The Freed Islands
A FEW brief years have passed awaySince Britain drove her million slavesBeneath the tropic's fiery rayGod willed their freedom; and to-dayLife blooms above those island graves!
He spoke! across the Carib Sea,We heard the clash of breaking chains,And felt the heart-throb of the free,The first, strong pulse of libertyWhich thrilled along the bondman's veins.
Though long delayed, and far, and slow,The Briton's triumph shall be oursWears slavery here a prouder browThan that which twelve short years agoScowled darkly from her island bowers?
Mighty alike for good or illWith mother-land, we fully shareThe Saxon strength, the nerve of steel,The tireless energy of will,The power to do, the pride to dare.
What she has done can we not do?Our hour and men are both at hand;The blast which Freedom's angel blewO'er her green islands, echoes throughEach valley of our forest land.
Hear it, old Europe! we have swornThe death of slavery. When it falls,Look to your vassals in their turn,Your poor dumb millions, crushed and worn,Your prisons and your palace walls!
O kingly mockers! scoffing showWhat deeds in Freedom's name we do;Yet know that every taunt ye throwAcross the waters, goads our slowProgression towards the right and true.
Not always shall your outraged poor,Appalled by democratic crime,Grind as their fathers ground before;The hour which sees our prison doorSwing wide shall be their triumph time.
On then, my brothers! every blowYe deal is felt the wide earth through;Whatever here uplifts the lowOr humbles Freedom's hateful foe,Blesses the Old World through the New.
Take heart! The promised hour draws near;I hear the downward beat of wings,And Freedom's trumpet sounding clear"Joy to the people! woe and fearTo new-world tyrants, old-world kings!"
Words in this poem
- drove n.
- A collection of cattle driven, or cattle collected for driving; a number of animals, as oxen, sheep, or swine, driven in a body. [AS. draf, fr. drifan to drive. See Drive.]
- spoke n.
- The radius or ray of a wheel; one of the small bars which are inserted in the hub, or nave, and which serve to support the rim or felly. [OE. spoke, spake, AS, spaca; akin to D. speek, LG. speke, OHG. speihha, G. speiche. sq. root170. Cf. Spike a nail.]
- 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.]
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
- humbles n.
- Entrails of a deer. Johnson. [See Nombles.]
- hateful a.
- Manifesting hate or hatred; malignant; malevolent.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Freed Islands is in the public domain. This text is taken from Anti-Slavery Poems and Songs of Labor and Reform, Complete Volume III of The Works of John Greenleaf Whittier, Project Gutenberg ebook #9580; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: John Greenleaf Whittier, The Freed Islands, in Anti-Slavery Poems and Songs of Labor and Reform (1865), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #9580, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/whittier-anti-slavery/the-freed-islands.html, id L24871.
Form and metre
The Freed Islands is 50 lines in 10 stanzas of 5 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABAAB, complete in 5 of its 10 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 90%).
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 ABAAB awayA · slavesB · rayA · dayA · gravesB
- 2 ABA-B seaA · chainsB · freeA · liberty · veinsB
- 3 AB-AB slowA · oursB · brow · agoA · bowersB
- 4 AB-AB illA · shareB · steel · willA · dareB
- 5 ABAAB doA · handB · blewA · throughA · landB
- 6 AB-AB swornA · fallsB · turn · wornA · wallsB
- 7 ABAAB showA · doB · throwA · slowA · trueB
- 8 -ABBA poor · crimeA · beforeB · doorB · timeA
- 9 ABAAB blowA · throughB · lowA · foeA · newB
- 10 ABAAB nearA · wingsB · clearA · fearA · kingsB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| A FEW brief years have passed away | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Since Britain drove her million slaves | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Beneath the tropic's fiery ray | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| God willed their freedom; and to-day | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Life blooms above those island graves! | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| He spoke! across the Carib Sea, | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
| We heard the clash of breaking chains, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And felt the heart-throb of the free, | 8 | ········ |
| The first, strong pulse of liberty | 8 | ·····/˘˘ |
| Which thrilled along the bondman's veins. | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| Though long delayed, and far, and slow, | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| The Briton's triumph shall be ours | 9 | ·/˘/˘··/˘ |
| Wears slavery here a prouder brow | 8 | ·/˘˘··/· |
| Than that which twelve short years ago | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Scowled darkly from her island bowers? | 9 | ·/˘··/˘/˘ |
| Mighty alike for good or ill | 8 | /˘˘/···· |
| With mother-land, we fully share | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| The Saxon strength, the nerve of steel, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| The tireless energy of will, | 8 | ·/˘/˘˘·· |
| The power to do, the pride to dare. | 8 | ·/······ |
| What she has done can we not do? | 8 | ········ |
| Our hour and men are both at hand; | 8 | //······ |
| The blast which Freedom's angel blew | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| O'er her green islands, echoes through | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Each valley of our forest land. | 8 | ·/˘·//˘· |
| Hear it, old Europe! we have sworn | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| The death of slavery. When it falls, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Look to your vassals in their turn, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Your poor dumb millions, crushed and worn, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Your prisons and your palace walls! | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| O kingly mockers! scoffing show | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| What deeds in Freedom's name we do; | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Yet know that every taunt ye throw | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Across the waters, goads our slow | 8 | ˘/·/˘·/· |
| Progression towards the right and true. | 8 | ˘/˘····· |
| Not always shall your outraged poor, | 8 | ·/···/·· |
| Appalled by democratic crime, | 8 | ˘/··˘/˘· |
| Grind as their fathers ground before; | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| The hour which sees our prison door | 8 | ·/··//˘· |
| Swing wide shall be their triumph time. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| On then, my brothers! every blow | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Ye deal is felt the wide earth through; | 8 | ········ |
| Whatever here uplifts the low | 8 | ·/˘·/˘·· |
| Or humbles Freedom's hateful foe, | 8 | ·/˘/˘/˘· |
| Blesses the Old World through the New. | 8 | /˘······ |
| Take heart! The promised hour draws near; | 8 | ···/˘/·· |
| I hear the downward beat of wings, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And Freedom's trumpet sounding clear | 8 | ·/˘/˘/˘· |
| "Joy to the people! woe and fear | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| To new-world tyrants, old-world kings!" | 8 | ···/˘··· |
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.