King Frederik the Seventh
Our King is bereft of a trusty friend!And in dismayWe lower our banners and sad attendOn his burial day.But Denmark, in sorrow most deep thou waitest,For fallen the life that was warmest, greatest,And fallen the towerOf mightiest power.Bewailing the death of their kingly chief,Men voice their grief.
For Denmark's salvation the man was bornWho now is dead.When banished in youth from the court in scorn,To his people he fled.There throve he right well, there grew he togetherWith peasants and sailors in foul and fair weather,While fullness of livingIts schooling was giving;When ready for Denmark was laid the snare,Then he was there!
Now soon it was plain, he was peasant-skulledFor their tricks; and henceThe traitors' shrewd schemings were all annulledBy his bit of sense.He knew but one thing;--what his people thought them,And therefore in danger he freedom brought them.The whole was his vision,He would no scission;His words were but few, and of these the key:"It shall not be!"
He stood by the helm like a sailor good,In no storm remiss;Of praise the tribute he never would,But he shall have this!The ship to the North he unswerving directed,--In storm or in fog, exposed or protected;--And fear allaying,All folk were saying:"He isn't so stupid as people tell,For all goes well!"
"On deck every man!" was his last command,"There's storm again!"When answered the cry from the mast-head: "Land!"Oh, then, just then,Were loosed from the helm the true hands that were steering,In death he sank down, while the ship began veering--No, never veering!To the course adhering!Now, Denmark, united, with all thy forceHold straight his course!
He made it his honor, in line to stand,No rank to know;But shoulder to shoulder to lend a hand,And pride forego.They gather now fruit of his faithful training:Well drilled, every man at his post is straining.The course is steady,For tried and readyIs many a helmsman, and all their willIs "Northward still!"
Naught else can they do now, but with good cheerHold out they must,Stand guard in the darkness and have no fear,In God their trust.It is sultry and silent, and yearning in sorrowAll breathless they listen and wait for the morrow,--'T is time for waiting,Till, night abating,The eastern sky reddens and bright dawn speedsThe day of deeds!
Words in this poem
- burial n.
- A grave; a tomb; a place of sepulture. [OE. buriel, buriels, grave, tomb, AS. byrgels, fr. byrgan to bury, and akin to OS. burgisli sepulcher.]
- bewailing a.
- Wailing over; lamenting.
- schooling n.
- Instruction in school; tuition; education in an institution of learning; act of teaching.
- shrewd a.
- Inclining to shrew; disposing to curse or scold; hence, vicious; malicious; evil; wicked; mischievous; vexatious; rough; unfair; shrewish. [Originally the p. p. of shrew, v.t.]
- scission n.
- The act of dividing with an instrument having a sharp edge. [L. scissio, fr. scindere, scis, to cut, to split: cf. F. scission.]
- 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,]
- remiss n.
- The act of being remiss; inefficiency; failure.
- folk n.
- In Anglo-Saxon times, the people of a group of townships or villages; a community; a tribe. [AS. folc; akin to D. volk, OS. & OHG. folk, G. volk, Icel. f, Sw. & Dan. folk, Lith. pulkas crowd, and perh. to E. follow.]
- forego v. t.
- To quit; to relinquish; to leave. [See Forgo.]
- northward a.
- Toward the north; nearer to the north than to the east or west point. [AS. noredhweard.]
- breathless a.
- Spent with labor or violent action; out of breath.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
King Frederik the Seventh 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, King Frederik the Seventh, in Poems and Songs (1915), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #6619, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/bjornson-poems-and-songs/king-frederik-the-seventh.html, id L29273.
Form and metre
King Frederik the Seventh is 70 lines in 7 stanzas of 10 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABABCCDDEE, complete in 6 of its 7 stanzas.
