Folk Figure. He is the subject of Felicia Heman's famous poem "Casabianca" (1826), which is far better known by its opening line: "The boy stood on the burning deck". It was based on an actual incident during the Battle of the Nile (also known as the Battle of Abu Qir Bay), August 1, 1798. Twelve year-old Giocante was serving with his father, Captain Luc-Julien-Joseph Casabianca, aboard the French flagship L'Orient when it came under attack from Horatio Nelson's British fleet; the ship caught fire and exploded, killing father, son, and 900 of the crew. This is all that is known of the young sailor's life. Hemans took these scanty facts and spun them into a melodramatic lyric of filial devotion. Her poem places Giocante in the crow's nest of the blazing L'Orient, refusing to abandon his post until given the word by his father (who is already dead), thus sealing his fate. For over a century "Casabianca" was a familiar grammar school recitation piece in England and the United States and even inspired a legend that the boy himself set fire to the powder magazine rather than allow the ship to fall into British hands. It is also one of the most parodied poems in the English language.
Folk Figure. He is the subject of Felicia Heman's famous poem "Casabianca" (1826), which is far better known by its opening line: "The boy stood on the burning deck". It was based on an actual incident during the Battle of the Nile (also known as the Battle of Abu Qir Bay), August 1, 1798. Twelve year-old Giocante was serving with his father, Captain Luc-Julien-Joseph Casabianca, aboard the French flagship L'Orient when it came under attack from Horatio Nelson's British fleet; the ship caught fire and exploded, killing father, son, and 900 of the crew. This is all that is known of the young sailor's life. Hemans took these scanty facts and spun them into a melodramatic lyric of filial devotion. Her poem places Giocante in the crow's nest of the blazing L'Orient, refusing to abandon his post until given the word by his father (who is already dead), thus sealing his fate. For over a century "Casabianca" was a familiar grammar school recitation piece in England and the United States and even inspired a legend that the boy himself set fire to the powder magazine rather than allow the ship to fall into British hands. It is also one of the most parodied poems in the English language.
Bio by: Bobb Edwards
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