The Emperor's Tent-H. W. Longfellow

THE EMPEROR'S TENT

Once the Emperor Charles of Spain

With his swarthy, grave commanders,

I forget in what campaign,

Long besieged, in mud and rain,

Some old frontier town of Flanders.

Up and down the dreary camp,

In great boots of Spanish leather,

Striding with a measured tramp,

These Hidalgos, dull and damp,

Cursed the Frenchmen, cursed the weather

Thus as to and fro they went,

Over upland and through hollow,

Giving their impatience vent,

Perched upon the Emperor's tent,

In her nest, they spied a swallow.

Yes, it was a swallow's nest,

Built of clay and hair of horses,

Mane, or tail, or dragoon's crest,

Found on hedgerows east and west,

After skirmish of the forces.

Then an old Hidalgo said,

As he twirled his grey mustachio,

'Sure this swallow overhead

Thinks the Emperor's tent a shed,

And the Emperor but a Macho!'

Hearing his imperial name

Coupled with those words of malice,

Half in anger, half in shame,

Forth the great campaigner came

Slowly from his canvas palace.

'Let no hand the bird molest,'

Said he solemnly, 'nor hurt her!'

Adding then, by way of jest,

'Golondrina is my guest,

'Tis the wife of some deserter!'

Swift as bowstring speeds a shaft,

Through the camp was spread the rumour,

And the soldiers, as they quaffed

Flemish beer at dinner, laughed

At the Emperor's pleasant humour.

So unharmed and unafraid

Sat the swallow still and brooded,

Till the constant cannonade

Through the walls a breach had made,

And the siege was thus concluded.

Then the army, elsewhere bent,

Struck its tents as if disbanding,

Only not the Emperor's tent,

For he ordered, ere he went,

Very curtly, 'Leave it standing!'

So it stood there all alone,

Loosely flapping, torn and tattered,

Till the brood was fledged and flown,

Singing o'er those walls of stone

Which the cannon-shot had shattered.

H. W. LONGFELLOW 

Summary: 'The Emperor's Tent' by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow is a poem that tells the story of Emperor Charles of Spain and his swarthy commanders during a campaign in Flanders. The poem describes the dreary camp, the complaints of the commanders about the weather and the French, and their discovery of a swallow's nest perched on the Emperor's tent.

The Hidalgos, amused by the presence of the swallow's nest, mockingly suggest that the bird thinks the Emperor's tent is just a shed and the Emperor is but a Macho (a derogatory term). This reaches the Emperor's ears, and he emerges from his tent, defending the bird, declaring it his guest, and jokingly suggesting it's the wife of a deserter.

The soldiers spread the news, and the whole camp is amused by the Emperor's response. The swallow remains unharmed and continues to brood despite the ongoing cannonade until the siege comes to an end, and the army strikes its tents. However, the Emperor orders his tent to remain standing.

The poem concludes with the Emperor's tent standing alone, tattered and torn, until the swallow's brood is fledged and flown, singing over the walls that the cannon-shot had shattered, symbolizing the resilience and continuity of life amidst war and destruction.