The Eve of Waterloo

Summary and Analysis of the Eve of
Waterloo by Lord Byron

The Eve of Waterloo by Lord Byron is a narrative poem, exciting as well as full of
pathos. The poem is based on a true incident that happened just before the Battle o
Waterloo. The battle took place in June 1815 in Waterloo, a village about 11 miles from
Brussels where the Duke of Wellington defeated his famous French rival, Napoleon.
Napoleon was sent to exile and imprisonment. When Napoleon was advancing towards
Brussels, the Duke of Wellington was with his officers attending a ball thrown by
Charlotte, the Duchess of Richmond.
Summary:
Stanza 1: The poem, The Eve of Waterloo begins with a night scene, the eve of the
battle. The sound of revelry echoes in the large ballrooms of Brussels, the capital of
Belgium. The English officers and their ladies are seen dancing to the tune of the music
which is being played. The ballroom was dazzling with the glow of bright lamps.
Everybody present there was in a happy mood. As the volume of the music increased,
the couples dancing started to exchange expressions of love through their glances. As
the celebrations advanced like a wedding ceremony, they heard a sound of a cannon
fire similar to the sound of a church bell announcing a burial.
Stanza 2: The sound of the cannon fire was ignored in the beginning by everyone as
they thought it was the sound of the wind or that of a rattling car over the stony street.
The people in the ballroom continued with their dances and enjoyed themselves without
being disturbed until dawn. The poet has used personification here; Youth and Pleasure
have been personified. The poet says when youth and pleasure meet; they seem to be
dancing in such a way as if they are chasing time with the speed of their feet. All of a
sudden, the sounds of the cannon are heard once again. The sounds are louder, clearer
and deadlier than before. Everybody was asked to arm themselves as the cannon fires
began to roar.
Stanza 3: The Duke of Brunswick, Frederick William was the first to hear the sound
amidst the celebrations. He could recognize from the tone that it was the sound of
cannon. The Duke understood that it was a death knell for him. His father too was killed
in a battle. It was the same sound that preceded his death. Thus, he was determined to
take revenge upon his enemies by shedding the blood of his opponents. He is killed in
the battlefield.
Stanza 4: The fourth stanza describes the confusion and the chaotic situation that takes
place as the people are hurrying to and fro to prepare for the war. The women are sad
because they are soon going to part with their partners. Their eyes are wet and they are
trembling with fear. Due to the sudden parting, their cheeks have turned pale, which
were blushing sometime back. The young people felt that their life was being taken
away from them. The choking sighs might never be repeated; no one knew whether or
not the men would return from the battle. They all wondered that how a night so full of
love and happiness could give rise to such an awful and dreadful morning.
Stanza 5: The men quickly formed their ranks. The soldiers and officers mount their
horses and gather in large numbers and starts moving towards their approaching
enemies with great speed. The thundering sound of the enemies guns is heard again
and again. In the meantime, the city is woken up by the warning drums that are played
early morning. The people assemble in groups, terrified. They whisper with pale lips to
specify that the French army had come.
Stanza 6: The Camerons (a clan of Highlanders) play their war-music, the wild and high
notes of the bagpipes rise above all noise. It was often heard in the hills of Albyn, (a
Gaelic name of Scotland). As the Camerons are playing their music, the Saxons are
filled with fear. However, it puffed up the hearts of the Highland soldiers with inborn
courage in a similar way as their bagpipes were filled with their breath.
Stanza 7: In the seventh stanza, we find the army making their way through the forest
of Ardennes, the leaves on the trees waving above them as if they are shading tears
over the heroes who would not return home from the battlefield. The poet beautifully
draws an image in the last line of this stanza; he says that the grass on which the army
is treading will soon be covered with their corpses. The soldiers fighting the enemy
would soon be cold and lifeless.
Stanza 8: The last stanza of The Eve of Waterloo makes a contrasting remark. The
previous night, these same soldiers were full of life and they were vigorously dancing in
the party. They were seen preparing and getting ready in their uniforms for the battle
early morning. The dark clouds of the battle surrounded the soldiers. Finally, at the end
of the day, we find the earth covered with heap of dead bodies of thousands of men.
The soldiers have lost their identity. The bodies of soldiers, the friends or the enemies,
the horses- all lay buried in one heap, covered in blood and soil.
Rider and horse,- friend and foe,- in one red burial blent.
Critical Analysis:
Through this poem The Eve of Waterloo, Byron wants to send a message to the world
that no war can be justified. War is something that begins with a mans ambition but
ends with destruction on all sides. Thousands lose their lives and their homes,
thousands go astray. There is no glory in war but only death and destruction.
Form and Structure:
The poem is composed in Spenserian stanzas, named after Edmund Spenser. In this
kind of stanza, the first eight lines are in iambic pentameter and the last line is in iambic
hexameter. The rhyming pattern is ababbcbcc.
Interjections: Byron has used a number of interjections in his poem, The Eve of
Waterloo. Some of them are Hark, Hush, Arm Ah and Alas.
Imagery:
The imageries used in the beginning of the poem show the cheerful mood of the
soldiers dancing in the party. Beauty and Chivalry, thousands hearts beat happily,
all went merry as a marriage bell are indications of a joyous party. A little later, there is
a rapid succession of images specifying hurry and movement. The descriptions are so
vivid that the readers can even visualize. For example,
And there was mounting in hot haste: the steed.
The mustering squadron, and the clattering car.
The last two stanzas of The Eve of Waterloo are full of images depicting the change in
scene from celebration and fun to battle and death. Green leaves and grass
contrasts with grieves and strife. The last line of the poem, the poet writes, Rider
and horse,- friend and foe,- in one red burial blent which symbolizes that all soldiers
and their horses are killed and blended in mud, soil and blood.
Poetical Devices:
Figures of speech such as metaphors, similes and personification are used in the poem.
Metaphor: And caught its tone with deaths prophetic ear.
fiery mass/ Of living valour, rolling on the foe.
Simile: to be trodden like the grass.
Personification: Examples of personification in the poem are given below,*Her Beauty and her Chivalry
*No sleep till morn, when Youth and Pleasure meet
*Dewy with natures tear drops, as they pass
*Last eve in Beautys circle proudly gay.
Discuss The Eve of Waterloo as a

