The Blonde Maiden
Though she depart, a vision flitting,If I these thoughts in words exhale:I love you, you blonde maiden, sittingWithin your pure white beauty's veil.I love you for your blue eyes dreaming,Like moonlight moving over snow,And 'mid the far-off forests beamingOn something hid I may not know.
I love this forehead's fair perfectionBecause it stands so starry-clear,In flood of thought sees its reflectionAnd wonders at the image near.I love these locks in riot risenAgainst the hair-net's busy bands;To free them from their pretty prisonTheir sylphs entice my eyes and hands.
I love this figure's supple swingingIn rhythm of its bridal song,Of strength and life-joy daily singingWith youthful yearnings deep and long.I love this foot so lightly bearingThe glory of sure victoryThrough youth's domain of merry daringTo meet first-love that hers shall be.
I love these hands, these lips enchanting,With them the God of love's allied,With them the apple-prize is granting,But guards them, too, lest aught betide.I love you and must say it ever,Although you heed not what you've heard,But flee and answer: maidens neverMay put their trust in poet's word.
Words in this poem
- depart v. i.
- To part; to divide; to separate. [OE. departen to divide, part, depart, F. départir to divide, distribute, se départir to separate one's self, depart; pref. dé- (L. de) + partir to part, depart,]
- flitting n.
- A flying with lightness and celerity; a fluttering.
- blonde a.
- Of a fair color; light-colored; as, blond hair; a blond complexion. [F., fair, light, of uncertain origin; cf. AS. blonden-feax gray-haired, old, prop. blended-haired, as a mixture of white and brown or black. See Blend, v. t.]
- starry a.
- Abounding with stars; adorned with stars.
- yearnings n.
- The maws, or stomachs, of young calves, used a rennet for curdling milk. [Cf. AS. geirnan, geyrnan, to rum. See 4th Earn.]
- 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,]
- aught n.
- Property; possession. [AS. , fr. agan to own, p. p. ahte.]
- betide v. t.
- To happen to; to befall; to come to ; as, woe betide the wanderer. [OE. bitiden; pref. bi-, be- + tiden, fr. AS. tidan, to happen, fr. tid time. See Tide.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Blonde Maiden 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, The Blonde Maiden, in Poems and Songs (1915), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #6619, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/bjornson-poems-and-songs/the-blonde-maiden.html, id L29294.
Form and metre
The Blonde Maiden is 32 lines in 4 stanzas of 8 lines each. Every stanza rhymes ABABCDCD. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 94%).
See other poems in iambic 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 ABABCDCD flittingA · exhaleB · sittingA · veilB · dreamingC · snowD · beamingC · knowD
- 2 ABABCDCD perfectionA · clearB · reflectionA · nearB · risenC · bandsD · prisonC · handsD
- 3 ABABCDCD swingingA · songB · singingA · longB · bearingC · victoryD · daringC · beD
- 4 ABABCDCD enchantingA · alliedB · grantingA · betideB · everC · heardD · neverC · wordD
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 iambic tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Though she depart, a vision flitting, | 9 | ··˘/·/˘/˘ |
| If I these thoughts in words exhale: | 8 | ······˘/ |
| I love you, you blonde maiden, sitting | 9 | ·····/˘/˘ |
| Within your pure white beauty's veil. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| I love you for your blue eyes dreaming, | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| Like moonlight moving over snow, | 8 | ·/·/˘··· |
| And 'mid the far-off forests beaming | 9 | ·····/˘/˘ |
| On something hid I may not know. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| I love this forehead's fair perfection | 9 | ···/··˘/˘ |
| Because it stands so starry-clear, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| In flood of thought sees its reflection | 9 | ······˘/˘ |
| And wonders at the image near. | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| I love these locks in riot risen | 9 | ·····/˘/˘ |
| Against the hair-net's busy bands; | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| To free them from their pretty prison | 9 | ·····/˘/˘ |
| Their sylphs entice my eyes and hands. | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| I love this figure's supple swinging | 9 | ···/˘/˘/˘ |
| In rhythm of its bridal song, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Of strength and life-joy daily singing | 9 | ·····/˘/˘ |
| With youthful yearnings deep and long. | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| I love this foot so lightly bearing | 9 | ·····/˘/˘ |
| The glory of sure victory | 8 | ·/˘··/˘˘ |
| Through youth's domain of merry daring | 9 | ··˘/·/˘/˘ |
| To meet first-love that hers shall be. | 8 | ········ |
| I love these hands, these lips enchanting, | 9 | ······˘/˘ |
| With them the God of love's allied, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| With them the apple-prize is granting, | 9 | ···/˘··/˘ |
| But guards them, too, lest aught betide. | 8 | ······˘/ |
| I love you and must say it ever, | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| Although you heed not what you've heard, | 8 | ········ |
| But flee and answer: maidens never | 9 | ···/˘/˘/˘ |
| May put their trust in poet's word. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
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.