The Full Text of “Concord Hymn”
Sung at the Completion of the Battle Monument, July 4, 1837
1By the rude bridge that arched the flood,
2Their flag to April’s breeze unfurled,
3Here once the embattled farmers stood
4And fired the shot heard round the world.
5The foe long since in silence slept;
6Alike the conqueror silent sleeps;
7And Time the ruined bridge has swept
8Down the dark stream which seaward creeps.
9On this green bank, by this soft stream,
10We set today a votive stone;
11That memory may their deed redeem,
12When, like our sires, our sons are gone.
13Spirit, that made those heroes dare
14To die, and leave their children free,
15Bid Time and Nature gently spare
16The shaft we raise to them and thee.
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“Concord Hymn” Introduction
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Ralph Waldo Emerson's "Concord Hymn" commemorates the dedication of a monument to the Battle of Concord. This battle was one of the earliest in the American Revolution, and it set in motion the conflict that resulted in American independence from colonial British rule. The speaker implores the crowd to remember the bravery of "embattled [American] farmers" and asks the same "spirit" that inspired the farmers to guard the monument against the destructive forces of time and nature. Written for the monument's dedication day in 1837, "Concord Hymn" was eventually published in Emerson's collection Poems (1848).
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“Concord Hymn” Summary
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It was here by the crudely-built bridge over the river, with their flag rippling in an April breeze, that the farmers stood up to the British threat—and famously fired their guns, kicking off a world-renowned battle.
The enemy has now been dead for a long time; similarly, the victors sleep in the silence of the past. The forces of time have swept that wrecked bridge away, down the shadowy river that runs towards the sea.
Standing on this green riverside beside the gently flowing stream, we today set up a monument to honor that battle, so that the farmers' heroic actions will be kept alive in our memory, even when the next generation, like the generation before, is dead.
May the same spirit that made those heroes brave enough to sacrifice their lives and grant future generations their freedom now ask time and nature to kindly preserve this monument, which honors those soldiers (and that spirit of bravery itself).
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“Concord Hymn” Themes
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Heroism and Remembrance
"Concord Hymn" is a commemorative poem written for the 1837 dedication of a monument to the Battle of Concord. The stone obelisk was erected to celebrate the bravery and determination of a group of farmers who, in 1775, fought against the British in one of the earliest battles of the American Revolutionary War. The poem presents their heroism as something that should be remembered and honored as a historic blow against British colonial rule. But there is also a cautionary note here: heroic actions and the heroic dead, the poem suggests, are easily forgotten, and it takes conscious work and commitment to tend to their memory.
The speaker stands on the site of the battle, noting that there is little there to tell the farmers' story. Though the battle was a vitally important event in world history, the landscape itself doesn't record the momentous events that happened there. Both sides of the war, the speaker observes, now metaphorically “sleep” in the silence of death. And even the bridge near which the "embattled farmers" defiantly unfurled their flag no longer stands. The whole world is in a process of constant change, and so even things that seem momentous at the time can quickly "creep" into oblivion. On the same note, the speaker acknowledges how the crowd's forefathers are "gone," and likewise, "our sons [will be gone]" too. In other words, nothing lasts forever!
Precisely because the landscape shows no marks of the battle, the “generations” who have come after the revolutionaries must make a conscious effort to remember and honor their heroism. The effort to remember, the poem suggests, is a meaningful and important kind of gratitude. The speaker says that "memory may their deed redeem." In other words, as long as later generations honor the revolutionaries’ sacrifice, it wasn't made in vain. The speaker notes that the stone monument around which a crowd now gathers is a "votive"—that is, an object offered to mark the fulfillment of a vow. The obelisk—and the poem itself—are a promise that future generations won’t forget the farmers' heroic actions.
But the poem acknowledges that remembrance is not easy. Over time, the events of the past become more and more remote and seem less obviously relevant to those alive in the present. The speaker, therefore, asks the "Spirit" of courage that inspired the farmers to also aid in this ongoing remembrance, suggesting that efforts at remembrance might themselves require a kind of heroism. Only through the work of that “Spirit,” the speaker suggests, is there any chance that "Time and Nature” might “gently spare" the monument from oblivion and preserve the memory of the revolutionaries. Remembrance thus requires further acts of heroism by subsequent generations—and, perhaps, a little luck.
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Time and Nature
Though "Concord Hymn" is meant as a lasting tribute, the poem acknowledges a simple, sad fact about life: nothing lasts. “Time” and “Nature,” the poem suggests, work together to wear away even humanity's greatest achievements.
