Poetry Analysis of Concord Hymn by Ralph Waldo Emerson

By the rude bridge that arched the flood,
Their flag to April's breeze unfurled,
Here once the embattled farmers stood,
And fired the shot heard round the world,

The foe long since in silence slept,
Alike the Conqueror silent sleeps,
And Time the ruined bridge has swept
Down the dark stream which seaward creeps.

On this green bank, by this soft stream,
We set today a votive stone,
That memory may their deed redeem,
When like our sires our sons are gone.

Spirit! who made those freemen dare
To die, or leave their children free,
Bid time and nature gently spare
The shaft we raise to them and Thee.

In 1837, 62 years after the first official clash between British and American forces during the Revolutionary War, a stone obelisk was erected on the spot near Concord, Massachusetts, where the North Bridge stood over the Concord River, the very same spot where stoic Minutemen faced down regulars of the British Army. English troops had been dispatched from Boston, and ordered to confiscate ammunition hidden by the rebellious Colonials. From April 18 to 19, the British retreated east, back towards Boston, after encountering much stronger American resistance than they had believed possible. The English lost a few hundred men, the Americans perhaps half as many, but the lines had been drawn. Sung at the dedication of the aforementioned obelisk was a poem written by Ralph Waldo Emerson, "The Concord Hymn." Although the volume of his poetry is not inconsiderable, Emerson established his reputation first and foremost as an essayist, but, as this piece demonstrates, he was a versatile and talented writer.

By a "rude" bridge in line 1, Emerson means one that was very basic, very simply constructed, obviously not a bridge that was lacking in proper etiquette. The skirmish occurred in April of 1775, when the flood waters of the Concord River were at their height, hence the significance of the phrase "that arched the flood." The reader or listener gets the accurate image of an arched wooden bridge spanning the river. According to contemporary reports by both the British and the American troops involved, the Colonists had no flags that they "unfurled" (Wikimedia); this is simply poetic license on Emerson's part. "Embattled farmers" these men were, belonging to a local militia, which consisted of townsfolk not part of any regular army. While no one knows to this day which side actually fired "the shot heard round the world," this volley indeed had global repercussions, causing the British to wonder seriously about the future of their vast empire, and eventually influencing the revolution in France.

The first two lines of the second stanza merely state that participants on both sides of the battle are long deceased, sleep being a common metaphor for death. The North Bridge, too, is "dead," but a replacement structure has since been constructed at the site, now located in Minuteman Park. The "dark stream which seaward creeps" refers to the Concord River, but on another level, is likely a metaphor for the passing of time.

The "votive stone" in the third stanza is the obelisk. When most people hear "votive" they think of a candle, but "votive" is an adjective meaning "in commemoration of" or "in memory of." Thus, the phrase fits perfectly. Many years later a Minuteman statue was added, and Emerson's poem inscribed on a plaque at the base. The sculptor for the Minuteman was Daniel Chester French, best-known for the immense, seated statue of the 16th president inside the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.

Whether the different versions of this poem are due to Emerson's capriciousness or errors in reproduction is unclear, but a comparison of poems culled from four different sources -two from the Internet and two from book anthologies- show discrepancies in lines 13 and 14. In one instance, the word "spirit" in line 13 is replaced with "O Thou," and in the other instances, "freemen" becomes "spirits" or "heroes" "Or" in line 14 is sometimes "and."

The brevity of this poem, coupled with the strong, patriotic sentiments it embodies, contributes to its enduring popularity. The language is neither erudite nor too simplistic, but an effective vehicle for conveying the lofty ideals to which it aspires. The meter fluctuates slightly in some lines, but this does not break the overall rhythm and pace of the poem, except perhaps in the case of line 3, which would fit better by omitting the word "the," making it "Where once embattled farmers stood." The first and third and second and fourth lines rhyme with one another, though Emerson relies on near rhyme in stanzas 1 and 3, with "flood/stood" and "stone/gone."

Sources

Emerson, Ralph Waldo. "The Concord Hymn." Emerson Central. 9 July 2008. Ed. Jone
Johnson Lewis. 9 July 2008. .

Emerson, Ralph Waldo. "The Concord Hymn." National Park Service. Ed. Jessica T.
Liptak. 8 July 2008. .

"Battles of Lexington and Concord." Wikipedia. 4 July 2008. Wikimedia Foundation,
Inc. 7 July 2008. .

Emerson, Ralph Waldo. "The Concord Hymn." 101 Best-Loved Poems. Ed. Roy J. Cook.
New York: McGraw-Hill, 1958. 134.

Baym, Nina et al, eds. The Norton Anthology of American Literature. 1979. 2nd ed., vol.
1. New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 1985. 819-823, 975-976.