From the Provencal of Bernari Rascas
All things that are on earth shall wholly pass away,Except the love of God, which shall live and last for aye.The forms of men shall be as they had never been;The blasted groves shall lose their fresh and tender green;The birds of the thicket shall end their pleasant song,And the nigthingale shall cease to chant the evening long.The kine of the pasture shall feel the dart that kills,And all the fair white flocks shall perish from the hills.The goat and antlered stag, the wolf and the fox,The wild boar of the wood, and the chamois of the rocks,And the strong and fearless bear, in the trodden dust shall lie,And the dolphin of the sea, and the mighty whale, shall die.And realms shall be dissolved, and empires be no more,And they shall bow to death, who ruled from shore to shore;And the great globe itself, (so the holy writings tell,)With the rolling firmament, where the starry armies dwell,Shall melt with fervent heat--they shall all pass away,Except the love of God, which shall live and last for aye.
Words in this poem
- 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,]
- blasted a.
- Blighted; withered.
- antlered a.
- Furnished with antlers.
- firmament n.
- Fixed foundation; established basis. [L. firmamentum, fr. firmare to make firm: cf. F. firmament. See Firm, v. & a.]
- starry a.
- Abounding with stars; adorned with stars.
- dwell v. i.
- To delay; to linger. [OE. dwellen, dwelien, to err, linger, AS. dwellan to deceive, hinder, delay, dwelian to err; akin to Icel. dvelja to delay, tarry, Sw. dväljas to dwell, Dan. dv]
- fervent a.
- Hot; glowing; boiling; burning; as, a fervent summer. [F. fervent, L. fervens, -entis. p.pr. of fervere o the boiling hot, to boil, glow.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
From the Provencal of Bernari Rascas is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems by William Cullen Bryant, Project Gutenberg ebook #16341; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: William Cullen Bryant, From the Provencal of Bernari Rascas, in Poems (1821–1876), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #16341, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/bryant-poems/from-the-provencal-of-bernari-rascas.html, id L07333.
Form and metre
From the Provencal of Bernari Rascas is 18 lines in a single stanza. It is in rhyming couplets, 67% of the lines. The metre is iambic hexameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 81%). 87% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 12.6 syllables.
See other poems in rhyming couplets, other poems in iambic hexameter.
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 AB--CCDDEEBBFFGGAB awayA · ayeB · been · green · songC · longC · killsD · hillsD · foxE · rocksE · lieB · dieB · moreF · shoreF · tellG · dwellG · awayA · ayeB
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 hexameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| All things that are on earth shall wholly pass away, | 12 | ·······/˘·˘/ |
| Except the love of God, which shall live and last for aye. | 13 | ············· |
| The forms of men shall be as they had never been; | 12 | ·········/˘· |
| The blasted groves shall lose their fresh and tender green; | 12 | ·/˘······/˘· |
| The birds of the thicket shall end their pleasant song, | 12 | ····/˘···/˘· |
| And the nigthingale shall cease to chant the evening long. | 14 | ···········/˘· |
| The kine of the pasture shall feel the dart that kills, | 12 | ····/˘······ |
| And all the fair white flocks shall perish from the hills. | 12 | ·······/˘··· |
| The goat and antlered stag, the wolf and the fox, | 12 | ···/˘˘······ |
| The wild boar of the wood, and the chamois of the rocks, | 13 | ········/˘··· |
| And the strong and fearless bear, in the trodden dust shall lie, | 14 | ····/˘···/˘··· |
| And the dolphin of the sea, and the mighty whale, shall die. | 14 | ··/˘·····/˘··· |
| And realms shall be dissolved, and empires be no more, | 12 | ····˘/·/˘··· |
| And they shall bow to death, who ruled from shore to shore; | 12 | ············ |
| And the great globe itself, (so the holy writings tell,) | 13 | ····˘/··/˘/˘· |
| With the rolling firmament, where the starry armies dwell, | 14 | ··/˘/˘˘··/˘/˘· |
| Shall melt with fervent heat--they shall all pass away, | 12 | ···/˘·····˘/ |
| Except the love of God, which shall live and last for aye. | 13 | ············· |
On this poem
Touta kausa mortala una fes perira, Fors que l'amour de Dieu, que tousiours durara. Tous nostres cors vendran essuchs, coma fa l'eska, Lous Aubres leyssaran lour verdour tendra e fresca, Lous Auselets del bosc perdran lour kant subtyeu, E non s'auzira plus lou Rossignol gentyeu. Lous Buols al Pastourgage, e las blankas fedettas Sent'ran lous agulhons de las mortals Sagettas, Lous crestas d'Arles fiers, Renards, e Loups espars, Kabrols, Cervys, Chamous, Senglars de toutes pars, Lous Ours hardys e forts, seran poudra, e Arena, Lou Daulphin en la Mar, lou Ton, e la Balena: Monstres impetuous, Ryaumes, e Comtas, Lous Princes, e lous Reys, seran per mort domtas. E nota ben eysso kascun: la Terra granda, (Ou l'Escritura ment) lou fermament que branda, Prendra autra figura. Enfin tout perira, Fors que l'Amour de Dieu, que touiours durara.
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