The Norröna-Race
Norröna-race's longing,It was the sea's free wave,And fight of heroes thronging,And honor that it gave;Their thoughts and deeds upspringingFrom roots in Surtr's fire,With branches topward swingingTo Yggdrasil aspire.
His course alone each guided,Oft brother-harm was done;Our vict'ries were divided,The honor gained was one.Each heard his call time-fated,First Norway, Denmark, came,The Swede the longest waited,But greatest grew his fame.
In eastern, western regionsThe Danish dragons shone,To Norway's roving legionsJerusalem was known.From sparks the Swedish spiritStruck forth in Poland's night,Through Lützen must inheritFull half the world its light.
First Norseman, Dane, agreeingIn trying times were found,But Saga's will far-seeingBy little men was bound;Then Norseman, Swede, agreeing,Time in its fullness found,And Saga's will far-seeingShall nevermore be bound.
There is prophetic powerIn longing hearts of men,Foretells our union's hour 'For great deeds once again.Each festival so gloriousTo solemn vows us draws:Forever be victoriousOur blood's, our race's cause!
Words in this poem
- aspire v. t.
- To aspire to; to long for; to try to reach; to mount to.
- swede n.
- A native or inhabitant of Sweden. [Cf. G. Schwede.]
- norseman n.
- One of the ancient Scandinavians; a Northman.
- dane n.
- A native, or a naturalized inhabitant, of Denmark. Great Dane. [LL. Dani: cf. AS. Dene.]
- 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,]
- nevermore adv.
- Never again; at no time hereafter. Testament of Love. Tyndale.
- 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.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Norröna-Race 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 Norröna-Race, in Poems and Songs (1915), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #6619, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/bjornson-poems-and-songs/the-norr-na-race.html, id L29280.
Form and metre
The Norröna-Race is 40 lines in 5 stanzas of 8 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABABCDCD, complete in 3 of its 5 stanzas. The metre is iambic trimeter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 93%).
See other poems in iambic trimeter.
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 longingA · waveB · throngingA · gaveB · upspringingC · fireD · swingingC · aspireD
- 2 ABABCDCD guidedA · doneB · dividedA · oneB · fatedC · cameD · waitedC · fameD
- 3 ABABCCCC regionsA · shoneB · legionsA · knownB · spiritC · nightC · inheritC · lightC
- 4 ABABABAB agreeingA · foundB · seeingA · boundB · agreeingA · foundB · seeingA · boundB
- 5 ABABCDCD powerA · menB · hourA · againB · gloriousC · drawsD · victoriousC · causeD
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 trimeter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Norröna-race's longing, | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| It was the sea's free wave, | 6 | ······ |
| And fight of heroes thronging, | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| And honor that it gave; | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Their thoughts and deeds upspringing | 7 | ······· |
| From roots in Surtr's fire, | 6 | ····/˘ |
| With branches topward swinging | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| To Yggdrasil aspire. | 6 | ····˘/ |
| His course alone each guided, | 7 | ··˘/·/˘ |
| Oft brother-harm was done; | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Our vict'ries were divided, | 7 | /˘··˘/˘ |
| The honor gained was one. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Each heard his call time-fated, | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| First Norway, Denmark, came, | 6 | ·/·/·· |
| The Swede the longest waited, | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| But greatest grew his fame. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| In eastern, western regions | 7 | ·/˘/˘/˘ |
| The Danish dragons shone, | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| To Norway's roving legions | 7 | ·/·/˘/˘ |
| Jerusalem was known. | 6 | ˘/˘˘·· |
| From sparks the Swedish spirit | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| Struck forth in Poland's night, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Through Lützen must inherit | 7 | ····˘/˘ |
| Full half the world its light. | 6 | ······ |
| First Norseman, Dane, agreeing | 7 | ·/˘·˘/˘ |
| In trying times were found, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| But Saga's will far-seeing | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| By little men was bound; | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Then Norseman, Swede, agreeing, | 7 | ·/˘·˘/˘ |
| Time in its fullness found, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| And Saga's will far-seeing | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| Shall nevermore be bound. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| There is prophetic power | 7 | ··˘/˘/˘ |
| In longing hearts of men, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Foretells our union's hour ' | 7 | ˘///˘/˘ |
| For great deeds once again. | 6 | ····˘/ |
| Each festival so glorious | 7 | ·/˘˘·/˘ |
| To solemn vows us draws: | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Forever be victorious | 7 | ˘/˘·˘/˘ |
| Our blood's, our race's cause! | 6 | /·//˘· |
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.