As a ceremonial work intended to be shared on a particular day, the poem creates a sense of occasion, making time a prominent theme. Before the poem even begins, the epigraph notes when and why it was written: for the 1837 dedication of a monument to the Battle of Concord. That battle is now distant to the poem’s original audience—and this commemorative poem itself is distant from the modern-day reader! By drawing attention to the passage of time, the speaker reminds those present at the ceremony—and the reader, too—that they will all be captured by time's forces. Their "sires" (or fathers) are gone, and one day their "sons" will be gone too.
The poem presents this impermanence as a fact of life and a force of nature. In fact, it's nature that does much of time's destructive work. When the farmers fought back against the British at the battle of Concord, it was besides a bridge that "arched" over a "flood." On the one hand, this is a reference to a real bridge over a real river—but it's also a symbol for the flow of time. That "ruined bridge" was swept down "the dark stream which seaward creeps." Both literally and metaphorically, nature reclaims the world from humankind through the passage of time.
Though the monument the poem commemorates seems built to last, and the day seems beautiful and calm, time and nature thus lurk in the background waiting to have their way. In the poem's present, the crowd stands on a "green bank" beside a "soft stream." But the speaker implies that this pleasant scene offers a false sense of security. If the monument does survive, it will be through future generations’ diligent efforts to fight time and nature—efforts that will, inevitably, eventually fail.
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Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “Concord Hymn”
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Lines 1-4
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.This poem, as its subtitle reveals, was written to commemorate a stone monument erected in 1837 to celebrate the Battle of Concord, an important event in the American Revolutionary War. In other words, "Concord Hymn" itself is a commemoration of a commemoration! This will be a poem about history, memory, and heroism.
The first stanza describes the Battle of Concord itself—a 1775 battle which, alongside the Battle of Lexington, kicked off the American Revolution. Lines 1-2 set the scene, describing how the "embattled farmers"—a rough-and-ready amateur army—placed a flag in the ground as an act of defiance. It's not certain what flag these revolutionaries "unfurled," but it certainly wasn't the British one! The battle took place near a crudely built bridge over a river, here described dramatically as a "flood."
It was on this very site—where the speaker now stands with a crowd—that the "embattled farmers stood," both literally and in the sense of standing their ground. The words "Here once" stress that this was one specific moment in the powerful flow of time, subtly setting up the idea that, unless people make a serious effort to remember them, the fighters' heroic deeds will be easily swept away and forgotten.
Line 4 uses hyperbole to describe the bullet the farmers fired at the British colonialist soldiers as the "shot heard round the world." Though it's not known for certain which side fired first, this one line has been so influential that many people assume it to be factual. The point is that this first shot sets in motion a chain of events that effectively ends colonial rule and gives birth to the U.S. as a free, independent, and powerful nation. This shot is not literally "heard round the world," but its consequences do change the entire world.
It's no exaggeration to say that this one line is by far Emerson's most famous. It has since been used to describe the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand—which sparked the First World War—and the slaying of President John F. Kennedy in 1963. The muted /d/ consonance in the line—"fired the shot heard round the world"—makes the sharp /sh/ and /t/ of "shot" jump out like a sudden explosion.
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Lines 5-8
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.
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Lines 9-12
On this green bank, by this soft stream,
We set today a votive stone;
That memory may their deed redeem,
When, like our sires, our sons are gone. -
Lines 13-16
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.
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“Concord Hymn” Symbols
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The River
The river symbolizes the relentless flow of time, which sweeps everything away in its currents. Just as the river's waters carry off the "rude bridge" that once crossed them, the poem suggests, all of human life—people, ideas, structures, entire civilizations—eventually gets swept towards the "sea" of non-existence.
And as the speaker notes, only this symbolic river itself is permanent here! First, it was present as a witness to the shift in power from British colonial rule to American independence as set in motion by the Battles of Concord and Lexington. But in the poem's present, the speaker and the crowd gather on its banks, which now seem eerily calm, almost as if nothing ever happened.
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The Monument
The monument in this poem symbolizes exactly what monuments stand for in the real world: remembrance and honor. Here, it commemorates the bravery of the "embattled farmers" who were ready to fight against the British colonial army. The tall, sturdy obelisk shape of the monument suggests the hope that future generations will remember those farmers. As long as the monument stands proud, the poem implies, then the "embattled farmers" will be part of America's collective memory.
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“Concord Hymn” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language
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Alliteration
Alliteration creates intensity and drama, making the poem's images more vivid.
For instance, listen to the /d/ alliteration in line 8:
Down the dark stream which seaward creeps.
