In Memoriam
Soul of a soldier in a poet's frame,Heart of a hero in a body frail;Thine was the courage clear that did not quailBefore the giant champions of shameWho wrought dishonour to the city's name;And thine the vision of the Holy GrailOf Love, revealed through Music's lucid veil,Filling thy life with heavenly song and flame.
Pure was the light that lit thy glowing eye,And strong the faith that held thy simple creed.Ah, poet, patriot, friend, to serve our needThou leavest two great gifts that will not die:Above the city's noise, thy lyric cry,--Amid the city's strife, thy noble deed.
Words in this poem
- dishonour n.
- Lack of honor; disgrace; ignominy; shame; reproach. [OE. deshonour, dishonour, OF. deshonor, deshonur, F. déshonneur; pref. des- (L. dis-) + honor, honur, F. honneur, fr. L. honor. See Honor.]
- 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]
- strife n.
- The act of striving; earnest endeavor. [OF. estrif. See Strive.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
In Memoriam is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Poems of Henry Van Dyke, Project Gutenberg ebook #16229; 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 Van Dyke, In Memoriam, in The Poems of Henry Van Dyke (1925), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #16229, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/van-dyke-poems/in-memoriam-2.html, id L22967.
Form and metre
In Memoriam is 14 lines in 2 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 90%).
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 ABBAABBA frameA · frailB · quailB · shameA · nameA · grailB · veilB · flameA
- 2 ABBAAB eyeA · creedB · needB · dieA · cryA · deedB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Soul of a soldier in a poet's frame, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Heart of a hero in a body frail; | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Thine was the courage clear that did not quail | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Before the giant champions of shame | 10 | ···/˘/˘˘·· |
| Who wrought dishonour to the city's name; | 10 | ··˘/˘··/˘· |
| And thine the vision of the Holy Grail | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Of Love, revealed through Music's lucid veil, | 10 | ··˘/·/˘/˘· |
| Filling thy life with heavenly song and flame. | 10 | /˘···/˘··· |
| Pure was the light that lit thy glowing eye, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| And strong the faith that held thy simple creed. | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Ah, poet, patriot, friend, to serve our need | 10 | ·/˘/˘···/· |
| Thou leavest two great gifts that will not die: | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Above the city's noise, thy lyric cry,-- | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Amid the city's strife, thy noble deed. | 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.