Casabianca (1826) is a poem by Felicia Hemans about a boy who stays on the burning deck of a French warship at the Battle of the Nile in 1798, waiting for his father's order. Its opening line became one of the most recited and parodied in English.
The event
On 1 August 1798, at the Battle of the Nile, the British fleet under Horatio Nelson destroyed the French fleet in Aboukir Bay, Egypt. The French flagship L'Orient caught fire and exploded.
Her captain, Louis de Casabianca, was mortally wounded; his son Giocante, aged about twelve, is said to have refused to leave without his father's order and died in the explosion.
The poem
Hemans published the poem in The Monthly Magazine in August 1826. In ten quatrains, the boy calls to his unconscious father for permission to leave, while the flames rise around him, until the ship blows up.
The poem presents him as a model of filial obedience and courage, faithful to his father's command until death.
Afterlife
For a century Casabianca was learned by heart in British and American schools. Its first line was endlessly parodied in playgrounds and music halls.
Elizabeth Bishop wrote a modern poem with the same title in 1936, and the story is still told in Corsica, where the Casabianca family came from.
Anecdotes
A submarine named Casabianca
The French navy has named several ships after Casabianca, including a submarine that escaped from Toulon in 1942 and helped liberate Corsica.
A son of Corsica
Louis de Casabianca was a Corsican, born in Vescovato, and served as a deputy in the National Convention before returning to the navy.
Frequently asked questions
Is Casabianca a true story?
It is based on the death of the young son of Captain Louis de Casabianca at the Battle of the Nile in 1798, though details are uncertain.
When was the poem published?
In The Monthly Magazine in August 1826.
What ship is described?
The French flagship L'Orient, which exploded during the battle.