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‘Hail, Liberty!’ Kipling borrowed from the Greek Independence movement to give thanks for the end of the Great War.
1918
King George V 1910-1936
Music: Sir Edward Elgar

Photo supplied by Imperial War Museums, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain. Source

About this picture …

HMS Agamemnon was launched in 1906, and saw action in the Dardanelles campaign of 1915, defending the British forces from the Ottoman Turks. A year later, she shot down a German Zeppelin which was going to drop bombs on Thessaloniki. On 30th October 1918, the Armistice of Mudros was signed aboard the ship, signalling the end of the Ottoman Empire.

‘Hail, Liberty!’
Kipling’s poem, published at the end of the Great War in the ‘Daily Telegraph’ on October 17, 1918, is a verse-paraphrase of the Greek National Anthem. The original was composed by Dionýsios Solomós in 1823, and ran to 158 verses.

WE knew thee of old,
Oh divinely restored,
By the light of thine eyes
And the light of thy Sword.*

From the graves of our slain
Shall thy valour prevail
As we greet thee again —
Hail, Liberty! Hail!

Long time didst thou dwell
Mid the peoples that mourn,
Awaiting some voice
That should bid thee return.

Ah, slow broke that day
And no man dared call,
For the shadow of tyranny
Lay over all:

And we saw thee sad-eyed,
The tears on thy cheeks
While thy raiment was dyed
In the blood of the Greeks.

Yet, behold now thy sons
With impetuous breath
Go forth to the fight
Seeking Freedom or Death.

From the graves of our slain
Shall thy valour prevail
As we greet thee again
Hail, Liberty! Hail!

The original Greek anthem reads, more grimly, ‘by the bite of thy sword’. For additional background, see also Kipling and ‘Agamemnon’.

Source

‘Hymn to Liberty’, by Rudyard Kipling.

Suggested Music

Symphony No. 1

1: Andante. Nobilmente e semplice; Allegro

Sir Edward Elgar (1857-1934)

Performed by the London Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Vernon Handley.Performed by the London Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Sir Georg Solti.

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How To Use This Passage

You can use this passage to help improve your command of English.

IRead it aloud, twice or more. IISummarise it in one sentence of up to 30 words. IIISummarise it in one paragraph of 40-80 words. IVMake notes on the passage, and reconstruct the original from them later on. VJot down any unfamiliar words, and make your own sentences with them later. VIMake a note of any words that surprise or impress you, and ask yourself what meaning they add to the words you would have expected to see. VIITurn any old-fashioned English into modern English. VIIITurn prose into verse, and verse into prose. IXAsk yourself what the author is trying to get you to feel or think. XHow would an artist or a photographer capture the scene? XIHow would a movie director shoot it, or a composer write incidental music for it?

For these and more ideas, see How to Use The Copy Book.

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