Recessional (A Victorian Ode) Analysis

God of our fathers, known of old --
  Lord of our far-flung battle line --
Beneath whose awful hand we hold
  Dominion over palm and pine --
Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet,
Lest we forget -- lest we forget!

The tumult and the shouting dies --
  The Captains and the Kings depart --
Still stands Thine ancient sacrifice,
  An humble and a contrite heart.
Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet,
Lest we forget -- lest we forget!

Far-called our navies melt away --
  On dune and headland sinks the fire --
Lo, all our pomp of yesterday
  Is one with Nineveh and Tyre!
Judge of the Nations, spare us yet,
Lest we forget -- lest we forget!

If, drunk with sight of power, we loose
  Wild tongues that have not Thee in awe --
Such boastings as the Gentiles use,
  Or lesser breeds without the Law --
Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet,
Lest we forget -- lest we forget!

For heathen heart that puts her trust
  In reeking tube and iron shard --
All valiant dust that builds on dust,
  And guarding calls not Thee to guard.
For frantic boast and foolish word,
Thy Mercy on Thy People, Lord!
                              Amen.


Anonymous Submission

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I disagree with the poster above. Although the poem -- a prayer, really -- invokes the aid of an Old Testament God in fighting foes, with the British as the peole of Abraham and Abraham's God ("Lord of our far-flung battle line... Lord of Hosts be with us yet"), and speaks with pride of the achievements of empire ("Dominion over palm and pine"), it does more.
It recognizes that, after all the noisy, wordly strivings of man, what remains is something quieter, yet more permanent ("Still stands Thine ancient sacrifice, An humble and a contrite heart"), echoing the lines in Isaiah and those in David that speak of humility and repentence. Then it recognizes that, like all the affairs of man, the British empire is a transitory thing, explicitly comparing it to the vanished glories of ancient Phoenicia and Assyria (and echoing Shelly's x our navies melt away --
On dune and headland sinks the fire --
Lo, all our pomp of yesterday
Is one with Nineveh and Tyre!
It then asks that God show forgiveness and mercy for the prideful vanities and follies of a (temporarily) ascendant people who place more reliance on temporary military advantage ("reeking tube and iron shard") than on God's protection. This is a very complex, nuanced poem.

| Posted on 2010-03-06 | by a guest

.: :.

The tumult and the shouting dies --
The Captains and the Kings depart --
Still stands Thine ancient sacrifice,
An humble and a contrite heart.
Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet,
Lest we forget -- lest we forget!

| Posted on 2009-09-11 | by a guest

.: :.

The piece is a hymn writin to god to help the english in india.

| Posted on 2009-04-06 | by a guest