Unguarded Gate
By Thomas Bailey Aldrich
Annotated edition of the 1892 Atlantic Text
WIDE open and unguarded stand our gates,
Named of the four winds, North, South, East, and West;
Portals that lead to an enchanted land
Of cities, forests, fields of living gold,
Vast prairies, lordly summits touched with snow,
Majestic rivers sweeping proudly past
The Arab’s date-palm and the Norseman’s pine —
A realm wherein are fruits of every zone,
Airs of all climes, for lo! throughout the year
The red rose blossoms somewhere — a rich land,
A later Eden planted in the wilds,
With not an inch of earth within its bound
But if a slave’s foot press it sets him free! [ 1895 text: him free.]
Here, it is written, Toil shall have its wage,
And Honor honor, and the humblest man
Stand level with the highest in the law.
Of such a land have men in dungeons dreamed,
And with the vision brightening in their eyes
Gone smiling to the fagot and the sword.Wide open and unguarded stand our gates, [ 1895 text: line is indented ]
And through them presses a wild motley throng —
Men from the Volga and the Tartar steppes,
Featureless figures of the Hoang-Ho,
Malayan, Scythian, Teuton, Kelt, and Slav,
Flying the Old World’s poverty and scorn;
These bringing with them unknown gods and rites,
Those, tiger passions, here to stretch their claws.
In street and alley what strange tongues are these, [ 1895 text: are loud, ]
Accents of menace alien to our air,
Voices that once the Tower of Babel knew!
O Liberty, white Goddess! is it well
To leave the gates unguarded? On thy breast
Fold Sorrow’s children, soothe the hurts of fate,
Lift the down-trodden, but with hand of steel
Stay those who to thy sacred portals come
To waste the gifts of freedom. Have a care
Lest from thy brow the clustered stars be torn
And trampled in the dust. For so of old
The thronging Goth and Vandal trampled Rome,
And where the temples of the Cæsars stood
The lean wolf unmolested made her lair.
Summary of Unguarded Gates
- Popularity of “Unguarded Gates”: “Unguarded Gates” by Thomas Bailey Aldrich, an American editor, poet, writer, and critic, is a beautiful indigenous piece. The poem first appeared in 1892 in The Atlantic in its original form. The popularity of the poem lies in its ambiguous stance against immigration that Aldrich took when he composed this poem and later altered some words to let the criticism subside.
- “Unguarded Gates” As a Representative of Patriotism and Anti-Immigration: Aldrich opens the poem with a clear stance about his homeland, the United States, saying that it has its gate open for the immigrants in every direction with its “enchanted land” having prairies, summits, majestic rivers, pines, and palms with exotic qualities. He further praises America, saying it is rich with fruits, climates, flowers, wildlife and freedom. The abstract idea of freedom rings in the middle of the stanza when he says that when a slave presses for it, he wants it. The people doing hard work get fair wages and law treats everybody on equal basis. He further argues that all people including the prisoners and the freemen smile when they get their share of the hard work. However, these gates are now full of “motely throng” with people such as the Volga, Tartar, the Hoang-Ho, the Malayan, the Scythian and others having different religious affiliations coming to this land to reap the fruits of prosperity, for they come from extreme poor lands with different languages spoken over there. The poem then calls Liberty as a goddess saying that she provides refuge to everyone whether they are grief-stricken children or down-trodden people. Aldrich, then, advises that it should take care of the stars that it holds in its fold otherwise they would be trampled like Goth and Vandal trampled Rome. Also, the wolf that eats up liberty often stays in the temples of the Caesars.
- Major Themes in “Unguarded Gates”: Unguarded immigration, floods of people and pleasure of liberty are three major themes of the poem. The poem speaks about the “unguarded gates” of the American land by which he means that the American borders are free for all with everyone being welcomed. Due to this welcome where liberty gives people option to do hard work, be free and enjoy life, the American land is witnessing a deluge of the people. This flood comprises people from different races, gender, nationality, and linguistic background. Due to this amalgamation of different people, the poet advises the abstract idea of liberty to protect itself from despotism.
Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in “Unguarded Gates”
literary devices make poetic or prose writing suitable, appropriate and readable. The analysis of these devices in the poem as given below shows this fact.
- Allusions: The poem shows the use of different religious as well as national allusions such as Eden, Volga, Tartar, Scythian, and the Caesars etc.
- Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line such as the sound of /a/ in “Wide open and unguarded stand our gates”, /o/ in “Named of the four winds, North, South, East, and West” and the sound of /e/ in “Of cities, forests, fields of living gold.”
- Apostrophe: The poem shows the use of apostrophes such as “O, Liberty…”. It means to call some abstract idea or absent person in a nostalgic manner.
- Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line such as the sound of /s/ and /t/ in “Vast prairies, lordly summits touched with snow”, /r/ and /s/ in “The red rose blossoms somewhere — a rich land,” and the sound of /h/ and /n/ in “And Honor honor, and the humblest man.”
- Enjambment: It is defined as a thought in verse that does not come to an end at a line break; rather, it rolls over to the next line. For example;
And trampled in the dust. For so of old
The thronging Goth and Vandal trampled Rome,
And where the temples of the Cæsars stood
The lean wolf unmolested made her lair.
- Imagery: Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses. The poem shows the use of imagery such as “Lest from thy brow the clustered stars be torn”, “The thronging Goth and Vandal trampled Rome” and “The lean wolf unmolested made her lair.”
- Metaphor: It is a figure of speech in which an implied comparison is made between the objects that are different. The poem shows two beautiful metaphors such as gates, liberty and land compared with different things.
- Personification: The poet has shown the use of personifications of the land and liberty to show as if the life and emotions of their own.
- Symbolism: Symbolism is using symbols to signify ideas and qualities, giving them symbolic meanings that are different from the literal meanings. The poem shows the use of the religious and secular symbols such as the Caesars and different nationalities to show the molten pot of America.
Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in “Unguarded Gates”
Poetic devices, besides literary devices, are instrumental in beautifying the poems. Thomas Bailey Aldrich has done it with his poem “Unguarded Gates” as follows.
- Diction and Tone: The poem shows the use of simple diction full of allusions and metaphors. However, the tone is somewhat anti-immigration, satiric as well as sincere.
- Free Verse: The poem does not follow any rhyme scheme. Therefore, it is a free verse poem.
- Stanza: A stanza is a poetic form of some lines. These are two long stanzas with different verses.
Quotes to be Used
These lines from “Unguarded Gates” are relevant to quote about the unique diversity of people in the United States.
And through them presses a wild motley throng —
Men from the Volga and the Tartar steppes,
Featureless figures of the Hoang-Ho,
Malayan, Scythian, Teuton, Kelt, and Slav.