The Name of France
Give us a name to fill the mindWith the shining thoughts that lead mankind,The glory of learning, the joy of art,--A name that tells of a splendid partIn the long, long toil and the strenuous fightOf the human race to win its wayFrom the feudal darkness into the dayOf Freedom, Brotherhood, Equal Right,--A name like a star, a name of light.I give you France!
Give us a name to stir the bloodWith a warmer glow and a swifter flood,At the touch of a courage that conquers fear,--A name like the sound of a trumpet, clear,And silver-sweet, and iron-strong,That calls three million men to their feet,Ready to march, and steady to meetThe foes who threaten that name with wrong,--A name that rings like a battle-song.I give you France!
Give us a name to move the heartWith the strength that noble griefs impart,A name that speaks of the blood outpouredTo save mankind from the sway of the sword,--A name that calls on the world to shareIn the burden of sacrificial strifeWhen the cause at stake is the world's free lifeAnd the rule of the people everywhere,--A name like a vow, a name like a prayer.I give you France!
Words in this poem
- strenuous a.
- Eagerly pressing or urgent; zealous; ardent; earnest; bold; valiant; intrepid; as, a strenuous advocate for national rights; a strenuous reformer; a strenuous defender of his country.
- swifter v. t.
- To tighten, as slack standing rigging, by bringing the opposite shrouds nearer.
- sacrificial a.
- Of or pertaining to sacrifice or sacrifices; consisting in sacrifice; performing sacrifice.
- strife n.
- The act of striving; earnest endeavor. [OF. estrif. See Strive.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Name of France 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, The Name of France, in The Poems of Henry Van Dyke (1925), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #16229, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/van-dyke-poems/the-name-of-france.html, id L22935.
Form and metre
The Name of France is 30 lines in 3 stanzas of 10 lines each. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 78%).
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 AABBCDDCC- mindA · mankindA · artB · partB · fightC · wayD · dayD · rightC · lightC · france
- 2 AABBCDDCC- bloodA · floodA · fearB · clearB · strongC · feetD · meetD · wrongC · songC · france
- 3 AABBCDDCC- heartA · impartA · outpouredB · swordB · shareC · strifeD · lifeD · everywhereC · prayerC · france
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Give us a name to fill the mind | 8 | ········ |
| With the shining thoughts that lead mankind, | 9 | ··/˘···// |
| The glory of learning, the joy of art,-- | 10 | ·/˘·/˘···· |
| A name that tells of a splendid part | 9 | ······/˘· |
| In the long, long toil and the strenuous fight | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Of the human race to win its way | 9 | ··/˘····· |
| From the feudal darkness into the day | 10 | ··/˘/˘···· |
| Of Freedom, Brotherhood, Equal Right,-- | 9 | ·/˘/˘·/˘· |
| A name like a star, a name of light. | 9 | ········· |
| I give you France! | 4 | ···· |
| Give us a name to stir the blood | 8 | ········ |
| With a warmer glow and a swifter flood, | 10 | ··/˘···/˘· |
| At the touch of a courage that conquers fear,-- | 11 | ·····/˘·/˘· |
| A name like the sound of a trumpet, clear, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| And silver-sweet, and iron-strong, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| That calls three million men to their feet, | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| Ready to march, and steady to meet | 9 | /˘···/˘·· |
| The foes who threaten that name with wrong,-- | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| A name that rings like a battle-song. | 9 | ······/˘· |
| I give you France! | 4 | ···· |
| Give us a name to move the heart | 8 | ········ |
| With the strength that noble griefs impart, | 9 | ····/˘·˘/ |
| A name that speaks of the blood outpoured | 10 | ········/˘ |
| To save mankind from the sway of the sword,-- | 10 | ··//······ |
| A name that calls on the world to share | 9 | ········· |
| In the burden of sacrificial strife | 10 | ··/˘··˘/˘· |
| When the cause at stake is the world's free life | 10 | ·········· |
| And the rule of the people everywhere,-- | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| A name like a vow, a name like a prayer. | 10 | ·········· |
| I give you France! | 4 | ···· |
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.