Post 3- Elegy Thomas Ueland

The Martyr

BY HERMAN MELVILLE

Indicative of the passion of the people
on the 15th of April, 1865

Good Friday was the day

    Of the prodigy and crime,

When they killed him in his pity,

    When they killed him in his prime

Of clemency and calm—

         When with yearning he was filled

         To redeem the evil-willed,

And, though conqueror, be kind;

    But they killed him in his kindness,

    In their madness and their blindness,

And they killed him from behind.

 

              There is sobbing of the strong,

                   And a pall upon the land;

              But the People in their weeping

                                    Bare the iron hand:

              Beware the People weeping

                   When they bare the iron hand.

 

He lieth in his blood—

    The father in his face;

They have killed him, the Forgiver—

    The Avenger takes his place,

The Avenger wisely stern,

         Who in righteousness shall do

         What heavens call him to,

And the parricides remand;

    For they killed him in his kindness,

    In their madness and their blindness.

And his blood is on their hand.

 

                    There is sobbing of the strong,

                        And a pall upon the land;

                    But the People in their weeping

                                    Bare the iron hand:

                    Beware the People weeping

                        When they bare the iron hand.

Barrett, Faith, and Cristanne Miller. "Words for the Hour": A New Anthology of American Civil War Poetry. Amherst: U of Massachusetts, 2005. Print.

http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/244862 

The three elements of an elegy are a lament, praise and admiration, and then consolation and solace. This elegy focuses on the death of Abraham Lincoln, and Melville expresses grief through phrases such as "they killed him in his kindness in their madness and their blindness." It is evident that the author reveres the dead president, and he likens Lincoln to Jesus Christ when calling him the Forgiver (Jesus is known as the forgiver of our sins). Furthermore, Melville opens the elegy with "Good Friday was the day of the prodigy and the crime." In the Bible, Good Friday is the day that Jesus was crucified; Melville alludes to this when mentioning the day of Lincoln's death, furthering the divine comparison. The consolation for this tragedy lies in the hands of "the Avenger" Andrew Johnson, Lincoln's successor. Melville characterizes him as "wisely stern" and knows that he will do "what heavens call him to." Despite the death of a great president, the author still thinks the future holds some promise under our new leader. However, he warns of the effects of the grieving masses ("sobbing of the strong") in the repeated stanza, saying that we should "beware the people weeping when they bare the iron hand." Melville worries of a physical retaliation by the American people in response to the senseless murder of their beloved leader.

Overall, I think Melville's purpose was to associate Lincoln with Jesus Christ and to plant an image in our minds of "the martyr." He encapsulates the grief of America after the death while also highlighting the noble qualities of one of our greatest presidents.