Baael's stone obscene: Human sacrifices were offered on the by James Russell Lowell: Summary, Meaning & Analysis
This passage comes from Lowell's "Ode Recited at the Harvard Commemoration" (1865), particularly the section dedicated to Abraham Lincoln that Lowell included after delivering the poem.
The poem
altars of Baael. (_Jeremiah_ xix, 5.) 147-205. This strophe was not in the ode as delivered, but was written immediately after the occasion, and included in the published poem. "It is so completely imbedded in the structure of the ode," says Scudder, "that it is difficult to think of it as an afterthought. It is easy to perceive that while the glow of composition and of recitation was still upon him, Lowell suddenly conceived this splendid illustration, and indeed climax of the utterance, of the Ideal which is so impressive in the fifth stanza.... Into these threescore lines Lowell has poured a conception of Lincoln, which may justly be said to be to-day the accepted idea which Americans hold of their great President. It was the final expression of the judgment which had slowly been forming in Lowell's own mind." In a letter to Richard Watson Gilder, Lowell says: "The passage about Lincoln was not in the ode as originally recited, but added immediately after. More than eighteen months before, however, I had written about Lincoln in the _North American Review_--an article that pleased him. I _did_ divine him earlier than most men of the Brahmin caste." It is a singular fact that the other great New England poets, Longfellow, Whittier, and Holmes, had almost nothing to say about Lincoln.
This passage comes from Lowell's "Ode Recited at the Harvard Commemoration" (1865), particularly the section dedicated to Abraham Lincoln that Lowell included after delivering the poem. In this part, Lowell reflects on his journey to genuinely appreciate Lincoln — a figure he previously underestimated — and paints a picture of Lincoln as a true American hero, influenced more by the frontier than by privilege. It remains one of the most acclaimed poetic tributes to Lincoln ever created.
Line-by-line
altars of Baael. (_Jeremiah_ xix, 5.)
147-205. This strophe was not in the ode as delivered...
In a letter to Richard Watson Gilder, Lowell says...
It is a singular fact that the other great New England poets...
Tone & mood
The tone is solemn and ceremonial, reminiscent of a heartfelt eulogy. Beneath the surface, there’s a sense of grief — this poem commemorates those lost in war — but it also conveys a feeling of vindication. Lowell had faith in Lincoln when many around him did not, and this tone reflects that quiet pride without crossing into arrogance. The biblical epigraph lends a prophetic weight to the piece, suggesting that Lowell is not merely recalling Lincoln but also bearing witness to his legacy.
Symbols & metaphors
- Baal's altar — The altar of Baal, known for the child sacrifices in the Old Testament, represents the battlefields of the Civil War — sites where the young lost their lives to overwhelming and age-old forces. It portrays the war not as a glorious endeavor but as a grim, ancient sacrifice.
- The Brahmin caste — Lowell's term refers to Boston's educated upper class. It symbolizes cultural blindness — those who should have been the first to recognize Lincoln's greatness were, due to their privilege, the last to acknowledge it.
- Lincoln himself — Lincoln in this strophe isn’t just a historical figure; he embodies a uniquely American greatness: self-made, unrefined, and more authentically reflective of the nation than any aristocrat could ever be.
- The ode's occasion — Harvard's Commemoration ceremony symbolizes the transition from private sorrow to public remembrance — a moment when we formally acknowledge the deceased's place in history. The addition of the Lincoln passage by Lowell after the ceremony implies that the event inspired feelings that the original speech couldn't fully capture.
Historical context
James Russell Lowell delivered his "Ode Recited at the Harvard Commemoration" on July 21, 1865, only months after the Civil War ended and Lincoln's assassination. Harvard was paying tribute to its own fallen—students and alumni who died in the conflict. Lowell had lost nephews in the fighting as well. The Lincoln strophe (lines 147–205) was written right after the recitation and later added to the published version. By this time, Lincoln had transformed in the eyes of New England intellectuals from a dismissed backwoods politician to a mourned martyr. Unlike many of his contemporaries, Lowell had recognized Lincoln's worth earlier, as he pointed out in his letter to Gilder. The poem blends elements of elegy, civic oration, and prophecy—a style the Victorians referred to as the "public ode"—with the Lincoln passage becoming the most quoted and memorable part.
FAQ
It originates from Lowell's 'Ode Recited at the Harvard Commemoration,' composed in 1865 to pay tribute to Harvard men who lost their lives in the Civil War. The Lincoln strophe (lines 147–205) was included in the published version immediately following the poem's initial reading at the ceremony.
Baal was a Canaanite god mentioned in the Old Testament, known for the worship practices that included child sacrifice — as noted in Jeremiah 19:5. Lowell employs this imagery as a metaphor for the Civil War: just like children were offered on Baal's altars, young Americans lost their lives in the war. This comparison casts the conflict as an ancient, horrific, and morally pressing issue.
Lowell is talking about Boston's educated, upper-class intellectual elite — the old New England families that held sway over Harvard and American literature. He uses this term to point out that people in his own social class were slow to recognize Lincoln, viewing him as too rough and western. Lowell takes pride in having looked beyond that bias sooner than most.
Lowell hadn't finished writing it when he stood up to recite. His editor, Scudder, noted that the emotion of the moment—delivering the ode to mourning Harvard families—inspired the Lincoln passage. He penned it right afterward, while the emotions were still vivid, and it was included in the published poem.
Those three were the other giants of New England poetry back then — well-known figures who were widely read and respected. The absence of a memorable poem about the defining figure of their era from any of them makes Lowell's achievement really stand out. It implies that Lowell possessed a political and human imagination that his peers didn’t have, or at least he was more willing to express it.
A commemoration ode is a formal public poem crafted for a specific ceremonial occasion, such as a graduation, a memorial, or a national event. This type of poem requires a sense of grandeur and public emotion rather than private reflection. What sets Lowell's ode apart is that the most personal and emotionally resonant part—the Lincoln passage—was something he *added* after the ceremony. This indicates that the formal event alone didn't capture all he wanted to express.
Lowell wrote a positive essay about Lincoln in the *North American Review* more than eighteen months before the ode, and he noted that Lincoln appreciated it. This shows his admiration was both genuine and early — it wasn't just a response to Lincoln's assassination or martyrdom. This background gives the Lincoln strophe a credibility that a simple elegy wouldn't have.
The full ode isn't read as often today as it was in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, when it held the status of one of America's great public poems. However, the Lincoln strophe continues to be quoted in conversations about how Americans perceive and mythologize Lincoln. Scholars focused on Civil War literature and American poetry still regard it as an important work.