SOLDIER, REST!

Soldier, rest! thy warfare o’er,


   Sleep the sleep that knows not breaking;

Dream of battled fields no more,

   Days of danger, nights of waking.

In our isle’s enchanted hall,

   Hands unseen thy couch are strewing,

Fairy strains of music fall,

   Every sense in slumber dewing.

Soldier, rest! thy warfare o’er,

Dream of fighting fields no more;

Sleep the sleep that knows not breaking,

Morn of toil, nor night of waking.

No rude sound shall reach thine ear,


   Armour’s clang, or war-steed champing,

Trump nor pibroch summon here

   Mustering clan or squadron tramping.


m
Yet the lark’s shrill fife may come


er as
   At the daybreak from the fallow,


co
And the bittern sound his drum,


eH w
   Booming from the sedgy shallow.


o.
Ruder sounds shall none be near,
 rs e
Guards nor warders challenge here,

ou urc
Here’s no war-steed’s neigh and champing,

Shouting clans or squadrons stamping.

Huntsman, rest! thy chase is done;


o

   While our slumberous spells assail ye,


aC s

Dream not, with the rising sun,


vi y re

   Bugles here shall sound reveillé.


Sleep! the deer is in his den;

   Sleep! thy hounds are by thee lying:

Sleep! nor dream in yonder glen

ed d

   How thy gallant steed lay dying.


ar stu

Huntsman, rest! thy chase is done;


Think not of the rising sun,

For at dawning to assail ye
Here no bugles sound reveillé.

is



Th

Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832)

Written in 1810. The soldier is a king disguised as a hunter. Almost like a lullaby to King James of
Scotland.
sh

Reverse thinking: life is the disruption of death - inevitable death.

Poem from “Lady of the Lake”.

Title: Demanding - not aggressively demanding, concerning, caring. You cannot command a king
however you can advise strongly to rest and take care of himself.

style:

rhyme scheme -
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 1,4 The caesura gives a sense of unrest. Sounds like a military command. 1,4

2 - sleep that knows not breaking - death, life is a disruption from rest. 11

3 - battled fields as opposed to battlefields: in the past and even the fields and the Earth has been
disrupted.

4 - days of danger nights of waking. opposites. sense of drumbeat and military beat. alliteration.
PTSD. Preoccupied. Battle fatigue. Antithesis. Cyclical, ongoing, never-ending until death perhaps.

5,6,7 - enchanted, Hands unseen, Fairy - mystical feel

8 - Sibilance - gentle sound. slumber links with dream, sleep, contrasts with waking. secret plots.
secrecy.

9 - repeated like a chorus

10 - fighting fields - sounds like the land is fighting back. present tense contrast with past tense.

m
battled gives image of dead fields but they are alive here and fighting.

er as
co
11 - line becomes like a lullaby also only line that repeats exactly.

eH w
o.
12 - morning is the time of working. night time when we’re supposed to be asleep.
rs e
ou urc
13 - rude: startling abruptness or rude: vigorous or hearty, no sound because they’re all dead.

14 - sounds of war, armour clanging (onomatopoeia, uncomfortable), they don’t want sound to
wake up this soldier, this hunter. She - the speaker, doesn’t want these sounds to wake up the
o

solider.
aC s
vi y re

15 - pibroch: bagpipe sounds. trumpet, bagpipes, clangs - ungentle sounds. The voice doesn’t
want any of these loud noises to wake him from his sleep.

16 - a close-knit group of interrelated families, especially in the Scottish Highlands. Tramping would
ed d

make a loud noise too.

ar stu

17 - Yet - changes direction, lark - songbird that comes in the morning (natural image contrasts
with war and soldiers, shrill - high pitched and piercing sound or voice, fife - a kind of small flute.
is

the lark’s shrill fife - instead of the wind-instrument that calls you to battle (‘fife’), you will be woken
Th

by the equally high-pitched (‘shrill’) song of the lark.

18 - fallow - a piece of fallow land, loughed and harrowed land but left for a period without being
sown in order to restore its fertility or to avoid surplus production.
sh

19 - bittern - (like a heron) a large marshbird of the heron family, which is typically smaller than a
heron, with brown streaked plumage. The larger kinds are noted for the deep booming call of the
male in the breeding season.
contrasts with a lark and its shrill sound, brings us back to military diction.

20 - sedge - a grass-like plant with triangular stems and inconspicuous flowers, growing typically in
wet ground. Sedges are widely distributed throughout temperate and cold regions. booming call
from bittern.

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 21 - ruder - comparative, than what? incomplete comparative. rude being abrupt, so more more
startling sounds ‘shall none be near’. inverted syntax puts emphasis on ‘ruder sounds’.

22 - challenge - a call to someone to participate in a competitive situation or fight to decide who is

superior in terms of ability or strength: he accepted the challenge. no challenge anymore or at the
gate.

23,24 - no more war horses making noises. list at the end: there’s not going to be anymore of this
sound, this sound or this sound. The same thing referred to but a bit different.

25 - No more war diction. Huntsman replaces soldier. We’ve changed from the solider stuff. chase
- pursuit of game.

26 - sibilance - gentle, slumberous sounds. assail - make a concerted or violent attack on, of an
unpleasant feeling or physical sensation) come upon (someone) suddenly and strongly: she was
assailed by doubts and regrets.
• criticize strongly: he assailed a group of editors for their alleged excesses.

m
war diction, antithesis.

er as
co
27 - Dream not, suggests they’ve already been dreaming of them. This line means that they should

eH w
wake up with the sun and not be sleeping in the morning.

o.
28 - “Reveille" is a bugle call, trumpet call or pipes call most often associated with the
rs e
military and prisons; it is chiefly used to wake military personnel and prisoners at sunrise.
ou urc
The name comes from réveille, the French word for "wake up". British Army Cavalry and
Royal Horse Artillery regiments sound a call different from the infantry version shown
below, known as "The Rouse" but often misnamed "Reveille", while the Scottish
o

Regiments of the British Army sound a pipes call of the same name.

aC s
vi y re

29 - d - alliteration. like requiem, hunter is home from the hill.

30 - repetition of sleep! the hounds are by thee lying - loyalty, harmonious, hints about
disloyalty. element of ambiguity.

ed d
ar stu

31 - glen - a narrow valley, watch out for disloyal subjects, watch out for the scots getting
together and plotting rebellion. keep your eyes open. sleep with one eye open: sleep very
lightly, aware of what is happening around one

is

32 - dying horse

Th

33 - it’s all over

sh

34 - do not think of the rising sun. sleep heavily and go into a deep sleep do not care
about anything else, there is no more worry. tone of loyalty and assurance.

35 - don’t think about anything because an attack may or may not be coming. beware.
false sense of security.

36 - you will no longer be woken up by war.

dreams - symbol of false security, of death perhaps and eternal slumber

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