Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Roden Berkeley Wriothesley Noel’s "Sedan" is a poignant exploration of human suffering, juxtaposed against the grand narratives of political power and military conquest. Through the story of a starving man and his dying child, Noel offers a sharp critique of the values and priorities of a world obsessed with crowns and victories. The poem grapples with the tension between personal suffering and the spectacle of history, questioning who truly deserves the world’s reverence—the powerful rulers or the humble, suffering souls trampled in the wake of empires.

The poem begins with a vivid depiction of desolation: "The looms are broken, the looms are hushed, / And a broken, weary man / Sits near a child, with fever flushed, / In a cottage of Sedan." The image of broken looms, which once symbolized productivity and the ability to provide for a family, now stand as a symbol of destruction and loss. The man, physically exhausted and emotionally devastated, sits by his feverish child. Noel immediately establishes the emotional core of the poem, contrasting the quiet, intimate scene of a father and his dying child with the larger historical context of Sedan, the site of a significant battle during the Franco-Prussian War. By placing the focus on the suffering of the common man, Noel emphasizes the human cost of war, overshadowing the grand political consequences of the battle.

The mother of the child is introduced in the following lines, though she is already gone: "The mother starved with him, the weaver, / To feed their little child, / Who lies now low with famine fever, / That slew the mother mild." The mother’s death from starvation adds another layer of tragedy to the scene. Her quiet sacrifice is contrasted with the chaos and violence of the battle. The mother and father, both weavers—representatives of the working class—are reduced to powerless figures in the aftermath of war, their lives destroyed by famine and poverty. The "famine fever" that took the child’s mother now threatens the child, intensifying the sense of helplessness and despair that permeates the poem.

Noel’s description of the room emphasizes the starkness of their situation: "The room is desolate; the store / Has dwindled very low; / All a poor housewife';s pride of yore / Was plundered of the foe." The material devastation reflects the emotional and spiritual desolation experienced by the father. The phrase "poor housewife';s pride" evokes a sense of loss not only of material possessions but also of dignity. The invading forces have stripped away not just their physical means of survival but also their sense of self-worth and agency. This plundering by "the foe" connects the personal suffering of the weaver’s family to the larger political violence of the Franco-Prussian War, where ordinary people are often the ones to bear the brunt of imperial ambitions.

The poem shifts from the intimate scene of the father and child to a broader reflection on history and power: "He knows an emperor lost a crown / Here in his own Sedan; / And he knows an emperor gained a crown, / The solitary man." Here, Noel introduces the idea that while emperors exchange crowns—Napoleon III’s defeat at Sedan led to the rise of the German Empire—the real human suffering is overlooked. The father is aware of the grand political shifts occurring around him, but they are irrelevant in the face of his personal tragedy. Noel presents a stark contrast between the solitary, suffering man and the emperors whose victories and defeats are celebrated or mourned by the world.

The father "hears the voice of a world that sings / The spectacle sublime," but for him, the only thing that matters is "one life that clings / To his own a little time!" Noel critiques the glorification of war and political triumph, suggesting that the world’s celebration of such events is hollow when viewed from the perspective of those who are most affected by them. The father’s focus is on the immediate, personal tragedy of his child’s life slipping away, a stark contrast to the grand narratives of history being written around him.

The poem’s central question is posed in the next stanza: "I wonder, if the Christ beholds / With eyes divinely deep, / Whom to his heart He nearest holds, / The kings, or these that weep?" Noel invokes Christ as a figure of compassion and justice, questioning whether the divine would value the powerful rulers or the suffering individuals. This question cuts to the heart of the poem’s moral critique, challenging the reader to reconsider who truly deserves reverence and care. The contrast between the "kings" and "these that weep" highlights the disparity between those who hold power and those who suffer under it.

Noel’s use of imagery continues to emphasize the moral inversion of power: "Who seem more royal and more tall / In calm, pure light from God, / These crowned colossal things that crawl, / Or lowly souls they trod?" The "crowned colossal things that crawl" evoke images of emperors and kings, whose power is depicted as dehumanizing and lowly in contrast to the "lowly souls" who are trampled underfoot. Noel suggests that true royalty and nobility are found not in the crowns of emperors but in the humble, suffering souls who endure with quiet dignity.

The poem’s final lines drive home this point, contrasting the "purple, laurelled kings" with "him who writhes beneath their trail, / A pauper in despair." The image of a pauper crushed beneath the weight of imperial power encapsulates Noel’s critique of the disparity between the powerful and the powerless. The concluding question—"Conquered and conquerors of Sedan, / Or a dying child and a starving man?"—forces the reader to confront the moral ambiguity of war and power. Noel leaves the reader with a haunting image of suffering, suggesting that the true tragedy of Sedan is not the loss or gain of crowns but the human lives devastated in its aftermath.

In "Sedan", Noel masterfully uses the contrast between the grand historical narrative of political power and the intimate, personal suffering of ordinary people to critique the glorification of war and empire. Through the story of the weaver and his dying child, the poem questions who truly matters in the eyes of the world—and, more importantly, in the eyes of God. The poem’s mournful tone, rich imagery, and powerful moral questions invite the reader to reflect on the human cost of war and the true nature of power and dignity.

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