Stanza 4
Or is it glory you wish, Astair,
the crash and the battle-flame? Here the poem takes a dark turn. Apparently, Astair is not responding as expected to promises of fairy-tale worlds. Perhaps what she really wants is glory. No problem. The king knows all about fame, power and glory: You get it by crushing your enemies on the battlefield. And battlefields are full of crashing noises and flames. |
The winds shall break on the warship's sail
I'm picturing a warship leaving port, unfurling its sails in the wind. When sails fill suddenly, they make a sound as loud and sharp as a crack of thunder. I think that's what the narrator means when he says that winds shall "break" on the warship's sail. Why is the ship leaving port? It's on a mission of conquest, of course. We've got to keep Astair happy. |
and Death ride free at my horse's tail,
Notice how Howard has capitalized "Death". That's a clear indication that he's personifying death; he's even given it a name. And this person called "Death" is riding a horse behind him. There are two possibilities: Either death is chasing him, or the king is riding through villages, leaving behind him a trail of death and destruction. I think it's pretty clear that it's the latter. The king is saying that he will ride through foreign lands and kill everyone who gets in his way. It's okay, because he's doing it for her. It's like your crazy boyfriend who tells you, "Just name a person--any person in the world—and I'll gladly kill them for you." The word "free" describes the way that Death is riding his own horse; in this context, it means "unrestrained". Nothing is holding Death back |
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Till all the tribes of the earth shall wail
at the terror of your name. How long will the king keep up this killing spree? Until everyone on earth is terrified of Astair. After all, he's doing it for her. To our modern sensibilities, it may seem strange to think that anyone would want to be feared by the entire world. But things were different back then. Recall Machiavelli's advice: It's better to be feared than loved. |