Classic and Contemporary Poetry
A BALLAD OF A SHIELD, by COSMO MONKHOUSE Poet's Biography First Line: It was all of a shield on a tree Last Line: They loved one another and died. Alternate Author Name(s): Monkhouse, William Cosmo Subject(s): Duels; Shields | ||||||||
It was all of a shield on a tree, Hung high so that passers might see; From the South it shone forth Like gold; from the North It was silver as silver could be. And this is the tale that it told Of a fight that was foughten of old By Sir Hugh, who had seen But its silvery sheen, And sir Arthur, who swore it was gold. They met with their lances in rest, And a shock that had shaken the best. Sir Arthur was sound As he leapt from the ground, But Sir Hugh had a dint in the breast. Then neither spake ever a word, But out from the scabbard the sword; And the blade of Sir Hugh Found a little way through, And Sir Arthur was down on the sward. Sir Arthur declared it was well, But a pang, like a torture of hell, Smit Sir Hugh at the sight Of the blood-dappled knight, And then he, too, staggered and fell. But now, in the fight they had crost, And they looked through the boughs as they tost, When gold on the blue Was the shield to Sir Hugh, To Sir Arthur as silver as frost. Then neither could speak if he tried, But each stretched an arm from his side, -- With a smile on the lip, And the ghost of a grip, They loved one another and died. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE SHIELD OF ACHILLES by WYSTAN HUGH AUDEN THE POET'S SHIELD by ARCHILOCHUS THREE FUNCTIONS OF IRONY by THOMAS MCGRATH THAT GOOD SHIELD I THREW AWAY by ARCHILOCHUS SHIELD OF ACHILLES by WYSTAN HUGH AUDEN ILIAD: ACHILLES' SHIELD (PARTIAL TRANSLATION OF BOOK 8 IN 1598) by HOMER ILIAD: BOOK 18. THE SHIELD OF ACHILLES by HOMER SWIFTNESS WITH WHICH THOSE CITIES FELL: 5. THE HUMAN SHIELD by DENNIS NURKSE A DEAD MARCH by COSMO MONKHOUSE |
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