Virginia Lucas Poetry Scrapbook

Explication of "Burial of Sir John Moore"

Charles Wolfe’s poem “Burial of Sir John Moore” is a memorial to a former British general who fought during the Peninsular War. Sir John Moore is most infamous for his retreat in the face of Napoleon’s forces in the battle of Corunna, which ultimately led to his death in 1809 (The Editors). Wolfe comments on Moore’s controversial retreat in this poem, writing, “Lightly they’ll talk of the spirit that’s gone/And o’er his cold ashes upbraid him.” Ashes are formed in fire, so for them to be cold insinuates a passing of time. And to upbraid someone means to criticize them. In other words, after the time of honoring Moore’s death has passed, “they” will criticize him and dishonor his name. This poem was written in 1817, roughly eight years after Moore’s death, so while the poem is written in the future tense (i.e., they will talk), the respectful mourning of the general and the critical controversy surrounding his retreat would have been taking place in Wolfe’s lifetime. In fact, it could be argued that this poem was a response to the negative attitudes about Moore’s character that Wolfe encountered.

“Burial of Sir John Moore” is written from the perspective of someone who was present at the burial of this general. The narrator is a person who admired the general and writes in a manner that expressed disappointment in the rushed way Moore was memorialized. The first stanza is about the landscape of the burial. The next stanza discusses when the burial took place, i.,e., “at dead of night.” The third stanza illustrates how Sir John Moore was buried by including a description of his clothing and his lack of a tomb stone. The next three stanzas shift from focusing on Sir John Moore himself and moves to describing those who knew and criticized him. These stanzas are marked by lines such as, “We bitterly thought of the morrow,” and, “Lightly they’ll talk of the spirit that’s gone.” And finally, the poem ends by reverting back to the circumstances of the burial, and attempts to attribute honor and glory to Moore’s name.

Wolfe uses nine negations to describe the burial itself. Some examples include, “Not a drum was heard, not a funeral note… not a soldier discharged his farewell shot….no useless coffin inclosed his breast, nor a sheet, nor a shroud we bound him.” By describing the details of this burial that were absent, Wolfe emphasizes what should have been there. The reader gets an image of a drum, of a troop of soldiers discharging shots, of a coffin, and a burial fit for a fallen general, and yet at the same time the poem illustrates that the majesty of this kind of memorial did not mark Sir John Moore’s death. This contrast imposed by using negations implies that the narrator felt a sense of injustice in the circumstances of Moore’s true burial.

Another stanza demonstrates what appears to be a contradiction but is vital in understanding the meaning of the poem as a whole. Wolfe writes, “Few and short were the prayers we said, and we spoke not a word of sorrow; but we steadfastly gazed on the face of the dead, and we bitterly thought of the morrow.” Regardless of who was present at the burial, this poem is one of personal lament (i.e., sorrow). This discrepancy between the lack of sorrow expressed at the funeral and the expression of sorrow in this poem can be explained by three scenarios: one, there was no time to express sorrow at the time of the burial; two, the way in which this acclaimed general was being criticized disturbed the narrator eight years after his death; and three, the words of sorrow were not meant for the general’s sake.

Scenario one can be argued using line 28, which states, “And we knew by the distant and random gun that the foe was sullenly firing.” This line illustrates that the enemy forces were close enough to the burial that the prayers had to remain short until the remaining soldiers could move to safer conditions. In this scenario, this poem makes up for the absence of sorrow at the time of Moore’s death. Scenario two is explained by the glory Wolfe is trying to illustrate in response to Moore’s infamous reputation as mentioned in line 21 and 22, “Lightly they’ll talk of the spirits that gone and o’er his cold ashes upbraid him.” In this scenario, this poem challenges this criticism and aims to bring honor to Moore where his honor is tainted. And scenario three is exemplified by line 16 which states, “we bitterly thought of the morrow.” This bitterness is not attributed to Moore, since his death prevents him from experiencing the future, but the bitterness is attributed to those who are left without the general to live on with them. In this scenario, this poem serves to lament the shortened career of this British general.  

