Peace-Hymn of the Republic
O Lord our God, Thy mighty handHath made our country free;From all her broad and happy landMay praise arise to Thee.Fulfill the promise of her youth,Her liberty defend;By law and order, love and truth,America befriend!
The strength of every State increaseIn Union's golden chain;Her thousand cities fill with peace,Her million fields with grain.The virtues of her mingled bloodIn one new people blend;By unity and brotherhood,America befriend!
O suffer not her feet to stray;But guide her untaught might,That she may walk in peaceful day,And lead the world in light.Bring down the proud, lift up the poor,Unequal ways amend;By justice, nation-wide and sure,America befriend!
Thro' all the waiting land proclaimThy gospel of good-will;And may the music of Thy nameIn every bosom thrill.O'er hill and vale, from sea to sea.Thy holy reign extend;By faith and hope and charity,America befriend!
Words in this poem
- fulfill v. t.
- To fill up; to make full or complete. [OE. fulfillen, fulfullen, AS. fulfyllan; ful full + fyllan to fill. See Full, a., and Fill, v. t.]
- befriend v. t.
- To act as a friend to; to favor; to aid, benefit, or countenance.
- vale n.
- A tract of low ground, or of land between hills; a valley. [OE. val, F. val, L. vallis; perhaps akin to Gr. Avalanche, Vail to lower, Valley.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Peace-Hymn of the Republic 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, Peace-Hymn of the Republic, in The Poems of Henry Van Dyke (1925), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #16229, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/van-dyke-poems/peace-hymn-of-the-republic.html, id L22924.
Form and metre
Peace-Hymn of the Republic is 32 lines in 4 stanzas of 8 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABABCDCD, complete in 3 of its 4 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 91%).
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 ABABCDCD handA · freeB · landA · theeB · youthC · defendD · truthC · befriendD
- 2 ABABCDCD increaseA · chainB · peaceA · grainB · bloodC · blendD · brotherhoodC · befriendD
- 3 ABABCDCD strayA · mightB · dayA · lightB · poorC · amendD · sureC · befriendD
- 4 ABAB-C-C proclaimA · willB · nameA · thrillB · sea · extendC · charity · befriendC
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 |
|---|---|---|
| O Lord our God, Thy mighty hand | 9 | ··/˘··/˘· |
| Hath made our country free; | 7 | ··/˘/˘· |
| From all her broad and happy land | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| May praise arise to Thee. | 6 | ··˘/·· |
| Fulfill the promise of her youth, | 8 | ˘/·/˘··· |
| Her liberty defend; | 6 | ·/˘˘˘/ |
| By law and order, love and truth, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| America befriend! | 6 | ˘/˘˘˘/ |
| The strength of every State increase | 9 | ···/˘˘·/· |
| In Union's golden chain; | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| Her thousand cities fill with peace, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| Her million fields with grain. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| The virtues of her mingled blood | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| In one new people blend; | 6 | ···/˘· |
| By unity and brotherhood, | 8 | ·/˘˘·/˘· |
| America befriend! | 6 | ˘/˘˘˘/ |
| O suffer not her feet to stray; | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| But guide her untaught might, | 6 | ······ |
| That she may walk in peaceful day, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And lead the world in light. | 6 | ······ |
| Bring down the proud, lift up the poor, | 8 | ········ |
| Unequal ways amend; | 6 | ˘/˘·˘/ |
| By justice, nation-wide and sure, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| America befriend! | 6 | ˘/˘˘˘/ |
| Thro' all the waiting land proclaim | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| Thy gospel of good-will; | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| And may the music of Thy name | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| In every bosom thrill. | 7 | ·/˘˘/˘· |
| O'er hill and vale, from sea to sea. | 8 | ········ |
| Thy holy reign extend; | 6 | ·/˘·˘/ |
| By faith and hope and charity, | 8 | ·····/˘˘ |
| America befriend! | 6 | ˘/˘˘˘/ |
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.