Napoleon Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis

Rhyme Scheme: A BBCDCDEFFEBDDDDDDBD A DDDDDDDGDGDDHIDIJDED EKKDLMLDMDDDDDDNDDOD DNONLLD A DPDPDDDLOQODPLLLQDDL DLRBOBOLLLRLLLLLLNLN RRL O ODDODLDLDSLLLDSTLTDL DUDULLLLDDDDVVDWDDWX DXDDW O DDDRYRRRY DZDZDDA2B2D O DDDDODLLLOLLLDDLC2

IA
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Cannon his nameB
Cannon his voice he cameB
Who heard of him heard shaken hillsC
An earth at quake to quiet stampedD
Who looked on him beheld the will of willsC
The driver of wild flocks where lions rampedD
Beheld War's liveries flee him like lumped grassE
Nid nod to ground beneath the cuffing stormF
While laurelled over his Imperial formF
Forth from her bearded tube of lacquey brassE
Reverberant notes and long blew volant FameB
Incarnate Victory Power manifestD
Infernal or God given to mankindD
On the quenched volcano's cusp did he take standD
A conquering army's height above the landD
Which calls that army offspring of its breastD
And sees it mid the starry camps enshrinedD
His eye the cannon's flameB
The cannon's cave his mindD
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IIA
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To weld the nation in a name of dreadD
And scatter carrion flies off wounds unhealedD
The Necessitated came as comes from outD
Electric ebon lightning's javelin headD
Threatening agitation in the revealedD
Founts of our being terrible with doubtD
With radiance restorative At one strideD
Athwart the Law he stood for sovereign swayG
That Soliform made featureless besideD
His brilliancy who neighboured vapour theyG
Vapour what postured statues barred his treadD
On high in amphitheatre field on fieldD
Italian Egyptian AustrianH
Far heard and of the carnage discord clearI
Bells of his escalading triumphs pealedD
In crashes on a choral chant severeI
Heraldic of the authentic CharlemagneJ
Globe sceptre sword to enfold to rule to smiteD
Make unity of the massE
Coherent or refractory by his mightD
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Forth from her bearded tube of lacquey brassE
Fame blew and tuned the jangles bent the kneesK
Rebellious or submissive his decreesK
Were thunder in those heavens and compelledD
Such as disordered earth eclipsed of starsL
Endures for sign of Order's calm returnM
Whereunto she is vowed and his wreckage sparsL
His harried ships old riotous Ocean lifts alightD
Subdued to splendour in his delirant churnM
Glory suffused the accordant quelledD
By magic of high sovereignty revoltD
And he the reader of men himself unreadD
The name of hope the name of dreadD
Bloom of the coming years or blightD
An arm to hurl the boltD
With aim Olympian boreN
Likeness to Godhead Whither his flashes hiedD
Hosts fell what he constructed held rock fastD
So did earth's abjects deem of him that built and cloveO
Torch on imagination beams he castD
Whereat they hailed him deifiedD
If less than an eagle speeding Jove than Vulcan moreN
Or it might be a Vulcan JoveO
Europe for smithy Europe's floorN
Lurid with sparks in evanescent showersL
Loud echo clap of hammers at all hoursL
Our skies the reflex of its furnace blastD
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IIIA
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On him the long enchained releasedD
For bride of the miracle day up the midway blueP
She from her heavenly lover fallen to serve for feastD
Of rancours and raw hungers she the untrueP
Yet pitiable not despicable gazedD
Fawning her body bent she gazedD
With eyes the moonstone portals to her heartD
Eyes magnifying through hysteric tearsL
This apparition ghostly for beliefO
Demoniac or divine but soleQ
Over earth's mightiest written ChiefO
Earth's chosen crowned unchallengeable upstartD
The trumpet word to awake transform renewP
The arbiter of circumstanceL
High above limitations as the spheresL
Nor ever had heroical RomanceL
Never ensanguined History's lengthened scrollQ
Shown fulminant to shoot the levin dartD
Terrific as this man by whom upraisedD
Aggrandized and begemmed she outstripped her peersL
Like midnight's levying brazier beacon blazedD
Defiant to the world a rally for her sonsL
Day of the darkness this man's mate by himR
Cannon his nameB
Rescued from vivisectionist and knaveO
Her body's dominators and her shameB
By him with the rivers of ranked battalions braveO
Past mortal girt a march of swords and gunsL
Incessant his proved warriors loaded diceL
He flung on the crested board where chilly FearsL
