Casabianca is a poem about loyalty and duty. It is an epitome of heroism, obedience, bravery and sacrifice. It is based on a true event that happened in 1798 during the battle of the Nile. It is a story about Captain Luc-Julien-Joseph Casabianca and his 12-year-old son, Giocante, who both perished aboard the ship Orient during the Battle of the Nile. The boy who for his sheer obedience to his father lost his life. The piece is best known for its first line “The boy stood on the burning deck”
Introduction of the Poet of Poem Casabianca
Felicia Dorothea Hemans was an English poet born on 25th September 1793. She became a literary celebrity. She was chiefly remembered and celebrated for her shorter pieces. She published her first collection -“Poems” at the mere age of 14. She was highly regarded by contemporaries such as Wordsworth.
Hemans‘ major collections, including The Forest Sanctuary (1825), Records of Woman and Songs of the Affections (1830) were popular, especially with female readers. Her last books, sacred and profane, were Scenes and Hymns of Life and National Lyrics, and Songs for Music.
Casabianca Poem by Felicia Dorothea Hemans
The boy stood on the burning deck,
Whence all but he had fled;
The flame that lit the battle’s wreck,
Shone round him o’er the dead.
Yet beautiful and bright he stood,
As born to rule the storm;
A creature of heroic blood,
A proud, though childlike form.
The flames rolled on – he would not go,
Without his father’s word;
That father, faint in death below,
His voice no longer heard.
He called aloud – ‘Say, father, say
If yet my task is done?’
He knew not that the chieftain lay
Unconscious of his son.
‘Speak, father!’ once again he cried,
‘If I may yet be gone!’
– And but the booming shots replied,
And fast the flames rolled on.
Upon his brow he felt their breath
And in his waving hair;
And look’d from that lone post of death,
In still yet brave despair.
And shouted but once more aloud,
‘My father! must I stay?’
While o’er him fast, through sail and shroud,
The wreathing fires made way.
They wrapped the ship in splendour wild,
They caught the flag on high,
And streamed above the gallant child,
Like banners in the sky.
There came a burst of thunder sound –
The boy – oh! where was he?
Ask of the winds that far around
With fragments strewed the sea!
With mast, and helm, and pennon fair,
That well had borne their part,
But the noblest thing which perished there,
Was that young faithful heart.
Stanza Wise Summary of the Poem Casabianca
The first stanza of the poem talks about the boy standing on the burning deck of the ship where everyone has fled away. The ship was on fire due to the battle. The flames were burning around him over the dead bodies.
The second stanza of the poem talks about the gallantry of the boy. Despite the massacre, he was standing bright and strong holding the heroic blood. Even though he was just a little child, he still stood with pride and bravery.
The third stanza talks how the flames rolled stronger but yet the boy did not move without seeking his father’s permission. The father was dead and could not hear his little child.
The fourth stanza talks about how the little child yelled at his father asking if his duty was accomplished and if he could leave. He was unaware that his father could not hear his voice.
In the fifth stanza, the little child calls further for his father and seeks his permission. But before he could complete his sentence, loud boom sounds were heard and the flames rolled faster.
In the sixth stanza, the little boy could feel the heat and the flames and yet stand so close to death he still stood with bravery and no sign of any fear.
In the seventh stanza, the child asked once louder this time, while the fires made his way.
The eighth stanza talks about the sad death of the little child, Casabianca. The fire wrapt the ship wildly anad went high upto the flag. It streamed over the childlike banners in the sky and brought death to the child.
The ninth stanza of the poem talks about the thundering sound while the ship bursts into flames. The boy was not to be found in the fragments of the ship strewed on the sea.
The last stanza speaks about how with all the destruction and the loss, the noblest thing that perished was the young faithful heart.
Central Theme and Other Themes
The central theme is about loyalty, sacrifice, disciplineand courage. The young little boy wasn’t afraid of his responsibilities and duties. He stood courageously and awaited for the orders to leave the ship. Even when death stood close to him, his courage and loyalty was unharmed. He was willing to sacrifice his life but not break his loyalty.
Line by line interprattion of the Poem Casabianca
The boy stood on the burning deck,
Whence all but he had fled;
The flame that lit the battle’s wreck,
Shone round him o’er the dead.
The boy stood alone on the burning deck while all had fled. The ship was completely wrecked due to the battle and the flames were burning all around the ship over the dead bodies.
