This I beheld, or dreamed it in a dream:—
There spread a cloud of dust along a plain;
And underneath the cloud, or in it, raged
A furious battle, and men yelled, and swords
Shocked upon swords and shields. A prince's banner
Wavered, then staggered backward, hemmed by foes.
A craven hung along the battle's edge,
And thought, "Had I a sword of keener steel—
That blue blade that the king's son bears,— but this
Blunt thing—!" He snapped and flung it from his hand,
And lowering crept away and left the field.
Then came the king's son, wounded sore bested,
And weaponless, and saw the broken sword
Hilt-buried in the dry and trodden sand,
And ran and snatched it, and with battle-shout
Lifted afresh he hewed his enemy down
And saved a great cause that heroic day.
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From guest Julie (contact)
I don't get this poem. I have to write an essay on this and i have no idea wat he's talking about. can someone plz explain to me wat is going on? -
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To me this is an extension of the old saying "A poor workman blames his tools".
On the one side is the coward who seeks a reason for running to safety and uses the poor quality of his sword (compared to the princely blade).
On the other is the heroic princeling who, though almost beaten and disarmed and with every reason to run, siezes on that same sword and uses it to turn back and win the day.
Another saying might be "It's what you do with what you've got that counts"
The poem is a typical product of the times when stories were supposed to have uplifting moral values.
Jim
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I LOVE this poem!!! It, actually, is the first poem I "had to" memorise in school. I still know it verbatim altough quite a few years have passed since. It talks about siezing the "opportunity" - what may seem like crap to others you may take & make golden. It just depends on your perspective. For instance: I was handed this particular position at a clothing line which was mediocre at best & not necessarily where I wanted to work. But, as I was unemployed at the time, I thought I would take it & stay there until I found something better. Well, after working there for a few months, I realized that it was a great "opportunity" to turn the company into something MORE than mediocre... suffice it to say, I've been with the very same company for over 5 years now, & it's turned into quite a success! It's all in your perspective.
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this is cool. the coward (or craven- I actually looked it up!) procrastinates and doesn't use the weapon to fight even though it is fit for a prince- did I get that right? I think so... not sure, though. Anyway, great story, poem, thing.
Jen
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