In the first stanza of “The Star-Spangled Banner”, Francis Scott Key addresses the beauty of the American flag as it was waving at the dawn after the Battle of Baltimore. As he stood on the deck of a ship, Key waited to see if the American’s would emerge victoriously through the night. At dawn, the United States (U.S.) raised its flag to display its victory. The first stanza serves as a depiction of the joy Key feels through the description of the flag as it is an embodiment of his emotions, “O say can you see, by the dawn’s early light/What so proudly we hailed at the twilight’s last gleaming. /Whose broad stripes and bright/stars through the perilous fight” (Key). Key describes the strength and beauty of the flag in a proud manner that relates to his now strong patriotic feelings after witnessing the battle. …show more content…
The second stanza depicts the viewership of the American flag.
He first establishes that all can see the flag, especially the enemy, “Where the foe’s haughty host in dread silence reposes” (Key). The next lines of the poem show that not only can the flag be seen, but it waves in the glory of the morning, “Now it catches the gleam of the morning’s first beam, / In full glory reflected now shines in the stream” (Key). This stanza displays that the flag has been raised on a morning that complements its greatness and all can see it.
The third stanza of “The Star-Spangled Banner” serves to display the follies of the British. Key begins by stating that the British were overly confident in their belief that they would win the war, “And where is that band who vauntingly swore” (Key). He then goes on to describe how the British corrupted the U.S. soil, but American victory has washed away all of their destruction, “Their blood has wash’d out their foul footstep’s pollution” (Key). The third stanza serves to show that regardless of what the British have done, the Americans will emerge in
triumph. The final stanza states that the people of the U.S. will always protect their freedom. Key claims that the U.S. has been saved by the men who guarded its freedom, “Blest with vict’ry and peace may the heav’n resuced land/ Praise the power that hath made and preserv’d us a nation!” (Key). This stanza establishes the ideal of American freedom as the foundation of the U.S. and the need for its protection. After reading about the context of “The Star-Spangled Banner” my appreciation for the poem has changed. Before actually reading “The Star-Spangled Banner” I had not paid attention to the lines of the poem itself. I now see that the poem expresses the joy and patriotic attitude one has for the U.S. It is through studying the context of the poem that my appreciation has grown as it highlights a great moment in American history. The pride for the nation that Key felt would be a feeling that continuously occurred throughout U.S. history which is why “The Star-Spangled Banner” remains today.
This essay is anchored on the goal of looking closer and scrutinizing the said poem. It is divided into subheadings for the discussion of the analysis of each of the poem’s stanzas.
“Land of the free and the home of the brave.” This line has represented the United States for decades. These words were captured in The Star Spangled Banner by Francis Scott Key and since 1913, the United States has adopted The Star-Spangled Banner as its national anthem. We have used the Red, White, and Blue as one of our nation’s symbols. It has fifty stars, to represent the number of states we have in our Union. The military pledges its allegiance to the flag and the country which it represents at all costs. We are the land of the free and the home of the brave, and we are proud to show it.
After this night, Key wrote a poem telling the events of that night. He called it “The Defense of Fort M’Henry”. It was published in the newspapers all over America. Someone put the poem to music using an old English tune called “To Anacreon in Heaven”. This song became America’s first national anthem in 1931.
He connects the flag as more than a flag but as a symbol of the United States. “Before the bombardment in Baltimore Harbor, the Stars and Stripes had possessed little transcendent significance: it functioned primarily as a banner to identify garrisons or forts (Gelb).” Key makes a choice to refer to the flag though imagery and alliteration by describing the flag as a “star-spangled banner” and “broad stripes and bright stars.” Key also uses personification when describing the movements of the flag. He describes the flag as “gallantly streaming,” “fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses,” and “in triumph doth wave.”
In the beginning, Blanco descriptively writes how the sun rises every morning over our rooftops as it enters our windows. He goes on to describe the movements behind the windows, which I believe are our shadows. Blanco goes through the routine of Americans when they wake up: they yawn, look in the mirror, and hear the sound of automobiles outside. Blanco moves from general to personal. He makes the poem personal and involves his mother who worked as a cashier for 20 years, so that he can be able to get an education and “write this poem” (7).
