Johan Ludvig Heiberg
To the grave they bore him sleeping,Him the aged, genial gardener;Now the children gifts are heapingFrom the flower-bed he made.
There the tree that he sat under,And the garden gate is open,While we cast a glance and wonderWhether some one sits there still.
He is gone. A woman onlyWanders there with languid footsteps,Clothed in black and now so lonely,Where his laughter erst rang clear.
As a child when past it going,Through the fence she looked with longing,Now great tears so freely flowingAre her thanks that she came in.
Fairy-tales and thoughts high-soaringWhispered to him 'neath the foliage.She flits softly, gathering, storingThem as solace for her woe.
Far his wanderings once bore him,Bore this aged, genial searcher;One who listening sat before himMuch could learn from time to time.
Life and letters were his ladderUp toward that which few discover,Thought's wide realm, with vision gladderHe explored, each summit scaled.
In his manhood he defendedAll that greatness has and beauty;Later he the stars attendedIn their silent course to God.
Older men remember rather"New Year!" ringing o'er the Northland.How it power had to gatherLeaders to a greater age
Do you him remember leapingForth, his horn so gladly winding,Back the mob on all sides sweepingFrom the progress of the great?
Play of thought 'mid tears and laughter,Fauns and children were about him;Freedom's beacons high thereafterKindled slowly of themselves.
And his words soon found a hearing,Peace of heart flowed from his music;All the land thrilled to the nearingOf a great prophetic choir.
In his manhood he defendedAll that greatness has and beauty;Later he the stars attendedIn their silent course to God.
Northern flowers were his pleasure,As an aged genial gardener,From his nation's springtime treasureCulling seed for deathless growth.
Now with humor, now sedately,He kept planting or uprooting,While the Danish beech-tree statelyGave his soul its evening peace.
There the tree we saw him under,And the garden gate is open,While we cast a glance and wonderWhether some one sits there still.
Words in this poem
- genial a.
- Contributing to, or concerned in, propagation or production; generative; procreative; productive. [L. genialis: cf. OF. genial. See Genius.]
- gardener n.
- One who makes and tends a garden; a horticulturist.
- solace n.
- Comfort in grief; alleviation of grief or anxiety; also, that which relieves in distress; that which cheers or consoles; relief. [OF. solas, ssoulaz, L. solacium, solatium, fr. solari to comfort, console. Cf. Console, v. t.]
- discover v. i.
- To discover or show one's self.
- gladder n.
- One who makes glad.
- scaled a.
- Covered with scales, or scalelike structures; -- said of a fish, a reptile, a moth, etc.
- gladly adv.
- Preferably; by choice. [From Glad, a.]
- thereafter adv.
- After that; afterward. [AS. th\'d6ræfter after that. See There, and After.]
- springtime n.
- The season of spring; springtide.
- culling
- The act of one who culls.
- deathless a.
- Not subject to death, destruction, or extinction; immortal; undying; imperishable; as, deathless beings; deathless fame.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Johan Ludvig Heiberg 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, Johan Ludvig Heiberg, in Poems and Songs (1915), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #6619, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/bjornson-poems-and-songs/johan-ludvig-heiberg.html, id L29251.
Form and metre
Johan Ludvig Heiberg is 64 lines in 16 stanzas of 4 lines each. The metre is trochaic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 91%).
