The Count of Greiers: From the German of Uhland
At morn the Count of Greiers before his castle stands;He sees afar the glory that lights the mountain lands;The horned crags are shining, and in the shade betweenA pleasant Alpine valley lies beautifully green.
"Oh, greenest of the valleys, how shall I come to thee!Thy herdsmen and thy maidens, how happy must they be!I have gazed upon thee coldly, all lovely as thou art,But the wish to walk thy pastures now stirs my inmost heart."
He hears a sound of timbrels, and suddenly appearA troop of ruddy damsels and herdsmen drawing near;They reach the castle greensward, and gayly dance across;The white sleeves flit and glimmer, the wreaths and ribands toss.
The youngest of the maidens, slim as a spray of spring,She takes the young count's fingers, and draws him to the ring,They fling upon his forehead a crown of mountain flowers,"And ho, young Count of Greiers! this morning thou art ours!"
Then hand in hand departing, with dance and roundelay,Through hamlet after hamlet, they lead the Count away.They dance through wood and meadow, they dance across the linn,Till the mighty Alpine summits have shut the music in.
The second morn is risen, and now the third is come;Where stays the Count of Greiers? has he forgot his home?Again the evening closes, in thick and sultry air;There's thunder on the mountains, the storm is gathering there.
The cloud has shed its waters, the brook comes swollen down;You see it by the lightning--a river wide and brown.Around a struggling swimmer the eddies dash and roar,Till, seizing on a willow, he leaps upon the shore.
"Here am I cast by tempests far from your mountain dell.Amid our evening dances the bursting deluge fell.Ye all, in cots and caverns, have 'scaped the water-spout,While me alone the tempest o'erwhelmed and hurried out.
"Farewell, with thy glad dwellers, green vale among the rocks!Farewell the swift sweet moments, in which I watched thy flocks!Why rocked they not my cradle in that delicious spot,That garden of the happy, where Heaven endures me not?
"Rose of the Alpine valley! I feel, in every vein,Thy soft touch on my fingers; oh, press them not again!Bewitch me not, ye garlands, to tread that upward track,And thou, my cheerless mansion, receive thy master back."
Words in this poem
- morn n.
- The first part of the day; the morning; -- used chiefly in poetry. [OE. morwen, morgen, AS. morgen; akin to D. morgen, OS. morgan, G. morgen, Icel. morginn, morgunn, Sw. morgon, Dan. morgen, Goth. maúrgins. Cf. Morrow, Morning.]
- afar adv.
- At, to, or from a great distance; far away; -- often used with from preceding, or off following; as, he was seen from afar; I saw him afar off. [Pref. a-.(for on or of) + far.]
- 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,]
- coldly adv.
- In a cold manner; without warmth, animation, or feeling; with indifference; calmly.
- inmost a.
- Deepest within; farthest from the surface or external part; innermost. [OE. innemest, AS. innemest, a double superlative form fr. inne within, fr. in in. The modern form is due to confusion with most. See In, and cf. Aftermost, Fore]
- greensward n.
- Turf green with grass.
- gayly adv.
- With mirth and frolic; merrily; blithely; gleefully.
- flit a.
- Nimble; quick; swift. See Fleet.
- dell n.
- A small, retired valley; a ravine. [AS. del, akin to E. dale; cf. D. delle, del, low ground. See Dale.]
- amid prep.
- In the midst or middle of; surrounded or encompassed by; among. [OE. amidde, amiddes, on midden, AS. on middan, in the middle, fr. midde the middle. The s is an adverbial ending, originally marking the genitive; the t is a la]
- vale n.
- A tract of low ground, or of land between hills; a valley. [OE. val, F. val, L. vallis; perhaps akin to Gr. Avalanche, Vail to lower, Valley.]
- mansion n.
- A dwelling place, -- whether a part or whole of a house or other shelter. [OF. mansion, F. maison, fr. L. mansio a staying, remaining, a dwelling, habitation, fr. manere, mansum, to stay, dwell; akin to Gr. Manse, Manor, Menagerie, Men]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Count of Greiers: From the German of Uhland 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, The Count of Greiers: From the German of Uhland, in Poems (1821–1876), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #16341, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/bryant-poems/the-count-of-greiers-from-the-german-of-uhland.html, id L07337.
