Crusaders
FURL we the sails, and pass with tardy oars Through these bright regions, casting many a glance Upon the dream-like issues--the romance Of many-coloured life that Fortune pours Round the Crusaders, till on distant shores Their labours end; or they return to lie, The vow performed, in cross-legged effigy, Devoutly stretched upon their chancel floors. Am I deceived? Or is their requiem chanted By voices never mute when Heaven unties Her inmost, softest, tenderest harmonies; Requiem which Earth takes up with voice undaunted, When she would tell how Brave, and Good, and Wise, For their high guerdon not in vain have panted!
Crusaders - meaning Summary
Romantic Honor and Requiem
The speaker surveys a romanticized view of Crusaders whose voyages end either in distant death or in pious return. Images of vows, cross-legged effigies, and Fortune frame their lives as noble and storied. The poem hears a requiem that seems sung by Heaven and echoed by Earth, affirming that the brave, good, and wise sought a high reward and that their striving and sacrifice were not in vain.
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