The thumping /d/ sound here evokes erosion and destruction. All things, the poem suggests, are carried towards oblivion by the river of time. The two /d/ sounds here make the line feel heavier and darker, helping to support the speaker's argument that memory and commemoration require conscious effort.
This /d/ sound reappears across lines 13 and 14:
Spirit, that made those heroes dare
To die, and leave their children free,Here, alliteration links the farmers' heroic actions with their willingness to make the ultimate sacrifice and pay with their lives. Indeed, their heroism stems from the fact that they gave their lives. The /d/ alliteration also makes the phrase more dramatic and memorable—which, of course, is what the poem wants to achieve.
Note that much of the alliteration here is sibilance (e.g., "soft stream"). These sounds create a quiet atmosphere and evoke the sound of water.
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Apostrophe
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Consonance
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Enjambment
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Hyperbole
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Metaphor
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Repetition
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Sibilance
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“Concord Hymn” Vocabulary
Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.
- Rude
- Arched
- Unfurled
- Embattled
- Foe
- Seaward
- Votive
- Deed
- Redeem
- Sires
- Bid
- Shaft
Rude-
Crudely built.
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Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “Concord Hymn”
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Form
"Concord Hymn" is written in quatrains—four-line stanzas. And there are four of these, giving the poem a symmetry that fits its role in the dedication of a monument. The poem, like the obelisk, feels sturdy and well-made, speaking to its hopes of lasting a long, long time.
It's also worth noting that this is a hymn. It was intended, initially at least, to be sung, and was set to the tune of "Old Hundredth," composed by the 16th century French musician Louis Bourgeois. That musical form gives the poem its structure: hymns often have verses written in groups of four lines.
This is also an occasional poem—which doesn't mean that it only exists from time to time, but rather that it was written for one specific occasion! Occasional poetry, which can be written for any public event from weddings to inaugurations, is a tradition stretching all the way back to Ancient Greece—and so befits the poem's interest in history and inheritance.
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Meter
"Concord Hymn" uses a fairly loose iambic tetrameter—that is, lines of four iambs, metrical feet with a da-DUM rhythm. Here's line 10, which uses perfect iambic tetrameter:
We set | today | a vot- | ive stone;
The steadiness of this iambic meter fits the seriousness of the occasion: regular iambs sound stately and grand.
But if steady iambs suggest sturdiness and permanence, the poem's metrical variations introduce a touch of fragility, reflecting one of the speaker's main points: the monument (and memory of the farmers) will only stand the test of time if people make an effort. The first line, for example, starts with two unstressed syllables followed by two stressed (that is, a pyrrhic foot followed by a spondee):
By the | rude bridge | that arched | the flood,
The poem thus starts on uncertain terms, anticipating the speaker's point that "Time and Nature" can easily destroy humankind's strongest structures.
It's in the last stanza that the poem finds its most sturdy, regular iambic sound:
Spirit, | that made | those her- | oes dare
To die, | and leave | their child- | ren free,
Bid Time| and Nat- | ure gent- | ly spare
The shaft | we raise | to them | and thee.The only variation here is the trochee (DUM-da) at the start of the stanza. This marks the speaker's switch of address towards the "Spirit," as opposed to the crowd. From then on, the poem uses iambs to build to a rhetorical, hopeful height.
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Rhyme Scheme
"Concord Hymn" uses this steady, dependable rhyme scheme throughout:
ABAB
This pattern is known as alternate rhyme, and its singsong quality reflects the fact that this is a hymn, a reverent song.
Most of the rhyming pairs in the poem are pretty strong and clear: unfurled/world, stream/redeem. This creates a feeling of sturdiness and dependability, reflecting exactly what the speaker hopes for both the memory of the "embattled farmers" and the monument itself: that they will stand the test of time.
However, one slant rhyme, between "flood" and "stood" in the first stanza, hints that such stability isn't a given. The "flood" of time (and the literal river) might well sweep away whatever stands now if later generations don't make a conscious effort to remember and honor those who came before them.
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“Concord Hymn” Speaker
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The speaker in "Concord Hymn" has no clear identity. Instead, they are a kind of voice for their community, which is why they use the first-person plural in line 10: they speak for a "we," on behalf of everyone gathered to see the dedication of the monument. While Emerson could be considered the speaker, since the poem was commissioned from him for the occasion, the poem really isn't about the speaker at all.
As a voice for the community, the speaker clearly feels proud of the "embattled farmers" who "fired the shot heard round the world" and ultimately set in motion the events that led to American independence. But the speaker also acknowledges that "Time and Nature" have a habit of destroying even the tallest towers (and the strongest memories). The speaker, then, is both a patriotic idealist and a realist.
