- description
- # A UTILITARIAN VIEW OF THE _MONITOR’S_ FIGHT
## Overview
"A UTILITARIAN VIEW OF THE _MONITOR’S_ FIGHT" is a poem that appears as a chapter within the larger collection "John Marr and Other Poems." It was extracted from the file `john_marr_and_other_poems.txt` and is part of the "Melville Complete Works" collection. The poem is situated between the chapters titled "POEMS FROM BATTLE PIECES" and "MALVERN HILL."
## Context
This poem is one of many works by Herman Melville, collected under the umbrella of "Melville Complete Works." It is specifically included in the poetry collection "[John Marr and Other Poems](arke:01KG8AJ5CWVMSM9AY2938E996H)," which was sourced from the file "[john_marr_and_other_poems.txt](arke:01KG89J19Y3FNVN5KWASY78BP4)." The poem's placement within the collection suggests it is part of a series of poems related to historical events or reflections on conflict.
## Contents
The poem, titled "A UTILITARIAN VIEW OF THE _MONITOR’S_ FIGHT," reflects on the nature of warfare, contrasting the mechanical and calculated aspects of modern combat with more traditional notions of glory and passion. It describes a battle, likely referencing the engagement between the USS Monitor and the CSS Virginia, as a "blacksmiths' fray" driven by "crank, / Pivot, and screw, / And calculations of caloric." The poem suggests that war, while still present, has become less grand, with warriors reduced to "operatives" and the conflict itself stripped of its former pageantry. The text includes verses that emphasize the shift from heroic combat to industrial efficiency in warfare.
- description_generated_at
- 2026-01-30T20:48:12.628Z
- description_model
- gemini-2.5-flash-lite
- description_title
- A UTILITARIAN VIEW OF THE _MONITOR’S_ FIGHT
- end_line
- 2631
- extracted_at
- 2026-01-30T20:47:32.310Z
- extracted_by
- structure-extraction-lambda
- start_line
- 2591
- text
- A UTILITARIAN VIEW OF THE _MONITOR’S_ FIGHT
Plain be the phrase, yet apt the verse,
More ponderous than nimble;
For since grimed War here laid aside
His Orient pomp, ’twould ill befit
Overmuch to ply
The rhyme’s barbaric cymbal.
Hail to victory without the gaud
Of glory; zeal that needs no fans
Of banners; plain mechanic power
Plied cogently in War now placed—
Where War belongs—
Among the trades and artisans.
Yet this was battle, and intense—
Beyond the strife of fleets heroic;
Deadlier, closer, calm ’mid storm;
No passion; all went on by crank,
Pivot, and screw,
And calculations of caloric.
Needless to dwell; the story’s known.
The ringing of those plates on plates
Still ringeth round the world—
The clangor of that blacksmiths’ fray.
The anvil-din
Resounds this message from the Fates:
War shall yet be, and to the end;
But war-paint shows the streaks of weather;
War yet shall be, but warriors
Are now but operatives; War’s made
Less grand than Peace,
And a singe runs through lace and feather.
- title
- A UTILITARIAN VIEW OF THE _MONITOR’S_ FIGHT