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 A-A- sleepingA · gardener · heapingA · made
- 2 A-A- underA · open · wonderA · still
- 3 A-A- onlyA · footsteps · lonelyA · clear
- 4 A-A- goingA · longing · flowingA · in
- 5 A-A- soaringA · foliage · storingA · woe
- 6 A-A- himA · searcher · himA · time
- 7 A-A- ladderA · discover · gladderA · scaled
- 8 A-AA defendedA · beauty · attendedA · godA
- 9 A-A- ratherA · northland · gatherA · age
- 10 A-A- leapingA · winding · sweepingA · great
- 11 A-A- laughterA · him · thereafterA · themselves
- 12 A-A- hearingA · music · nearingA · choir
- 13 A-AA defendedA · beauty · attendedA · godA
- 14 A-A- pleasureA · gardener · treasureA · growth
- 15 A-A- sedatelyA · uprooting · statelyA · peace
- 16 A-A- underA · open · wonderA · still
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 |
|---|---|---|
| To the grave they bore him sleeping, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Him the aged, genial gardener; | 8 | ···/˘/˘˘ |
| Now the children gifts are heaping | 8 | ··/˘··/˘ |
| From the flower-bed he made. | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| There the tree that he sat under, | 8 | ········ |
| And the garden gate is open, | 8 | ··/˘··/˘ |
| While we cast a glance and wonder | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Whether some one sits there still. | 7 | ······· |
| He is gone. A woman only | 8 | ····/˘/˘ |
| Wanders there with languid footsteps, | 8 | /˘··/˘/· |
| Clothed in black and now so lonely, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Where his laughter erst rang clear. | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| As a child when past it going, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Through the fence she looked with longing, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Now great tears so freely flowing | 8 | ····/˘/˘ |
| Are her thanks that she came in. | 7 | ······· |
| Fairy-tales and thoughts high-soaring | 8 | /˘····/˘ |
| Whispered to him 'neath the foliage. | 8 | /˘····/˘ |
| She flits softly, gathering, storing | 9 | ··/˘/˘˘/˘ |
| Them as solace for her woe. | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Far his wanderings once bore him, | 8 | ··/˘˘··· |
| Bore this aged, genial searcher; | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| One who listening sat before him | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| Much could learn from time to time. | 7 | ······· |
| Life and letters were his ladder | 8 | ··/˘··/˘ |
| Up toward that which few discover, | 9 | ······˘/˘ |
| Thought's wide realm, with vision gladder | 8 | ····/˘/˘ |
| He explored, each summit scaled. | 8 | ·˘/˘·/˘· |
| In his manhood he defended | 8 | ··/··˘/˘ |
| All that greatness has and beauty; | 8 | ··/˘··/˘ |
| Later he the stars attended | 8 | /˘···˘/˘ |
| In their silent course to God. | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Older men remember rather | 8 | /˘·˘/˘/˘ |
| "New Year!" ringing o'er the Northland. | 8 | ··/˘··/· |
| How it power had to gather | 8 | ··/˘··/˘ |
| Leaders to a greater age | 7 | /˘··/˘· |
| Do you him remember leaping | 8 | ···˘/˘/˘ |
| Forth, his horn so gladly winding, | 8 | ····/˘/˘ |
| Back the mob on all sides sweeping | 8 | ······/˘ |
| From the progress of the great? | 7 | ··/···· |
| Play of thought 'mid tears and laughter, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Fauns and children were about him; | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| Freedom's beacons high thereafter | 8 | /˘/˘·˘/˘ |
| Kindled slowly of themselves. | 8 | /˘˘/˘·˘/ |
| And his words soon found a hearing, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Peace of heart flowed from his music; | 8 | ······/˘ |
| All the land thrilled to the nearing | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Of a great prophetic choir. | 8 | ···˘/˘/˘ |
| In his manhood he defended | 8 | ··/··˘/˘ |
| All that greatness has and beauty; | 8 | ··/˘··/˘ |
| Later he the stars attended | 8 | /˘···˘/˘ |
| In their silent course to God. | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Northern flowers were his pleasure, | 8 | /˘/˘··/˘ |
| As an aged genial gardener, | 8 | ···/˘/˘˘ |
| From his nation's springtime treasure | 8 | ··/˘/·/˘ |
| Culling seed for deathless growth. | 7 | /˘··/˘· |
| Now with humor, now sedately, | 8 | ··/˘·˘/˘ |
| He kept planting or uprooting, | 8 | ··/˘·˘/˘ |
| While the Danish beech-tree stately | 8 | ··/˘··/˘ |
| Gave his soul its evening peace. | 7 | ····/˘· |
| There the tree we saw him under, | 8 | ········ |
| And the garden gate is open, | 8 | ··/˘··/˘ |
| While we cast a glance and wonder | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Whether some one sits there still. | 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.