Water

Water imagery features prominently in the poem. The first stanza references “the bridge that arched the flood” (1), to suggest the site of a battle where tides turned. The image is one of conflagration and tumult modulated by the physical structure of the bridge. The second stanza describes the decay of the bridge, “Down the dark stream which seaward creeps (8). The Concord River, which flows into the Atlantic Ocean, is referenced in these lines. The iconography of the Ocean, which the British Army had to cross in order to attempt to suppress the colonialist insurrection in the Americas, represents the redoubt against a distant tyranny. Water, and its flow, is furthermore associated with time’s passage.

Stone

The “votive” stone (10) is invoked to refer to the erection of the monument at the battle at Concord. Stone is a solid, timeless substance. It epitomizes the historical record. In...