Classic and Contemporary Poetry
HAWKE, by HENRY JOHN NEWBOLT Poet Analysis Poet's Biography First Line: In seventeen hundred and fifty-nine Last Line: When hawke came swooping from the west. Subject(s): Hawke, Edward. 1st Baron (1705-1781) | ||||||||
IN seventeen hundred and fifty-nine, When Hawke came swooping from the West, The French King's Admiral with twenty of the line, Was sailing forth, to sack us, out of Brest. The ports of France were crowded, the quays of France a-hum With thirty thousand soldiers marching to the drum, For bragging time was over and fighting time was come When Hawke came swooping from the West. 'Twas long past noon of a wild November day When Hawke came swooping from the West; He heard the breakers thundering in Quiberon Bay But he flew the flag for battle, line abreast. Down upon the quicksands roaring out of sight Fiercely beat the storm-wind, darkly fell the night, But they took the foe for pilot and the cannon's glare for light When Hawke came swooping from the West. The Frenchmen turned like a covey down the wind When Hawke came swooping from the West; One he sank with all hands, one he caught and pinned, And the shallows and the storm took the rest. The guns that should have conquered us they rusted on the shore, The men that would have mastered us they drummed and marched no more, For England was England, and a mighty brood she bore When Hawke came swooping from the West. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...DRAKE'S DRUM by HENRY JOHN NEWBOLT HE FELL AMONG THIEVES by HENRY JOHN NEWBOLT MESSMATES by HENRY JOHN NEWBOLT VITAI LAMPADA by HENRY JOHN NEWBOLT A BALLAD OF JOHN NICHOLSON by HENRY JOHN NEWBOLT A LETTER FROM THE FRONT by HENRY JOHN NEWBOLT A SONG OF EXMOOR by HENRY JOHN NEWBOLT ADMIRAL DEATH by HENRY JOHN NEWBOLT |
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