This poem is written in the form of a ballad, alternating between tetrameter and trimeter and containing four lines per stanza. Ballads are traditionally poetic forms intended to be sung or verbally expressed; for this reason, ballads are interchangeably called hymns. Interestingly, Wolfe is careful to describe not only the circumstances surrounding the burial (i.e., the lack of a headstone, a coffin, the state of Moore’s clothing, etc.,) but also the noises surrounding the burial, specifically the lack of a “funeral note.” Ballads are easily transmitted because the meter is rhythmic and, therefore, easily remembered and passed on orally. Whether this poem was passed on is irrelevant. The author wrote this memoir in a manner that sends the message of communal lament. This poem is itself a “funeral note” to honor and remember the fallen general. 

The meter of this piece tells another story. While much of this poem contains anapestic feet there is no consistent stress pattern. Many of the lines include iambs, others begin with dactyls, and trochees appear as well. While changes in a poem’s metrical pattern often point to words that have extra emphasis and meaning, in this instance, the complete lack of a regular metrical pattern suggests that the emphasis is on the lack of a pattern as a whole. The reader is subjected to the pattern established by the author, and Wolfe gives surprises in each stanza. By writing in this manner, Wolfe illustrates that Sir John Moore is a general subjected to the rules and strategies of war who was faced with constant unexpected turns, much like the reader in this poem. So, by exposing the reader to this unpredictable meter, Wolfe is adding perspective and sympathy to the way in which Moore was faced with unpredictable patterns of war. He is stating implicitly that it was the unpredictable circumstances of war that caused his death and not cowardice.

The rhyme scheme also holds significance. This poem is composed of quatrains with a rhyme scheme consisting of an abab, cdcd pattern. In every second and fourth line Wolfe includes a feminine rhyme ending on a light stress, while every first and third line ends in a masculine, one syllable rhyme. Because feminine rhymes end on light stresses, they exhibit softer tones and the line ends less abruptly. By contrast, masculine rhymes are forceful. By alternating between ending on hard and soft syllables, Wolfe demonstrates the relationship between force and retreat. In the life of Sir John Moore, war itself encompasses this relationship: heavy stress and light stress, attack and recover, force and retreat. Wolfe is arguing that there is a natural flow and rhythm of war that rises and falls. Sir John Moore is an agent of this rhythm and happened to die at a particular point when forces were retreating. However, this interpretation relies on the reader knowing the entirety of the historical context surrounding this poem. Interestingly, the narrator does not include any details about Moore’s career throughout the entirety of the poem but just focuses on the description of his burial. This omission, while intended to honor the general, may suggest that his infamy had merit. In other words, Wolfe’s omission of Moore’s bravery or impressive victories may mean that he had none to mention.   

According to Mary Oliver in her book Rules for the Dance, rhyme also creates anticipation (40). When one word is introduced, the ear is eager to hear the fulfillment of that sound in a complimentary word. And when words rhyme, it forms a sense of completion. This poem consists of perfect rhymes in all but two places: the first stanza and the last. In these stanzas there are slant, or incomplete rhymes. In the first stanza, Wolfe rhymes “note” with “shot,” and in the last stanza, he rhymes “down” with “stone.” But both “down” and “note” are not difficult words to rhyme with, so using slant rhymes in these places was a deliberate act. While true rhymes give a sense of completion, slant rhymes do the opposite; they do not give what the reader expects. By beginning and ending on rhymes that subvert expectation, Wolfe is indicating the imperfection of Moore’s funeral. Also, beginning on a slant rhyme insinuates that no general can perform their duties to perfection, and ending on a slant rhyme insinuates that his life and career ended incomplete.

Overall, the various elements this poem demonstrates a common goal: the honor of Sir John Moore. And the form in which this poem was written intends to spread his honor to the masses and reestablish the prominence Moore had before his death. Whether or not Wolfe succeeded in his efforts is irrelevant to the meaning of the poem at present, but the little information that exists about both Sir John Moore and his poet Charles Wolfe may indicate a less than favorable outcome.





Works Cited

Brain, Jessica. “Battle of Corunna and the fate of Sir John Moore,” Historic UK. https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofBritain/Battle-of-Corunna/.

Oliver, Mary. Rules For The Dance: A Handbook For Writing And Reading Metrical Verse. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 1998.

The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica. "Sir John Moore." Encyclopedia Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/biography/John-Moore-British-lieutenant-general. Accessed 16 March 2022.