On the Death of N. F. S. Grundtvig
E'en as the Sibyl in Northland-dawn drewForth from the myth-billows gliding,Told all the past, all the future so true,Sank with the lands' last subsiding,--Prophecies leaving, eternally new,Still abiding
Thus goes his spirit the Northland before,--Though, that he sank, we have tiding,--Visions unfolding like sun-clouds, when o'erSea-circled lands they are riding,Northern lands' future, till time is no more,Ever guiding.
Words in this poem
- sibyl n.
- A woman supposed to be endowed with a spirit of prophecy.
- eternally adv.
- In an eternal manner.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
On the Death of N. F. S. Grundtvig 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, On the Death of N. F. S. Grundtvig, in Poems and Songs (1915), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #6619, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/bjornson-poems-and-songs/on-the-death-of-n-f-s-grundtvig.html, id L29325.
Form and metre
On the Death of N. F. S. Grundtvig is 12 lines in 2 stanzas of 6 lines each. Every stanza rhymes ABABAB.
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 ABABAB drewA · glidingB · trueA · subsidingB · newA · abidingB
- 2 ABABAB beforeA · tidingB · o'erA · ridingB · moreA · guidingB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| E'en as the Sibyl in Northland-dawn drew | 10 | ···/˘·/··· |
| Forth from the myth-billows gliding, | 8 | ····/˘/˘ |
| Told all the past, all the future so true, | 10 | ······/˘·· |
| Sank with the lands' last subsiding,-- | 8 | ·····˘/˘ |
| Prophecies leaving, eternally new, | 8 | /˘/˘˘/˘· |
| Still abiding | 4 | ·˘/˘ |
| Thus goes his spirit the Northland before,-- | 9 | ···/·/··· |
| Though, that he sank, we have tiding,-- | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Visions unfolding like sun-clouds, when o'er | 10 | /˘˘/˘····· |
| Sea-circled lands they are riding, | 8 | ·/˘···/˘ |
| Northern lands' future, till time is no more, | 10 | /˘·/˘····· |
| Ever guiding. | 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.