The poem starts with the speaker saying, “The American eagle is not aware he is; the American eagle” (Stanza 1), to show that the eagle is confident with who he is. The speaker then goes on to say, “… He is never tempted to look modest” (1), to support the idea of the eagle
In order to increase patriotism, Henry calls attention to the idea that “[America is] not weak if we make a proper use of those means which the God of nature [has placed] in our power.” After mentioning Britain’s view of colonial America, Henry provides the audience with the hope that the American people can defeat the British if they take action. Henry encourages the audience to be confident by stating that even God, the almighty one, is on their side. Henry establishes his credibility and trustworthiness by aligning God’s views with his own. To further encourage the delegates, he says “the battle… is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave.” By omitting conjunctions, Henry presents the advantages the Americans possess over the British. While the British are just “strong”, the Americans are “vigilant”, “active”, and “brave”, traits which are more beneficial. Henry believes that the “three millions of people” will join together to defeat the British and fight for liberty. The omission of the conjunctions allows the delegates to understand how Henry trusts the “vigilant”, “active”, and “brave” will all
...o captivating. Additionally, it does make an extensive number of appearances at various ceremonies and great events, such as the opening ceremonies of sporting events and national holidays such as Independence and Memorial Day. However, “The Star Spangled Banner” embodies a much broader and more abstruse, cryptic connotation. It illustrates America’s attitude of perseverance when facing seemingly indomitable adversities or unachievable ambitions. It represents America’s unfaltering faith, traditional values, and ethical laws that have come to characterize America’s individuality. It signifies America’s past, a historic reminder that unites the people and instills, in their hearts, a profound sense of patriotism and glory. Most of all, “The Star Spangled Banner” symbolizes the truth of what America truly means–“the land of the free and the home of the brave”.
In this poem, the speaker is talks about his experiences in one significant morning. The poem introduces a beach environment where the speaker talks about collecting rocks, while seeing a dead otter, an oyster fisher, and a bird trying to find its prey. He recalls that this morning is the morning after contemplating of dying, but in the second stanza he has a change of feeling. Instead of seeing disturbances, he sees things that symbolize piece and serenity – butterflies, a couple, the sun. Taking into account all these literal events make the story far too normal. However, what makes this poem noteworthy is its two-sided arguments for the natural order of the world – chaotic in nature or underlying order.
Former Senator Robert Winthrop said, “So when you see the flag, I just hope you remember the blood, sweat, and tears that men have gone through to keep our country free.”
The bridge is “rude” because it was not fully constructed during the time and the “flood” that it arches could refer to the actual river or may be a metaphor for the “flood” of freedom sweeping across America. “Their flag to April’s breeze unfurled” (2) refers to the American flag being carried into battle as was customary and the “April breeze” tells the reader of the time in which this all took place. The American soldiers are fittingly described as “embattled farmers” (3) since many of them lived and worked off of the land and were not formally trained warriors like the British troops. The first stanza ends with the famous expression “the shot heard round the world” (4), which is more figurative language, portraying the reverberating effects that such an act of rebellion held. The second stanza is more figurative than the first.
When I first read this poem my initial reaction was that this is about religion. It suggests a god-like presents, by implying that he over sees all from up above, close to the sun. He stands "ringed" or surrounded by the "azure", or blue-sky world. This creature overlooks from high above at the churning sea, and the mountain walls. No one can detect him though, because he is silent, like a thunderbolt.
In the beginning, there is a peaceful, blissful atmosphere to the poem. Imagery of light amidst the darkness of the night is created by the use of words such as "gleams," "glimmering" and "moon-blanch'd". The speaker seems excited by the sweet night-air and the lively waves that fling the pebbles on the shore as we see by the exclamation marks in the sixth and ninth lines. The waves "begin, and cease, and then again begin," much as life is an ongoing process of cessation and rebirth. The first stanza is quite happy until the last two lines when the "tremulous cadence slow, and bring/ the eternal note of sadness in." This phrase causes the poem's tone to change to a more somber one
The poem comprises three stanzas which are patterned in two halves; the rule of three is ingeniously used throughout the poem to create tension and show the progression of the soldiers’ lives. There is a variety of rhyming schemes used – possibly Duffy considered using caesural rhyme, internal rhyme and irregular rhyme to better address the elegiac reality. The rhythm is very powerful and shows Duffy’s technical adroitness. It is slightly disconcerting, and adds to the other worldly ambience of the poem. Duffy uses a powerful comparative in each stanza to exemplify the monstrosity and extent of war, which is much worse than we imagine; it develops throughout each stanza, starting with a syntactical ‘No; worse.’ to ‘worse by far’ and ending on ‘much worse’. Similarly, the verbs used to describe the soldier’s shadow as he falls shows the reader the journey of the shadow, as if it’s the trajectory of soldiers’ lives. At first, the shadow is as an act...
In the second stanza the poet describes the things while he was praying for his daughter. He walks for an hour and notices the "sea-wind scream upon the tower", "under the arches of the bridge", "in the elms above the flooded stream." They probably represent the dreaming of the human beings and they are decisive. They are all about the present things and they block people from thinking about the future events. The last four lines of the second stanza clearly explain this idea: