Parsing the Star-Spangled Banner

A teaching exercise for understanding
the national anthem of the United States.

Notes follow the text.

The Star-Spangled¹ Banner as  adopted by the U.S. Congress  on March 3, 1931

                  (Official national anthem of the United States of America)

By Francis Scott Key (1814)*

                                                                        *The title of Key's poem is
                                                                                 "The Defence of Fort McHenry"

O! say can you see by the dawn’s early light,
What² so proudly we hailed at the twilight’s last gleaming,
Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight,
O’er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming ?³
And the rockets’ red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there;⁴
O! say does that star-spangled banner yet wave,
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave?⁵

On the shore dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
Where the foe’s haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o’er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?⁶

Now it catches the gleam of the morning’s first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines in the stream:⁷
’Tis⁸ the star-spangled banner, O! long may it wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.⁹

And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle’s confusion,
A home and a country, should leave us no more?¹⁰
Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps’ pollution.¹¹
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave:¹²
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave,
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.¹³

O! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved home and the war’s desolation.¹⁴
Blest with vict’ry and peace, may the Heav’n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation!¹⁵
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: "In God is our Trust;"¹⁶
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!¹⁷

Analytic notes and punctuation questions: 

 1--Why is this hyphenated? Incidentally, what does the word "spangled" mean?

 2--Some poets begin every line with a capital letter; often, this does not mean that a new sentence is beginning. 

 3--End of sentence one; note that this is a question. 

 4--What is the function of a semi-colon in this line? 

 5--Also a question, this ends sentence two. 

 6--Still another question at the end of sentence three. 

 7--What is the colon signaling? [Pay attention to punctuation.]

 8--This is a contraction of "It is." The many contractions in this anthem are devices to maintain the poetic rhythm. 

 9--Sentence four, the first declarative sentence ending with a  period. 

10--Sentence five poses another question. 

11--Sentence six: nine words.  A short declaration. 

12--Here’s a colon again. What is it signaling to the reader? 

13--End of sentence seven. 

14--End of sentence eight. 

15--Sentence nine;  note the contractions in this sentence.  Why does it end with an exclamation mark? 

16--What is the semicolon signaling? 

17--End of lyric.  Sentence ten. Four of the sentences are questions. Stanza One is comprised completely of questions. Stanza Four is the only stanza not containing a question. Does this indicate that Stanza Four might provide answers?

Careful reading requires close attention to word usage, punctuation, and sentence structure. Look up the meanings of the following words:

Vocabulary:

First stanza:

perilous: 

ramparts:

Second stanza:

haughty:

reposes:

Third stanza:

vauntingly:

havoc:

refuge:

hireling:

doth:

Fourth stanza:

desolation:

Contractions: 

            O’er (over); ‘Tis (it is); vict’ry (victory); and Heav’n (heaven).

By using these contractions, the author is engaging in a poetic strategy that allows using one syllable for a two-syllable word or a two-syllable word in place of a three-syllable  word.

Observations for analysis:

How do we identify this as poetry?

What is the subject of this poetry?

Who is the “you” of the first line?  Who is the “we” of the second line?

What passage of time is described in the first two lines?

            Read the last two lines of each stanza.  Line eight is identical in each stanza.

            What are the changes that occur in each stanza in line seven? 

            What does the one changed word in line seven of the last two stanzas communicate about the author’s vision?

Questions for analysis:

How many paragraphs are there in this writing?

What phrases are the most difficult to understand in this poem (song)?

What is being described in stanza two?  In what line of stanza two is the answer to this question given?

Who are the subjects of stanza three (probably the most difficult stanza to grasp)?

How does stanza four differ from the first three stanzas?

Why do so few Americans know the lyrics of stanzas two, three, and four?



Reference: "Star-Spangled Banner" in Wikipedia.  
  (Note especially the References,  External Links, and other helps at the end of the Wikipedia article.)