The poem ' Waterloo' by Lord Byron

 Poem

 WATERLOO

( The eve of Waterloo)

 BY LORD BYRON

(The battle of Waterloo occurred June 18, 1815)

There was a sound of revelry by night,

And Belgium’s capital had gathered then

Her beauty and her chivalry, and bright

The lamps shone o’er fair women and brave men.

A thousand hearts beat happily; and when

Music arose with its voluptuous swell,

Soft eyes looked love to eyes which spake again,

And all went merry as a marriage bell;

But hush! hark! a deep sound strikes like a rising knell.

Did ye not hear it?—No; ’twas but the wind,

Or the car rattling o’er the stony street:

On with the dance! let joy be unconfined;

No sleep till morn, when youth and pleasure meet

To chase the glowing hours with flying feet—

But, hark!—that heavy sound breaks in once more,

As if the clouds its echo would repeat

And nearer, clearer, deadlier than before!

Arm! arm! it is—it is the cannon’s opening roar.

Ah! then and there was hurrying to and fro,

And gathering tears, and tremblings of distress,

And cheeks all pale, which but an hour ago

Blush’d at the praise of their own loveliness;

And there were sudden partings, such as press

The life from out young hearts, and choking sighs

Which ne’er might be repeated: who could guess

If ever more should meet those mutual eyes,

Since upon night so sweet such awful morn could rise!

And there was mounting in hot haste: the steed,

The mustering squadron, and the clattering car

Went pouring forward with impetuous speed,

And swiftly forming in the ranks of war;

And the deep thunder, peal on peal afar;

And near, the beat of the alarming drum

Roused up the soldier ere the morning star;

While thronged the citizens with terror dumb,

Or whispering with white lips, “The foe! they come! they come!”

Last noon beheld them full of lusty life,

Last eve in Beauty’s circle proudly gay,

The midnight brought the signal sound of strife,

The morn the marshaling in arms,—the day

Battle’s magnificently stern array!

The thunder clouds close o’er it, which when rent

The earth is covered thick with other clay,

Which her own clay shall cover, heaped and pent,

Rider and horse—friend, foe—in one red burial blent.

The Eve of Waterloo Summary

‘The Eve of Waterloo’ by Lord Byron is a part of his long narrative poem “Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage” which consists of four cantos. The poem ‘The Eve of Waterloo’ forms part of the Canto III of the original poem. The poem expresses the disillusionment felt by the generation weary of the wars of post-Revolutionary and Napoleonic eras. At the same time, it harps on the constant juxtaposition of a real, tangible, material human life and its fickle-nature. It is full of excitement and pathos. The poem is sometimes anthologized as ‘On the Eve of Waterloo’.

‘The Eve of Waterloo’ relates the events that took place a night before the Battle of Quatre Bras fought near Brussels, capital of Belgium on June 16, 1815. This battle was a precursor to the Battle of Waterloo fought two days later.Three nights before the Battle of Waterloo, the Duchess of Richmond Lady Charlotte organised a ball and invited many officers of the English and Prussian armies. Among the invited was the Duke of Wellington Arthur Wellesley, the commander-in-chief of the English army. It was during this ball that he received a word from a messenger that Napoleon-led French army was advancing towards the city for a surprise attack. Unwilling to create any panic, the Duke managed to get the officers to their regiments without much noise and left for the field himself.

The English and the Prussian emerged victors of the war. The war marked the end of the all-conquering career of Napoleon and his subsequent capture and exile to St. Helena.

And, what is more, many soldiers from both the sides lost their lives in the fierce battle, making this life’s hopes and aspirations futile. The poem “The Eve of Waterloo” highlights how laughter, love and chivalry turn into tears and sighs and bravery in battle is reduced to a handful of dust. The poet here disapproves of any kind of war by depicting its dangerous consequences, though it is not an anti war poem in its typical sense. Presenting the fickle nature of life, as already mentioned, seems to be the main motive.

About the Author: Lord Byron

Lord George Gordon Byron was a British poet, politician and a leader of the Romantic Movement. He is a widely read poet due in his part to accept and reverse the gender stereotypes. He travelled extensively across Europe and later he even joined the Greek War of Independence where he died. His other well-known works include narrative poem like Don Juan, and the short lyric-poem “She Walks in Beauty”.

The Eve of Waterloo: Form and Structure

The poem is composed in Spenserian stanzas, named after Edmund Spenser. Here, the first eight lines are in iambic pentameter and the last line is in iambic hexameter. The rhyming scheme is ababbcbcc.

The poem, consisting of eight stanzas of nine lines each, is rather long. The language is crafty and elaborate in some places. The poet has used similes, metaphors, personifications, symbols and images quite often in the poem ‘The Eve of Waterloo’ announcing his artistic capacity.