Answer from Norway
Have you heard what says the Swede now,Young Norwegian man?Have you seen what forms proceed now,Border-watch to plan?Shades of those from life departed,Our forefathers single-hearted,Who, when words like these were said,Mounted guard and knew no dread.
Says the Swede now: That our cherishedNorseland's banner red,That which flew when Magnus perished,As to-day outspread,Which o'er Fredrikshald victoriousAnd o'er Adler waved all glorious,That the Swedish yellow-blueMust in shame henceforth eschew.
Says the Swede now: Lost their lusterHave our memories,Brighter honors shall we muster,If we borrow his.Bids us forth to Lützen stumble,Close this straw-thatched cottage humble,Drag our grandsire's ancient seatTo the Swedes for honor meet.
Let it stand, that poor old lumber,To us dear for aye;Sweden's ground it could but cumber,And it might not pay.For, we know from history's pages,Some sat there in former ages,Sverre Priest and other men,Who may wish to come again.
Says the Swede now: We must know it,He our freedom gave,But the Swedish sword can mow it,Send it to its grave.Yet the case is not alarming,He must fare with good fore-arming,For in truth some fell of yore,There where he would break a door.
Says the Swede now: We a cleverLittle boy remain,Very suitable to everHold his mantle's train.But would Christie be so pliant,With his comrades self-reliant,If they still at Eidsvold stood,Sword-girt, building Norway's good?
Big words oft the Swede was saying,Only small were we,But they never much were weighing,When the test should be.On the little cutter sailing,Wessel and Norse youth prevailing,Sweden's flag and frigate chasedFrom the Kattegat in haste.
Sweden's noblemen are shakingCharles the Twelfth's proud hat;We, in council or war-making,Peers are for all that.If things take the worse turn in there,Aid from Torgny we shall win there.Then o'er all the Northland's skiesGreater freedom's sun shall rise.
Words in this poem
- swede n.
- A native or inhabitant of Sweden. [Cf. G. Schwede.]
- norwegian a.
- Of or pertaining to Norway, its inhabitants, or its language. [Cf. Icel. Noregr, Norvegr, Norway. See North, and Way.]
- outspread v. t.
- To spread out; to expand; -- usually as a past part. or adj.
- glorious a.
- Exhibiting attributes, qualities, or acts that are worthy of or receive glory; noble; praiseworthy; excellent; splendid; illustrious; inspiring admiration; as, glorious deeds. [OF. glorios, glorious, F. glorieux, fr. L. gloriosus. See Glory, n.]
- henceforth adv.
- From this time forward; henceforward.
- eschew v. t.
- To shun; to avoid, as something wrong, or from a feeling of distaste; to keep one's self clear of. [OF. eschever, eschiver, eskiver, F. esquiver, fr. OHG. sciuhen, G. scheuen; akin to E. sky. See Shy, a.]
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
- muster n.
- Something shown for imitation; a pattern. [OE. moustre, OF. mostre, moustre, F. montre, LL. monstra. See Muster, v. t.]
- borrow v. t.
- To receive from another as a loan, with the implied or expressed intention of returning the identical article or its equivalent in kind; -- the opposite of lend. [OE. borwen, AS. borgian, fr. borg, borh, pledge; akin to D. borg, G. borg; prob. fr. root of AS. beorgan to protect. Borough.]
- cumber n.
- Trouble; embarrassment; distress. [Cf. encombre hindrance, impediment. See Cuber,v.]
- alarming a.
- Exciting, or calculated to excite, alarm; causing apprehension of danger; as, an alarming crisis or report.
- yore adv.
- In time long past; in old time; long since. [OE. , yare, , AS. geára;akin to geár a year, E. year. Year.]
- norse a.
- Of or pertaining to ancient Scandinavia, or to the language spoken by its inhabitants. [Dan. Norsk, fr. nord north. See North.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Answer from Norway is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems and Songs, Project Gutenberg ebook #6619, the Arthur Hubbell Palmer translation; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson, Answer from Norway, in Poems and Songs (1915), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #6619, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/bjornson-poems-and-songs/answer-from-norway.html, id L29250.
Form and metre
Answer from Norway is 64 lines in 8 stanzas of 8 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABABCCDD, complete in 7 of its 8 stanzas. The metre is trochaic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 89%).
