George Gordon Noel Byron was born, on 22 January 1788. He died in 1791 at age of thirtysix.

The most flamboyant and notorious of the major Romantics, George Gordon, Lord Byron,
was likewise the most fashionable poet of the day. He created an immensely popular Romantic
herodefiant, melancholy, haunted by secret guiltfor which, to many, he seemed the model.
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 of 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.

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 Cameroons (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 Cameroons 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.

Figures of speech such as metaphors, similes and personification are used in the poem.

Metaphor: And
caught
its
tone
fiery mass/ Of living valour, rolling on the foe.

with

deaths

prophetic

ear.

Simile: to be trodden like the grass.

Personification: Examples of personification in the poem are given below,*Her
Beauty
and
*No
sleep
till
morn,
when
*Dewy
with
natures
tear
*Last eve in Beautys circle proudly gay.

Youth
drops,

her
and
as

Chivalry
Pleasure
meet
they
pass

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.
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.
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.

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.
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.

Critically analyze the poem, "The Eve of

Waterloo".

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.
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.
In the final stanza, Byron portrays the gruesome reality of war. 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. . 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.