The Eve Of Waterloo
- Lord Byron [1788- 1824]
Important points before reading the long answer :
- As this poem has significant historical reference , it is important to include the background of the poem and all the historical references written here.
- This answer is self sufficient to write in any type of question asked in the boards as all the major aspects have been included ( background , setting , theme , message , literary devices , etc)
- This answer if written word by word will cover 6 sides of ISC 2015 answer booklet , which is the upper limit of the length .If practiced , it can be finished in 30 mins .
- Do comment .Any suggestion would be valuable for others .
- LEARN THE QUOTES(in blue) BY HEART .
Long Answer-
"The Eve of waterloo" is an extract from Lord Byron's semi-autobiographical poem , Childe Harold's Pilgrimage , divided into four Cantos . "The Eve of Waterloo" is part of Canto III , stanzas XXI to XXVIII . It was composed during Byron's tour to Brussels in 1816 , after visiting the battlefield of Waterloo, a year after the historic battle in which the Duke of Wellington, Arthur Wellesley defeated his most famous French rival , Napolean and sent him on exile to Saint Helena.
"There was a sound of revelry by night ..."
"The Eve of waterloo" is a fine narrative poem , both exciting and pathetic. It describes a surprise attack on the British army by the French , when the soldiers and commanders of the former were enjoying themselves at the ball hosted by the Duchess of Richmond in brussels on June 15, 1815 , the night before the Battle of Quatre Bras . Thus, there was merry - making and enjoyment on one side of the night and the impending horrors of war on the other .
The opening stanza of the poem is a colourful presentation of romance and love. The 'sound of revelry' echoed in the large ball-room of Lady Charlotte's castle .
'And Belgium's capital had gathered then
Her Beauty and her Chivalry ' , a personification for the English officers and their fair dames, who were present their and were dancing to the tune of music . The room was resplendent with the glow of bright lamps and ‘...A thousand hearts beat happily.’ As the volume of music increased , the dancing couples exchanged loving glances. It was like a wedding ceremony with love in the air :
‘Music arose with its voluptuous swell ,
Soft eyes
looked love to eyes which spake again ,
And all
went merry as a marriage bell;’
As everybody was
enjoying themselves at the party , they suddenly heard the sound of a cannon
fire resembling the ‘deep sound’ of ‘ a
rising knell!’ But this made no impact on the young hearts . They ignore it
as if it were ‘the wind, Or the car
rattling o’er the stony streets’ . They ignore the warning even after
hearing the sound of enemy cannon. It seems that they have taken for granted
that the night og revelry would continue till morning. The poet beautifully
depicts the romantic attitude of the young hearts when he says:
‘...when
Youth and Pleasure meet
To chase
the glowing Hours with flying feet’
The poet wants to say
when Youth and Pleasure ( a
personification) meet , they seem to dance in such a way so as to chase the
hours with great speed of their dancing feet. That means when youth want to have
pleasure, time seems to fly.
But certainly the heavy
sound of cannons broke ‘in once more’ and this time ‘nearer, clearer, deadlier than before!’ The reality dawned on them
that their sworn enemy was advancing towards Brussels. They had to give up
their merry-making. The women bid farewell to the menfolk with tears in their
eyes and ‘choking sighs.’ Thus , the
night which was a short while ago full of love gave way to distress and sorrow
, with remote hopes of union .
‘If ever more should
meet those mutual eyes,
Since
upon night so sweet such awful morn could rise!’
All the people were
unaware of the impending danger looming over their lives , except one , the
Duke of Brunswick , Freaderick William, who
was ‘the first amidst the festival’ to
recognize the sound ‘and caught it’s
tone with Death’s prophetic ear.’ (personification and metaphor)
He knew the sound too
well because his father had been killed in such like scenario . He was
determined to revenge on Napolean . This spirit of vengeance could only be quietened
by shedding the blood of his enemies and so ‘He rushed into the field , and , foremost fighting, fell.’
Death of the duke of Brunswick
confirmed that it was not a joke but actual war. The wild and high notes of the
bag-pipes of the Cameron’s , as they played their war music , rose high above
all noise and puffed up the hearts of these Highlanders with courage and valour.
‘And wild and high the ‘Cameron’s Gathering’
rose!’
The last two stanzas of
the poem depict the change in scene from celebration and fun to battle and
death. The poem arouses the readers sympathy for the young soldiers , who had
to leave the charm of life to face the impending horrors of war. Byron
has criticized the old Latin saying, “Dulce Et Decorum Est Pro Patria Mori”
taking Wilfred Owen’s standpoint. It is depicted through the use of
pathetic fallacy (important to include
this figure of speech in your long answer)
‘And Ardennes waves above them her green leaves,
Dewy
with nature’s tear-drops ...’
As the English army made
their way through the forest of Ardennes, the leaves on the trees waved above
them as if to honour them and they shed their tears over the heroes who would
never return from the battlefield.
‘Over the unreturning brave,-alas!’
War results in tragic
consequences. The energy ‘of living
valour’ will be consummated in death through the agency of war.
In the last stanza, Lord
Byron gives an episodic description and the sequence which affected these brave
soldiers a day before the war. Just as they were passionate in dance and
merry-making; likewise they are now passionate when they got ready for the war
.
Once on the battlefield
the soldiers fought heroically for the sake of their country . In the end what
was left was a ghastly site:
‘.....heaped and pent,
Rider
and horse,-friend,foe-in one red burial blent!’ This means that the bodies of the soldiers and
their horses , bodies of friends and enemies – all lay buries in one heap,
covered with blood and soil. The poet is suggesting that in a war there is no
individual identity. Man and beast, friend and foes, all lie together as one
unrecognizable mass of blood and soil. One of the focal points of this staza is
- War divides mankind and death re-unites this
segregated human-kind.
‘The Eve of Waterloo’ is
written in Spensarian stazas with rhyming pattern ababbcbcc.The poem is narrative with elements of drama. It is a ‘purple
prose’ in Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage, Canto III. Figures of speech used by Lord
Byron are metaphor in ‘And caught
its tone with Death’s prophetic ear’ and ‘fiery mass of living valour’ ; Simile in ‘...trodden like the grass’; Personification in ‘Her Beauty and Her
Chivalry’ and ‘...when Youth and Pleasure meet.’ The poet makes use of alliteration to enhance the musical effect of the poem ‘nearer,clearer
, deadlier...’
Thus , through the poem ‘The Eve of Waterloo’,
Lord Byron is giving the message that no war of aggression could be justified.
When there is war, innocent citizens become numb with terror and their life
becomes a tragedy. Though the war begins with one man’s ambition, it ends with
destruction on both sides. Thus, Byron is hinting that there is no glory in war
but only death and destruction.
Some Powerful lines on which questions can be asked :
- The Eve of Waterloo is a poem of romance , love , heroism and pathos.Discuss.
- The poet has created an effect of shadowed unreality , which is constantly threatened by the fatal reality of war . Discuss.
- The Eve of Waterloo show the transience of human life and fickleness of fate.Discuss.
Compiled by - Anubhav Elhence
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