See other poems in trochaic tetrameter.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 1 ABABCCDD nowA · manB · nowA · planB · departedC · heartedC · saidD · dreadD
- 2 ABABCCDD cherishedA · redB · perishedA · outspreadB · victoriousC · gloriousC · blueD · eschewD
- 3 ABABCCDD lusterA · memoriesB · musterA · hisB · stumbleC · humbleC · seatD · meetD
- 4 A-A-BBCC lumberA · aye · cumberA · pay · pagesB · agesB · menC · againC
- 5 ABABCCDD itA · gaveB · itA · graveB · alarmingC · armingC · yoreD · doorD
- 6 ABABCCDD cleverA · remainB · everA · trainB · pliantC · reliantC · stoodD · goodD
- 7 ABABCCDD sayingA · weB · weighingA · beB · sailingC · prevailingC · chasedD · hasteD
- 8 ABABCCDD shakingA · hatB · makingA · thatB · thereC · thereC · skiesD · riseD
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against trochaic tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Have you heard what says the Swede now, | 8 | ········ |
| Young Norwegian man? | 5 | ··/˘· |
| Have you seen what forms proceed now, | 8 | ·····˘/· |
| Border-watch to plan? | 5 | /˘··· |
| Shades of those from life departed, | 8 | ·····˘/˘ |
| Our forefathers single-hearted, | 9 | /˘/·˘/˘/˘ |
| Who, when words like these were said, | 7 | ······· |
| Mounted guard and knew no dread. | 7 | /˘····· |
| Says the Swede now: That our cherished | 9 | ·····/˘/˘ |
| Norseland's banner red, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| That which flew when Magnus perished, | 8 | ····/˘/˘ |
| As to-day outspread, | 5 | ···˘/ |
| Which o'er Fredrikshald victorious | 9 | ·····˘/˘˘ |
| And o'er Adler waved all glorious, | 9 | ··/˘··/˘˘ |
| That the Swedish yellow-blue | 7 | ··/˘/˘· |
| Must in shame henceforth eschew. | 7 | ···//˘/ |
| Says the Swede now: Lost their luster | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Have our memories, | 6 | ·/˘/˘˘ |
| Brighter honors shall we muster, | 8 | /˘/˘··/˘ |
| If we borrow his. | 5 | ··/·· |
| Bids us forth to Lützen stumble, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Close this straw-thatched cottage humble, | 8 | ····/˘/˘ |
| Drag our grandsire's ancient seat | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| To the Swedes for honor meet. | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Let it stand, that poor old lumber, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| To us dear for aye; | 5 | ····· |
| Sweden's ground it could but cumber, | 8 | /˘····/˘ |
| And it might not pay. | 5 | ····· |
| For, we know from history's pages, | 9 | ····/˘˘/˘ |
| Some sat there in former ages, | 8 | ····/˘/˘ |
| Sverre Priest and other men, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Who may wish to come again. | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| Says the Swede now: We must know it, | 8 | ········ |
| He our freedom gave, | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| But the Swedish sword can mow it, | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| Send it to its grave. | 5 | ····· |
| Yet the case is not alarming, | 8 | ·····˘/˘ |
| He must fare with good fore-arming, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| For in truth some fell of yore, | 7 | ······· |
| There where he would break a door. | 7 | ······· |
| Says the Swede now: We a clever | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Little boy remain, | 5 | /˘·˘/ |
| Very suitable to ever | 8 | /˘/˘˘·/˘ |
| Hold his mantle's train. | 5 | ··/˘· |
| But would Christie be so pliant, | 8 | ··/˘··/˘ |
| With his comrades self-reliant, | 8 | ··/··˘/˘ |
| If they still at Eidsvold stood, | 7 | ······· |
| Sword-girt, building Norway's good? | 7 | ··/˘/·· |
| Big words oft the Swede was saying, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Only small were we, | 5 | /˘··· |
| But they never much were weighing, | 8 | ··/˘··/˘ |
| When the test should be. | 5 | ····· |
| On the little cutter sailing, | 8 | ··/˘/˘/˘ |
| Wessel and Norse youth prevailing, | 8 | /˘···˘/˘ |
| Sweden's flag and frigate chased | 8 | /˘··/˘·˘ |
| From the Kattegat in haste. | 7 | ······· |
| Sweden's noblemen are shaking | 8 | /˘····/˘ |
| Charles the Twelfth's proud hat; | 5 | ····· |
| We, in council or war-making, | 8 | ··/˘··/˘ |
| Peers are for all that. | 5 | ····· |
| If things take the worse turn in there, | 8 | ········ |
| Aid from Torgny we shall win there. | 8 | ········ |
| Then o'er all the Northland's skies | 7 | ····/·· |
| Greater freedom's sun shall rise. | 7 | /˘/˘··· |
The reader shows the same poem with its rhymes coloured and a stress row above each line, the notes beside their stanzas, and any word's definition on a tap; the analysis page takes the whole book apart. How every part of this site was made.