poem of contrasting ideas of romance
and heroism, love and pathos
The Eve of Waterloo is one of the famous poems of Byron which belongs to his long
narrative poem, Childe Harolds Pilgrimage. It describes a surprise attack on the British
Army by the French, when the soldiers and commanders of the former were enjoying
themselves at the ball hosted by the Duchess of Richmond on the night before the
Battle of Waterloo. Thus, there was merry making and enjoyment on one side and the
impending horrors of wars on the other.
Romance and Love: The opening stanza of the poem is a colorful representation of
romance and love. The sound of revelry echoes in the large ballrooms of Brussels, the
capital of Belgium. The English officers and their ladies are seen dancing to the tune of
the music which is being played. The ballroom was dazzling with the glow of bright
lamps. Everybody present there was in a happy mood. As the volume of the music
increased, the couples dancing started to exchange expressions of love through their
glances.
There was a sound of revelry by night
And Belgiums Capital had gathered then
Her Beauty and Chivalry and bright
The lamps shone oer fair women and brave men
A thousand hearts beat happily.
As the celebrations advanced like a wedding ceremony, they heard a sound of a cannon
fire similar to the sound of a church bell announcing a burial. They ignored it as if it were
the sound of the wind or that of a rattling car over the stony street. They decided to
continue their celebration until the early hours of that morning.
Heroism: The Duke of Brunswick, Frederick William, who was a guest at the ball, was
sitting in a corner, amidst the dancing and celebrations. He was the first to hear the
sound amidst the celebrations. He could recognize from the tone that it was the sound
of cannon. The Duke understood that it was a death knell for him. His father too was
killed in a battle. It was the same sound that preceded his death. Thus, he was
determined to take revenge upon his enemies by shedding the blood of his opponents.
He rushed into the battlefield for his long desire of vengeance. He fought bravely and
was killed in the battlefield. In stanza fifth, we find the men quickly forming their ranks.
The soldiers and officers mount their horses and gather in large numbers and starts
moving towards their approaching enemies with great speed. The thundering sound of
the enemies guns is heard again and again. In the meantime, the city is woken up by
the warning drums that are played early morning. The people assemble in groups,
terrified. They whisper with pale lips to specify that the French army had come.
Pathos: The poem arouses sympathy for the young soldiers who give up their lives for
saving their countrymen. They leave their charms of life to face the impending horrors of
war. The women in the ball are sad because they are soon going to part with their
partners. Their eyes are wet and they are trembling with fear. Due to the sudden
parting, their cheeks have turned pale, which were blushing sometime back. The young
people felt that their life was being taken away from them. The choking sighs might
never be repeated; no one knew whether or not the men would return from the battle.
They all wondered that how a night so full of love and happiness could give rise to such
an awful and dreadful morning.
In the final stanza, Byron portrays the gruesome reality of war. The previous night, these
same soldiers were full of life and they were vigorously dancing in the party. They were
seen preparing and getting ready in their uniforms for the battle early morning. The dark
clouds of the battle surrounded the soldiers. All are buried in one heap, covered with
blood and dust.
Rider and horse,- friend and foe,- in one red burial blent.

The Eve of Waterloo

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

The Eve of Waterloo

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

The Eve of Waterloo

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Summary and Analysis of the Eve of

Waterloo by Lord Byron

Discuss The Eve of Waterloo as a

You might also like