Old Ironsides

Old Ironsides
by Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr.

Ay, tear her tattered ensign down!
Long has it waved on high?
And many an eye has danced to see
That banner inside the sky;
Beneath it rung the struggle shout,
And burst the cannon’s roar;—
The meteor of the sea air
Shall sweep the clouds no extra!

Her deck, once purple with heroes’ blood
Where knelt the vanquished foe,
When winds were hurrying o’er the flood
And waves were white below,
No extra shall feel the victor’s tread,
Or know the conquered knee;—
The harpies of the shore shall pluck
The eagle of the sea!

O, higher that her shattered hulk
Should sink below the wave;
Her thunders shook the powerful deep,
And there ought to be her grave;
Nail to the mast her holy flag,
Set each thread-bare sail,
And provide her to the god of storms,—
The lightning and the gale!

Summary of Old Ironsides
Popularity of “Old Ironsides”: Oliver Wendell Holmes, a wonderful American physician, and poet wrote, “Old Ironsides”. It changed into first published in 1830. The poem is referred to as a extremely good literary piece written about a deliver or a frigate. The poem was a tribute to the eighteen-century frigate USS Constitution. The poet glorifies the warship on this poem that battled the battle of 1812.
“Old Ironsides” As a Representative of Victory: This poem is ready the historical ship that received a commendable victory for the United States. According to the poet, this ship has outlived many adversities and stood as a symbol of reassurance for those who relied on it during the conflict. While commenting on its misplaced glory, he highlights the way it has survived the hostile weather and served as a home for the heroes. As it has fought many historical battles, the quality end of this noble ship is to provide it to the sea, in preference to throwing it away in the scrapyard.
Major Themes in “Old Ironsides”: Glory, Victory, and pride are a number of the predominant subject matters layered on this poem. The poem facilities on the holy deliver that has served in diverse battles. Throughout the poem, Oliver Wendell Holmes expresses that the ship’s records and its exemplary services must no longer be disregarded. Therefore, he calls for the people to offer this heroic ship an honorable retirement.
Analysis of Literary Devices in “Old Ironsides”
Literary devices are gear the writers use to create meanings in their texts to decorate the poems or tales and join the readers with the actual message of the text. Oliver has additionally skilfully employed a few literary devices on this poem to make the readers renowned the really worth of a warship. The evaluation of some of the literary devices used on this poem has been given below.

Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the equal line which include the sound of /l/ in “The harpies of the shore shall pluck”.
Personification: Personification is to present human traits to inanimate items. For example, “And many an eye has danced to see” as though the eyes are people which could dance.
Onomatopoeia: It refers to the word which imitates the herbal sounds of the things. For example, “roar” in the first stanza of the poem.
Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds within the equal line which includes the sound of /a/ in “And many a watch has danced to see”.
Imagery: Imagery is used to make readers understand things regarding their five senses. For example, “Ay, tear her tattered ensign down” and “Her deck, once red with heroes’ blood.”
Symbolism: Symbolism is the use of symbols to signify thoughts and qualities through giving them symbolic meanings different from their literal meanings. “Sky” symbolizes victory, “god of storm” symbolizes the effective entity and “tattered ensign” is a symbol of pride.
Synecdoche: A determine of speech wherein a element is made to symbolize the whole. Poet has used Synecdoche within the third line, “And many an eye has danced to see” where “an eye fixed” represent the whole kingdom which enjoyed the victory.
Metaphor: It is a determine of speech wherein an implied evaluation is made between the gadgets unique in nature. There is handiest one metaphor used within the 2nd last line of the poem, “And supply her to the god of storms.” This is the metaphor of the difficult sea.
Alliteration: Alliteration is the repetition of consonant sounds in the equal line together with the sound of /sh/ in “The harpies of the shore shall pluck” and the sound of /w/ in “And waves have been white below”.
A careful glimpse of literary analysis indicates that Oliver Wendell Holmes has skillfully used those elements within the poem to make it thought-frightening for the readers.

Analysis of Poetic Devices in “Old Ironsides”
Poetic and literary gadgets are the same, but some are used simplest in poetry. Here is the analysis of a number of the poetic gadgets used in this poem.

Stanza: A stanza is a poetic form of some traces. There are three stanzas on this poem with eight traces in every stanza.
Octave: Octave is an eight-covered stanza in poetry. There are 3 octaves in this poem.
Rhyme Scheme: The rhyme scheme observed through the first stanza is, ABCBDEFD, inside the 2d stanza, ABABCDED, and ABCBDEFE within the third stanza.
End Rhyme: End rhyme is used to make the stanza melodious. End rhyme occurs in the 2nd and third lines and again in the 2nd and fourth strains. The rhyming words are, “high”, “sky”, “roar” and “more.”
Quotes to be Used
The strains quoted below may be used when teaching history. The words together with, “hero’s blood”, “vanquished foe” and “conquered knee;” imply that some thing heroic has been done.

“Her deck, once red with heroes’ blood
Where knelt the vanquished foe,
When winds had been hurrying o’er the flood
And waves had been white below,
No greater shall feel the victor’s tread,
Or recognize the conquered knee;—
The harpies of the shore shall pluck
The eagle of the sea!”

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