Yet beautiful and bright he stood,
As born to rule the storm;
A creature of heroic blood,
A proud, though childlike form.
Even in such a terrifying situation, the little boy stood bright and beautiful like he was born to rule the storm. He was calm and courageous with a blood of a proud hero even though he was just a child.
The flames rolled on – he would not go,
Without his father’s word;
That father, faint in death below,
His voice no longer heard.
The flames kept burning wildy but yet the little boy would not leave the ship without his father’s permission. His father was lying dead and couldn’t hear the little boy’s words.
He called aloud – ‘Say, father, say
If yet my task is done?’
He knew not that the chieftain lay
Unconscious of his son.
The little boy called out loud and asked his father if his duty and responsibility was done. The little child was unaware that his father had lost his life and was unable to hear him.
‘Speak, father!’ once again he cried,
‘If I may yet be gone!
And’ – but the booming shots replied,
And fast the flames rolled on.
Once again, the little boy cried our seeking the permission of his father. But before he cpuld complete his sentence the sounds of the booms and shots of the ongoing war was heard and the flames was burning faster.
Upon his brow he felt their breath
And in his waving hair;
And look’d from that lone post of death,
In still yet brave despair.
The little boy could feel the warmth of the growing fire but yet stayed with courage and loyalty, awaiting for his command. Even though he was all alone, he looked bravely at the face of death.
And shouted but once more aloud,
‘My father! must I stay?’
While o’er him fast, through sail and shroud,
The wreathing fires made way.
He shouted again asking his father if he should stay back as the burning flames made way over him.
They wrapped the ship in splendour wild,
They caught the flag on high,
And streamed above the gallant child,
Like banners in the sky.
The flames wrapped the entire ship and even burnt the flag flying high and took over the little boy too. The boy readily sacrificed his life fulfilling his duties and responsibilities.
There came a burst of thunder sound –
The boy – oh! where was he?
Ask of the winds that far around
With fragments strewed the sea!
The ship exploded and the sound of the explosion was thundering. The fragments of the ship was thrown to the sea and the boy was not to be found in the wreckage. The poet asks a rheotrical question to imply that the boy was no more.
With mast, and helm, and pennon fair,
That well had borne their part,
But the noblest thing which perished there,
Was that young faithful heart.
The mighty ship was completely wrecked and broken. Even amongst these damage and loss, the noblest thing that perished was the innocent, faithful young heart. The little boy died heroically just out of his sheer obedience to his father.
Poem Analysis of the Poem Casabianca
The poem is sung in ballad form (abab) and features a youngster questioning his father if he has completed his duties while the ship burns till the magazine catches fire. ‘Young Casabianca, a boy about thirteen years old, son of the Admiral of the Orient, remained at his post (in the Battle of the Nile) after the ship had taken fire, and all the guns had been abandoned, and perished in the explosion of the vessel, when the flames had reached the powder,’ Hemans writes in the poem.
By virtue of the strange union of its subject concerns and its Victorian pedagogy, Hemans poem plays an especially defined function in English cultural history. Casabinca is one of the most compelling examples of a corpse that cannot be buried: just as the boy’s body could never be gathered and deposited in a tomb, so had his poem avoided a proper burial in the darkness and abyss of time.
Casabianca has been charged with major criticism. It engages in a sorrowful senti mentalism, the glorification of war, and the maintenance of patriarchy in its seeming praise of juvenile self-sacrifice, uncompromising valour, and unquestioned loyalty to the father’s word.
In other words, though the poem seems to show the history as the child’s bravery, the later criticisms have also given another perspective by speaking on the parental culture during that period. The obedience taught to a child to an extent where he is accustomed to his father’s orders even when he is in danger is questioned in this era.
Nevertheless, Felicia Dorothea Hemans’ attempt to put forth historical event into a poem is remarkable. To conclude, this poem is tribute to Giocante, the boy stood on the burning deck…
Poetic Devices used in the Poem Casabianca
- Similie – “As born to rule the storm” , “Like banners in the sky”, “A proud, though childlike form.
- Metaphor – A creature of heroic blood
- personification – “And but the booming shots replied
- Alliteration – him had, beautiful and bright, fast the flames, sail and shroud, father,faint
- Onomatopoeia – There came a burst of thuder sound
- Oxymoron – brave despair, splendour wild
