Victor Hugo
Heart of France for a hundred years,Passionate, sensitive, proud, and strong,Quick to throb with her hopes and fears,Fierce to flame with her sense of wrong!You, who hailed with a morning songDream-light gilding a throne of old:You, who turned when the dream grew cold,Singing still, to the light that shonePure from Liberty's ancient throne,Over the human throng!You, who dared in the dark eclipse,--When the pygmy heir of a giant nameDimmed the face of the land with shame,--Speak the truth with indignant lips,Call him little whom men called great,Scoff at him, scorn him, deny him,Point to the blood on his robe of state,Fling back his bribes and defy him!
You, who fronted the waves of fateAs you faced the sea from your island home,Exiled, yet with a soul elate,Sending songs o'er the rolling foam,Bidding the heart of man to waitFor the day when all should seeFloods of wrath from the frowning skiesFall on an Empire founded in lies,And France again be free!You, who came in the Terrible YearSwiftly back to your broken land,Now to your heart a thousand times more dear,--Prayed for her, sung to her, fought for her,Patiently, fervently wrought for her,Till once again,After the storm of fear and pain,High in the heavens the star of France stood clear!
You, who knew that a man must takeGood and ill with a steadfast soul,Holding fast, while the billows rollOver his head, to the things that makeLife worth living for great and small,Honour and pity and truth,The heart and the hope of youth,And the good God over all!You, to whom work was rest,Dauntless Toiler of the Sea,Following ever the joyful questOf beauty on the shores of old Romance,Bard of the poor of France,And warrior-priest of world-wide charity!You who loved little children bestOf all the poets that ever sung,Great heart, golden heart,Old, and yet ever young,Minstrel of liberty,Lover of all free, winged things,Now at last you are free,--Your soul has its wings!Heart of France for a hundred years,Floating far in the light that never fails you,Over the turmoil of mortal hopes and fearsVictor, forever victor, the whole world hails you!
Words in this poem
- throb v. i.
- To beat, or pulsate, with more than usual force or rapidity; to beat in consequence of agitation; to palpitate; -- said of the heart, pulse, etc. [OE. ; of uncertain origin; cf. Russ. trepete a trembling, and E. trepidation.]
- indignant a.
- Affected with indignation; wrathful; passionate; irate; feeling wrath, as when a person is exasperated by unworthy or unjust treatment, by a mean action, or by a degrading accusation. [L. indignans, -antis, p. pr. of indignari to be indignant, disdain. See Indign.]
- defy v. t.
- To renounce or dissolve all bonds of affiance, faith, or obligation with; to reject, refuse, or renounce. [F. défier, OF. deffier, desfier, LL. disfidare to disown faith or fidelity, to dissolve the bond of allegiance, as between the vassal and his lord; hence, to ch]
- elate a.
- Lifted up; raised; elevated. [L. elatus elevated, fig., elated, proud (the figure, perh., being borrowed from a prancing horse); e out + latus (used as p. p. of ferre to bear), for tlatus, a]
- patiently adv.
- In a patient manner.
- honour n.
- Esteem due or paid to worth; high estimation; respect; consideration; reverence; veneration; manifestation of respect or reverence. [OE. honor, honour, onour, onur, OF. honor, onor, honur, onur, honour, onour, F. honneur, fr. L. honor, honos.]
- dauntless a.
- Incapable of being daunted; undaunted; bold; fearless; intrepid.
- toiler n.
- One who toils, or labors painfully.
- turmoil v. t.
- To harass with commotion; to disquiet; to worry.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Victor Hugo 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, Victor Hugo, in The Poems of Henry Van Dyke (1925), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #16229, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/van-dyke-poems/victor-hugo.html, id L22962.
Form and metre
Victor Hugo is 61 lines in 3 stanzas. The metre is trochaic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 73%).
