Adieu to a Soldier
Adieu O soldier,You of the rude campaigning, (which we shared,)The rapid march, the life of the camp,The hot contention of opposing fronts, the long manœuvre,Red battles with their slaughter, the stimulus, the strong terrific game,Spell of all brave and manly hearts, the trains of time through youand like of you all fill’d,With war and war’s expression.
Adieu dear comrade,Your mission is fulfill’d--but I, more warlike,Myself and this contentious soul of mine,Still on our own campaigning bound,Through untried roads with ambushes opponents lined,Through many a sharp defeat and many a crisis, often baffled,Here marching, ever marching on, a war fight out--aye here,To fiercer, weightier battles give expression.
Words in this poem
- defeat v. t.
- To undo; to disfigure; to destroy. [From F. défait, OF. desfait, p. p. ofe défaire, OF. desfaire, to undo; L. dis- + facere to do. See Feat, Fact, and cf. Disfashion.]
- crisis n.
- The point of time when it is to be decided whether any affair or course of action must go on, or be modified or terminate; the decisive moment; the turning point. [L. crisis, Gr. Certain.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Adieu to a Soldier is in the public domain. This text is taken from Leaves of Grass, Project Gutenberg ebook #1322; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Walt Whitman, Adieu to a Soldier, in Leaves of Grass (1855–1892), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #1322, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/whitman-leaves/adieu-to-a-soldier.html, id L03973.
Form and metre
Adieu to a Soldier is 16 lines in 2 verse paragraphs. It is unrhymed, as far as the pronouncing dictionary can tell. 92% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.7 syllables. 4 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 6% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
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.
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. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Adieu O soldier, | 5 | ˘/·/˘ |
| You of the rude campaigning, (which we shared,) | 10 | ····˘/˘··· |
| The rapid march, the life of the camp, | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| The hot contention of opposing fronts, the long manœuvre, | 14 | ··˘/˘·˘/˘····· |
| Red battles with their slaughter, the stimulus, the strong terrific game, | 17 | ·/˘··/˘·/˘˘··˘/˘· |
| Spell of all brave and manly hearts, the trains of time through you | 14 | ·····/˘······· |
| and like of you all fill’d, | 6 | ······ |
| With war and war’s expression. | 7 | ····˘/˘ |
| Adieu dear comrade, | 5 | ˘/·/· |
| Your mission is fulfill’d--but I, more warlike, | 11 | ·/˘·˘/···/· |
| Myself and this contentious soul of mine, | 10 | ·/··˘/˘··· |
| Still on our own campaigning bound, | 9 | ··/˘·˘/˘· |
| Through untried roads with ambushes opponents lined, | 12 | ·˘/··/˘˘˘/˘· |
| Through many a sharp defeat and many a crisis, often baffled, | 17 | ·/˘··˘/·/˘·/˘/˘/˘ |
| Here marching, ever marching on, a war fight out--aye here, | 14 | ·/˘/˘/˘······· |
| To fiercer, weightier battles give expression. | 11 | ·/˘··/˘·˘/˘ |
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