, facing battle, blight and blast, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| Through twice a hundred fields has passed; | 10 | ···/˘˘···˘ |
| Its deeds against a ruffian foe, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Stream, valley, hill, and mountain know, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Till every wind that sweeps the land | 9 | ·/˘˘····· |
| Goes, glory laden, from the strand. | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| The other, with a narrower scope, | 9 | ·/˘··/˘˘· |
| Yet led by not less grand a hope, | 8 | ········ |
| Hath won, perhaps, as proud a place, | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| And wears its fame with meeker grace. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Wives march beneath its glittering sign, | 9 | ·····/˘˘· |
| Fond mothers swell the lovely line, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| And many a sweetheart hides her blush | 9 | ·/˘·/···· |
| In the young patriot's generous flush. | 10 | ···/˘˘/˘˘· |
| No breeze of battle ever fanned | 9 | ···/˘/˘·˘ |
| The colors of that tender band; | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Its office is beside the bed, | 8 | ·/˘·˘/·· |
| Where throbs some sick or wounded head. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| It does not court the soldier's tomb, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| But plies the needle and the loom; | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And, by a thousand peaceful deeds, | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Supplies a struggling nation's needs. | 9 | ˘/·/˘˘/˘· |
| Nor is that army's gentle might | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Unfelt amid the deadly fight; | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
| It nerves the son's, the husband's hand, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| It points the lover's fearless brand; | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| It thrills the languid, warms the cold, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Gives even new courage to the bold; | 9 | ·/˘·/˘··· |
| And sometimes lifts the veriest clod | 8 | ·˘/····· |
| To its own lofty trust in God. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| When Heaven shall blow the trump of peace, | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| And bid this weary warfare cease, | 8 | ···/˘/·· |
| Their several missions nobly done, | 8 | ·/˘/˘/˘· |
| The triumph grasped, and freedom won, | 9 | ·/˘·˘·/˘· |
| Both armies, from their toils at rest, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Alike may claim the victor's crest, | 8 | ˘/···/˘· |
| But each shall see its dearest prize | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Gleam softly from the other's eyes. | 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.