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“Concord Hymn” Setting
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"Concord Hymn" was an occasional poem, written to be "Sung at the Completion of the Battle Monument, July 4, 1837." It thus has a very specific setting: Concord, Massachusetts, on the specific day of the monument's dedication. The location is the same site as the battle which both poem and monument commemorate. For the reader, then, it's a kind of glimpse at one exact moment in history.
But as much as the poem focuses on its own present, the speaker urges readers to look both backwards and forwards in time. Observing that there would be little left to show that this is the site of the battle if the monument weren't there, the poem acknowledges how things that seem important can fade into insignificance. "Time" and "Nature" have a habit of destroying everything—nothing, and no one, lasts forever.
The speaker thus implores both crowd and reader not to let the heroic "deed" of the "embattled farmers" fade away. The poem's setting thus intersects different times, reminding readers that memories only stay alive if people make the effort to keep them alive.
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Literary and Historical Context of “Concord Hymn”
Literary Context
Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) was one of the most influential writers in American literature. He was a key figure in the Transcendentalist movement, which attempted to redefine humankind's relationship with nature, and argued that the divine was readily accessible through the natural world. As one of the founders of the Transcendental Club (alongside Henry David Thoreau), he sought to give America a literature that was specifically its own (as opposed to being inherited from Britain).
"Concord Hymn" is one of Emerson's earliest poems. It was written in 1837 for the completion of a monument built to commemorate the Battle of Concord, and it later appeared in his collection Poems (1848). Emerson and his wife moved to Concord, Massachusetts in 1835, quickly becoming key figures in the community. Emerson composed "Concord Hymn" at the request of the Battle Monument Committee; as the subtitle suggests, the poem was set to music and sung at the monument's dedication ceremony. The monument—an obelisk—pays tribute to a group of farmers who took arms against the British colonial troops and set in motion the events that led to American independence.
Among many memorable lines, the "shot heard round the world" is perhaps the most famous phrase in all of Emerson's writing. It is, however, an example of poetic license: the Battle of Concord was in fact the second skirmish to break out on April 19th, 1775, following the Battle of Lexington. The phrase has since been used to describe another famous "shot:" the one that killed Archduke Franz Ferdinand and sparked the First World War.
Emerson was a huge influence on later poets; Robert Frost, for instance, considered him one of the four most important Americans, along with George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and Thomas Jefferson.
Historical Context
"Concord Hymn" was written with history in mind. The poem was commissioned from Emerson to mark the dedication of the Concord monument, roughly sixty years after the Battle of Concord, and was originally set to the music of "Old Hundredth," a tune written by the 16th-century French composer Louis Bourgeois. Both poem and obelisk honor the armed civilians ("embattled farmers") who fought in one of the earliest skirmishes of the American Revolutionary War. These fighters were known as minutemen because they were ready and willing to fight at extremely short notice.
The background of the war is complex and has roots stretching all the way back to the first generation of European settlers in America. Put simply, though, some of the North American colonies grew disenchanted with being ruled by the British. Massachusetts, where the Battles of Concord and Lexington took place, was seen by the British authorities as one of the most troublesome colonies, and British General Thomas Gage mobilized his men for military action to suppress rebellious activity there.
On April 16, 1775, Paul Revere, a Bostonian in favor of American independence, rode ahead of the British to warn local militiamen of Gage's advance. Despite the suggestion in this poem that it was the Battle of Concord that kicked off the war, it was in fact the slightly earlier (and nearby) Battle of Lexington that marked the beginning of armed conflict. These skirmishes set in motion the chain of events that dragged France and Spain into the war (also against the British) and culminated in modern, independent America.
The American Revolution captured the imaginations of many poets on both sides of The Atlantic. Interested readers might want to check out Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's "The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere," Phillis Wheatley's "To the Right Honorable William, Earl of Dartmouth," and William Blake's "America, a Prophecy."
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More “Concord Hymn” Resources
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External Resources
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Emerson's Essays — Read a collection of Emerson's writing which lays out some of his key Transcendentalist ideas.
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The Poem Aloud — Listen to the poem set to music, as it might have been sung on the day of the monument's dedication.
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The Monument Today — Take a virtual tour of the site of the battle—and the monument, which still stands!
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The American Revolution — Learn more about the background to the Battle of Concord and the American Revolutionary War.
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Emerson's Life and Work — Learn more about Emerson's poetry and biography at the Poetry Foundation.
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LitCharts on Other Poems by Ralph Waldo Emerson
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