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 ABABCCDDEE friendA · dismayB · attendA · dayB · waitestC · greatestC · towerD · powerD · chiefE · griefE
- 2 ABABCCDDEE bornA · deadB · scornA · fledB · togetherC · weatherC · livingD · givingD · snareE · thereE
- 3 ABABCCDDEE skulledA · henceB · annulledA · senseB · themC · themC · visionD · scissionD · keyE · beE
- 4 ABABCCDDEE goodA · remissB · wouldA · thisB · directedC · protectedC · allayingD · sayingD · tellE · wellE
- 5 ABABCCCCDD commandA · againB · landA · thenB · steeringC · veeringC · veeringC · adheringC · forceD · courseD
- 6 ABABCCDDEE standA · knowB · handA · foregoB · trainingC · strainingC · steadyD · readyD · willE · stillE
- 7 ABABCCDDEE cheerA · mustB · fearA · trustB · sorrowC · morrowC · waitingD · abatingD · speedsE · deedsE
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. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Our King is bereft of a trusty friend! | 10 | /··˘/··/˘· |
| And in dismay | 4 | ··˘/ |
| We lower our banners and sad attend | 9 | ·///˘··˘/ |
| On his burial day. | 6 | ··/˘˘· |
| But Denmark, in sorrow most deep thou waitest, | 11 | ·/··/˘···/˘ |
| For fallen the life that was warmest, greatest, | 11 | ·/˘····/˘/˘ |
| And fallen the tower | 6 | ·/˘·/˘ |
| Of mightiest power. | 6 | ·/˘˘/˘ |
| Bewailing the death of their kingly chief, | 10 | ˘/˘····/˘· |
| Men voice their grief. | 4 | ···· |
| For Denmark's salvation the man was born | 10 | ·/·˘/˘···· |
| Who now is dead. | 4 | ···· |
| When banished in youth from the court in scorn, | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| To his people he fled. | 6 | ··/˘·· |
| There throve he right well, there grew he together | 11 | ········˘/˘ |
| With peasants and sailors in foul and fair weather, | 12 | ·/˘·/˘····/˘ |
| While fullness of living | 6 | ·/˘·/˘ |
| Its schooling was giving; | 6 | ·/˘·/˘ |
| When ready for Denmark was laid the snare, | 10 | ·/˘·/····· |
| Then he was there! | 4 | ···· |
| Now soon it was plain, he was peasant-skulled | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| For their tricks; and hence | 5 | ····· |
| The traitors' shrewd schemings were all annulled | 10 | ·/˘·/˘··/˘ |
| By his bit of sense. | 5 | ····· |
| He knew but one thing;--what his people thought them, | 11 | ·······/˘·· |
| And therefore in danger he freedom brought them. | 11 | ····/˘·/˘·· |
| The whole was his vision, | 6 | ····/˘ |
| He would no scission; | 5 | ···/˘ |
| His words were but few, and of these the key: | 10 | ·········· |
| "It shall not be!" | 4 | ···· |
| He stood by the helm like a sailor good, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| In no storm remiss; | 5 | ···˘/ |
| Of praise the tribute he never would, | 8 | ···/˘·/· |
| But he shall have this! | 5 | ····· |
| The ship to the North he unswerving directed,-- | 12 | ······˘/˘˘/˘ |
| In storm or in fog, exposed or protected;-- | 11 | ·····˘/·˘/˘ |
| And fear allaying, | 5 | ··˘/˘ |
| All folk were saying: | 5 | ···/˘ |
| "He isn't so stupid as people tell, | 10 | ·/˘·/˘·/˘· |
| For all goes well!" | 4 | ···· |
| "On deck every man!" was his last command, | 10 | ··/˘····˘/ |
| "There's storm again!" | 4 | ··˘/ |
| When answered the cry from the mast-head: "Land!" | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Oh, then, just then, | 4 | ···· |
| Were loosed from the helm the true hands that were steering, | 12 | ··········/˘ |
| In death he sank down, while the ship began veering-- | 12 | ········˘//˘ |
| No, never veering! | 5 | ·/˘/˘ |
| To the course adhering! | 6 | ···˘/˘ |
| Now, Denmark, united, with all thy force | 10 | ·/·˘/˘···· |
| Hold straight his course! | 4 | ···· |
| He made it his honor, in line to stand, | 10 | ····/˘···· |
| No rank to know; | 4 | ···· |
| But shoulder to shoulder to lend a hand, | 10 | ·/˘·/˘···· |
| And pride forego. | 4 | ··˘/ |
| They gather now fruit of his faithful training: | 11 | ·/˘····/˘/˘ |
| Well drilled, every man at his post is straining. | 11 | ··/˘·····/˘ |
| The course is steady, | 5 | ···/˘ |
| For tried and ready | 5 | ···/˘ |
| Is many a helmsman, and all their will | 9 | ·/·/····· |
| Is "Northward still!" | 4 | ·/˘· |
| Naught else can they do now, but with good cheer | 10 | ·········· |
| Hold out they must, | 4 | ···· |
| Stand guard in the darkness and have no fear, | 10 | ····/˘···· |
| In God their trust. | 4 | ···· |
| It is sultry and silent, and yearning in sorrow | 13 | ··/˘·/˘·/˘·/˘ |
| All breathless they listen and wait for the morrow,-- | 12 | ·/˘·/˘····/˘ |
| 'T is time for waiting, | 6 | ····/˘ |
| Till, night abating, | 5 | ··˘/˘ |
| The eastern sky reddens and bright dawn speeds | 10 | ·/˘·/˘···· |
| The day of deeds! | 4 | ···· |
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.