A Word For The Navy Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis

Rhyme Scheme: ABCBCDEFE AFGFGHFIF ADJDJDHBH BKBKFHIH FILILHMBM NONOP H OFOFOQHQ RHRHISIS OIQIQOHTH OHUHUBHTH OOHOHHHHH OVHVHOOHO

IA
Queen born of the sea that hast borne herB
The mightiest of seamen on earthC
Bright England whose glories adorn herB
And bid her rejoice in thy birthC
As others made mothersD
Rejoice in births sublimeE
She names thee she claims theeF
The lordliest child of timeE
-
IIA
All hers is the praise of thy storyF
All thine is the love of her choiceG
The light of her waves is thy gloryF
The sound of thy soul is her voiceG
They fear it who hear itH
And love not truth nor theeF
They sicken heart strickenI
Who see and would not seeF
-
IIIA
The lords of thy fate and thy keepersD
Whose charge is the strength of thy shipsJ
If now they be dreamers and sleepersD
Or sluggards with lies at their lipsJ
Thy haters and traitorsD
False friends or foes descriedH
Might scatter and shatterB
Too soon thy princely prideH
-
IV-
Dark Muscovy reptile in rancourB
Base Germany blatant in guileK
Lay wait for thee riding at anchorB
On waters that whisper and smileK
They deem thee or dream theeF
Less living now than deadH
Deep sunken and drunkenI
With sleep whence fear has fledH
-
VF
And what though thy song as thine actionI
Wax faint and thy place be not knownL
While faction is grappling with factionI
Twin curs with thy corpse for a boneL
They care not who spare notH
The noise of pens or throatsM
Who bluster and musterB
Blind ranks and bellowing votesM
-
VI-
Let populace jangle with peerageN
And ministers shuffle their mobsO
Mad pilots who reck not of steerageN
Though tempest ahead of them throbsO
That throbbing and sobbingP
Of wind and gradual wave-
They hear not and fear notH
Who guide thee toward thy grave-
-
VII-
No clamour of cries or of partiesO
Is worth but a whisper from theeF
While only the trust of thy heart isO
At one with the soul of the seaF
In justice her trust isO
Whose time her tidestreams keepQ
They sink not they shrink notH
Time casts them not on sleepQ
-
VIII-
Sleep thou for thy past was so royalR
Love hardly would bid thee take heedH
Were Russia not faithful and loyalR
Nor Germany guiltless of greedH
No nation in stationI
Of story less than thouS
Re risen from prisonI
Can stand against thee nowS
-
IXO
Sleep on is the time not a seasonI
For strong men to slumber and sleepQ
And wise men to palter with treasonI
And that they sow tares shall they reapQ
The wages of agesO
Wherein men smiled and sleptH
Fame fails them shame veils themT
Their record is not keptH
-
XO
Nay whence is it then that we know itH
What wages were theirs and what fameU
Deep voices of prophet and poetH
Bear record against them of shameU
Death starker and darkerB
Than seals the graveyard grateH
Entombs them and dooms themT
To darkness deep as fateH
-
XIO
But thou though the world should misdoubt theeO
Be strong as the seas at thy sideH
Bind on but thine armour about theeO
That girds thee with power and with prideH
Where Drake stood where Blake stoodH
Where fame sees Nelson standH
Stand thou too and now tooH
Take thou thy fate in handH
-
XIIO
At the gate of the sea in the gatewayV
They stood as the guards of thy gateH
Take now but thy strengths to thee straightwayV
Though late we will deem it not lateH
Thy story thy gloryO
The very soul of theeO
It rose not it grows notH
It comes not save by seaO

Algernon Charles Swinburne



Rate:
(1)



Poem topics: , Print This Poem , Rhyme Scheme

Submit Spanish Translation
Submit German Translation
Submit French Translation


Write your comment about A Word For The Navy poem by Algernon Charles Swinburne


 

Recent Interactions*

This poem was read 0 times,

This poem was added to the favorite list by 0 members,

This poem was voted by 0 members.

(* Interactions only in the last 7 days)

New Poems

Popular Poets