Behold the Reaper's ground Death sitting grimR
Awatch for his predestined onesL
Mid shrieks and torrent hooves but theseL
Inebriate of his inevitable deviceL
Hail it their hero's wood of lustrous laurel treesL
Blossom and fruit of fresh HesperidesL
The boiling life blood in their cheersL
Unequalled since the world was man they pourN
A spiky girdle round her these her sonsL
His cataracts at smooth holiday soon to roarN
Obstruction shattered at his will or whimR
Kind to her ear as quiring CherubimR
And trampling earth like scornful mastodonsL
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IVO
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The flood that swept her to be slaveO
Adoring under thought of being his mateD
These were and unto the visibly unexcelledD
As much of heart as abjects can she gaveO
Or what of heart the body bears for freightD
When Majesty apparent overawesL
By the flash of his ascending deeds upheldD
Which let not feminine pride in him have pauseL
To question where the nobler pride rebelledD
She read the hieroglyphic on his browS
Felt his firm hand to wield the giant's maceL
Herself whirled upward in an eagle's clawsL
Past recollection of her earthly placeL
And if cold Reason pressed her called him FateD
Offering abashed the servile woman's vowS
Delirium was her virtue when the lookT
At fettered wrists and violated lawsL
Faith in a rectitude Supernal shookT
Till worship of him shone as her last rational stateD
The slave's apology for gemmed disgraceL
Far in her mind that leap from earth to the ghostD
Midway on high or felt as a troubled poolU
Or as a broken sleep that hunts a dream half lostD
Arrested and rebuked by the common schoolU
Of daily things for truancy She could rejoiceL
To know with wakeful eyeballs ViolenceL
Her crowned possessor and on every senseL
Incumbent Fact Imperial Fact her choiceL
In scorn of barren visions aims at a glassy voidD
Who sprang for Liberty once found slavery sweetD
And Tyranny on alert subservience buoyedD
Spurred a blood mare immeasureably fleetD
To shoot the transient leagues in a passing winkV
Prompt for the glorious bound at the fanged abyss's brinkV
Scarce felt she that she bled when battle scoredD
On riddled flags the further conjured lineW
From off the meteor gleam of his waved swordD
Reflected bright in permanence she bledD
As the Bacchante spills her challengeing wineW
With whirl o' the cup before the kiss to lipX
And bade drudge History in his footprints treadD
For pride of sword strokes o'er slow penmanshipX
Each step of his a volume his sharp wordD
The shower of steel and leadD
Or pastoral sunshineW
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VO
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Persistent through the brazen chorus roundD
His thunderous footsteps on the foeman's groundD
A broken carol of wild notes was heardD
As when an ailing infant wails a dreamR
Strange in familiarity it rangY
And now along the dark blue vault might seemR
Winged migratories having but heaven for homeR
Now the lone sea bird's cry down shocks of foamR
Beneath a ruthless paw the captive's pangY
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It sang the gift that comes from GodD
To mind of man as air to lungZ
So through her days of under sodD
Her faith unto her heart had sungZ
Like bedded seed by frozen clodD
With view of wide armed heaven and buds at burstD
And midway up Earth's fluttering little lyreA2
Even for a glimpse for even a hope in chained desireB2
The vision of it watered thirstD
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VIO
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But whom those errant moans accusedD
As Liberty's murderous mother cried accursedD
France blew to deafness for a space she musedD
She smoothed a startled look and soughtD
From treasuries of the adoring slaveO
Her surest way to strangle thoughtD
Picturing her dread lord decree advanceL
Into the enemy's land artillery bayonet lanceL
His ordering fingers point the dial's to time their ranksL
Himself the black storm cloud the tempest's bayonet glaiveO
Like foam heads of a loosened freshet bursting banksL
By mount and fort they thread to swamp the sluggard plainsL
Shines his gold laurel sun or cloak connivent rainsL
They press to where the hosts in line and square throng muteD
He watchful of their form the Audacious the AstuteD
Eagle to grip the field to work his craftiest foxL
From his brief signalC2

George Meredith



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