- description
- # A Canticle:
## Overview - What this is (type, form, dates, scope)
"A Canticle:" is a segment of text, likely a poem, extracted from the file [battle_pieces_and_aspects_of_the_war.txt](arke:01KG89J1G8S4TRWXNCBRKCRKS8). The text spans lines 2841 to 2873 and is part of the larger [Battle-Pieces and Aspects of the War.](arke:01KG8AJ6FNQ0XKWBY52P8DRPC9) poetry collection. The segment was extracted on January 30, 2026, by the structure-extraction-lambda.
## Context - Background and provenance from related entities
This segment is part of the "Battle-Pieces and Aspects of the War." collection, which is included in the [Melville Complete Works](arke:01KG89HMDZKNY753EZE1CJ8HZW). The poem follows "The Frenzy in the Wake." (arke:01KG8AJNCG9KQ8HPTAVBQB2VAM) and precedes "The Fall of Richmond." (arke:01KG8AJPZHPVK3XF34J169DF31) within the collection. The text is described as being significant of the national exaltation of enthusiasm at the close of the War.
## Contents - What it contains, key subjects and details
"A Canticle:" is a poem that appears to celebrate the end of a war, using evocative language and imagery. It describes a "precipice Titanic" and "angle oceanic," and references "the Nation" and "Humanity." The poem includes a stanza that praises the "Lord of hosts victorious" and concludes with a call for "Hosanna to the Lord of hosts, The hosts of human kind."
- description_generated_at
- 2026-01-30T20:48:30.005Z
- description_model
- gemini-2.5-flash-lite
- description_title
- A Canticle:
- end_line
- 2873
- extracted_at
- 2026-01-30T20:47:35.910Z
- extracted_by
- structure-extraction-lambda
- start_line
- 2841
- text
- A Canticle:
Significant of the national exaltation of enthusiasm at
the close of the War.
O the precipice Titanic
Of the congregated Fall,
And the angle oceanic
Where the deepening thunders call--
And the Gorge so grim,
And the firmamental rim!
Multitudinously thronging
The waters all converge,
Then they sweep adown in sloping
Solidity of surge.
The Nation, in her impulse
Mysterious as the Tide,
In emotion like an ocean
Moves in power, not in pride;
And is deep in her devotion
As Humanity is wide.
Thou Lord of hosts victorious,
The confluence Thou hast twined;
By a wondrous way and glorious
A passage Thou dost find--
A passage Thou dost find:
Hosanna to the Lord of hosts,
The hosts of human kind.
Stable in its baselessness
When calm is in the air,
- title
- A Canticle: