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Concord Hymn by Ralph Waldo Emerson

Analysis

"Concord Hymn" is a poem written by Ralph Waldo Emerson. A "concord" is an agreement. In this instance, "concord" is a harmony after all that went wrong. Emerson is speaking about the American Revolution. The line "And fired the shot heard round the world." is a common phrase used to describe the first shots of the Revolution. As well, and not a coincidence, Emerson lived in the city Concord, Massachusetts. The poem speaks of how after the war has ended and the people who fought and lived through it are dead, the people live in harmony.

This poem is written as four stanzas with four lines in each. It is written in the rhyme scheme ABAB with eight syllables.

Poem

Concord Hymn
By 

By the rude bridge that arched the flood,
  Their flag to April's breeze unfurled,
Here once the embattled farmers stood
  And fired the shot heard round the world.

The foe long since in silence slept;
  Alike the conqueror silent sleeps;
And Time the ruined bridge has swept
  Down the dark stream which seaward creeps.

On this green bank, by this soft stream,
  We set to-day a votive stone;
That memory may their deed redeem,
  When, like our sires, our sons are gone.

Spirit, that made those heroes dare
  To die, and leave their children free,
Bid Time and Nature gently spare
  The shaft we raise to them and thee.
Next: Days

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Nationality
American

Literary Movement
Transcendentalism, 19th Century

Subjects
War, Life, Patriotic