See other poems in trochaic 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 ABABBCCDDBEFFEGHGH yearsA · strongB · fearsA · wrongB · songB · oldC · coldC · shoneD · throneD · throngB · eclipseE · nameF · shameF · lipsE · greatG · himH · stateG · himH
- 2 ABABACDDCE-EFFGGE fateA · homeB · elateA · foamB · waitA · seeC · skiesD · liesD · freeC · yearE · land · dearE · herF · herF · againG · painG · clearE
- 3 ABBACDDCEFEGG-EH-H-IFIJKJK takeA · soulB · rollB · makeA · smallC · truthD · youthD · allC · restE · seaF · questE · romanceG · franceG · charity · bestE · sungH · heart · youngH · liberty · thingsI · freeF · wingsI · yearsJ · youK · fearsJ · youK
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 trochaic tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Heart of France for a hundred years, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Passionate, sensitive, proud, and strong, | 8 | /˘/˘˘··· |
| Quick to throb with her hopes and fears, | 8 | ········ |
| Fierce to flame with her sense of wrong! | 8 | ········ |
| You, who hailed with a morning song | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Dream-light gilding a throne of old: | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| You, who turned when the dream grew cold, | 8 | ········ |
| Singing still, to the light that shone | 8 | /˘······ |
| Pure from Liberty's ancient throne, | 8 | ··/˘˘/˘· |
| Over the human throng! | 6 | ···/˘· |
| You, who dared in the dark eclipse,-- | 8 | ······˘/ |
| When the pygmy heir of a giant name | 10 | ··/˘···/˘· |
| Dimmed the face of the land with shame,-- | 8 | ········ |
| Speak the truth with indignant lips, | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| Call him little whom men called great, | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| Scoff at him, scorn him, deny him, | 8 | ·····˘/· |
| Point to the blood on his robe of state, | 9 | ········· |
| Fling back his bribes and defy him! | 8 | ·····˘/· |
| You, who fronted the waves of fate | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| As you faced the sea from your island home, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Exiled, yet with a soul elate, | 8 | /·····˘/ |
| Sending songs o'er the rolling foam, | 8 | /˘···/˘· |
| Bidding the heart of man to wait | 8 | /˘······ |
| For the day when all should see | 7 | ······· |
| Floods of wrath from the frowning skies | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Fall on an Empire founded in lies, | 9 | ···/˘/˘·· |
| And France again be free! | 6 | ··˘/·· |
| You, who came in the Terrible Year | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Swiftly back to your broken land, | 8 | /˘···/˘· |
| Now to your heart a thousand times more dear,-- | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Prayed for her, sung to her, fought for her, | 9 | ········· |
| Patiently, fervently wrought for her, | 8 | /˘/˘˘··· |
| Till once again, | 4 | ··˘/ |
| After the storm of fear and pain, | 8 | ········ |
| High in the heavens the star of France stood clear! | 11 | ···/˘······ |
| You, who knew that a man must take | 8 | ········ |
| Good and ill with a steadfast soul, | 8 | ·····/·· |
| Holding fast, while the billows roll | 8 | /˘···/˘· |
| Over his head, to the things that make | 8 | ········ |
| Life worth living for great and small, | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| Honour and pity and truth, | 7 | /˘·/˘·· |
| The heart and the hope of youth, | 7 | ······· |
| And the good God over all! | 7 | ······· |
| You, to whom work was rest, | 6 | ······ |
| Dauntless Toiler of the Sea, | 7 | /˘/˘··· |
| Following ever the joyful quest | 8 | /˘˘/·/˘· |
| Of beauty on the shores of old Romance, | 10 | ·/˘·····˘/ |
| Bard of the poor of France, | 6 | ······ |
| And warrior-priest of world-wide charity! | 9 | ·/˘····/˘ |
| You who loved little children best | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Of all the poets that ever sung, | 8 | ···/˘·/· |
| Great heart, golden heart, | 5 | ··/˘· |
| Old, and yet ever young, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Minstrel of liberty, | 6 | /˘·/˘˘ |
| Lover of all free, winged things, | 8 | /˘····˘· |
| Now at last you are free,-- | 6 | ······ |
| Your soul has its wings! | 5 | ····· |
| Heart of France for a hundred years, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Floating far in the light that never fails you, | 10 | /˘·····/·· |
| Over the turmoil of mortal hopes and fears | 10 | ··/··/˘··· |
| Victor, forever victor, the whole world hails you! | 12 | /˘˘/˘/˘····· |
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.