Form and metre
The Count of Greiers: From the German of Uhland is 40 lines in 10 stanzas of 4 lines each. Every stanza rhymes AABB. The metre is alexandrines, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 76%).
See other poems in alexandrines.
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 AABB standsA · landsA · betweenB · greenB
- 2 AABB theeA · beA · artB · heartB
- 3 AABB appearA · nearA · acrossB · tossB
- 4 AABB springA · ringA · flowersB · oursB
- 5 AABB roundelayA · awayA · linnB · inB
- 6 AABB comeA · homeA · airB · thereB
- 7 AABB downA · brownA · roarB · shoreB
- 8 AABB dellA · fellA · spoutB · outB
- 9 AABB rocksA · flocksA · spotB · notB
- 10 AABB veinA · againA · trackB · backB
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 alexandrines. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| At morn the Count of Greiers before his castle stands; | 12 | ·········/˘· |
| He sees afar the glory that lights the mountain lands; | 13 | ··˘/·/˘···/˘· |
| The horned crags are shining, and in the shade between | 13 | ··˘··/˘······ |
| A pleasant Alpine valley lies beautifully green. | 12 | ·/˘/·/˘·/˘˘· |
| "Oh, greenest of the valleys, how shall I come to thee! | 13 | ·/˘··/˘······ |
| Thy herdsmen and thy maidens, how happy must they be! | 13 | ·/˘··/˘·/˘··· |
| I have gazed upon thee coldly, all lovely as thou art, | 14 | ······/˘·/˘··· |
| But the wish to walk thy pastures now stirs my inmost heart." | 14 | ······/˘···/˘· |
| He hears a sound of timbrels, and suddenly appear | 13 | ········/˘˘˘/ |
| A troop of ruddy damsels and herdsmen drawing near; | 13 | ···/˘/˘·/˘/˘· |
| They reach the castle greensward, and gayly dance across; | 13 | ···/˘/˘·/˘·˘/ |
| The white sleeves flit and glimmer, the wreaths and ribands toss. | 13 | ·····/˘······ |
| The youngest of the maidens, slim as a spray of spring, | 13 | ·/˘··/˘······ |
| She takes the young count's fingers, and draws him to the ring, | 13 | ·····/˘······ |
| They fling upon his forehead a crown of mountain flowers, | 14 | ·····/˘···/˘/˘ |
| "And ho, young Count of Greiers! this morning thou art ours!" | 13 | ·······/˘··/˘ |
| Then hand in hand departing, with dance and roundelay, | 13 | ····˘/˘···/˘˘ |
| Through hamlet after hamlet, they lead the Count away. | 13 | ·/˘··/˘····˘/ |
| They dance through wood and meadow, they dance across the linn, | 13 | ·····/···˘/·· |
| Till the mighty Alpine summits have shut the music in. | 14 | ··/˘/·/˘···/˘· |
| The second morn is risen, and now the third is come; | 13 | ·/˘··/˘······ |
| Where stays the Count of Greiers? has he forgot his home? | 12 | ········˘/·· |
| Again the evening closes, in thick and sultry air; | 13 | ˘/·/˘/˘···/˘· |
| There's thunder on the mountains, the storm is gathering there. | 13 | ·/˘··/˘···/˘· |
| The cloud has shed its waters, the brook comes swollen down; | 13 | ·····/˘···/˘· |
| You see it by the lightning--a river wide and brown. | 13 | ·····/˘·/˘··· |
| Around a struggling swimmer the eddies dash and roar, | 13 | ···/˘/˘·/˘··· |
| Till, seizing on a willow, he leaps upon the shore. | 13 | ·/˘··/······· |
| "Here am I cast by tempests far from your mountain dell. | 13 | ·····/˘···/˘· |
| Amid our evening dances the bursting deluge fell. | 13 | ˘///˘/˘·/˘/˘· |
| Ye all, in cots and caverns, have 'scaped the water-spout, | 13 | ·····/˘···/˘· |
| While me alone the tempest o'erwhelmed and hurried out. | 13 | ··˘/·/˘···/˘· |
| "Farewell, with thy glad dwellers, green vale among the rocks! | 13 | ·/···/˘······ |
| Farewell the swift sweet moments, in which I watched thy flocks! | 13 | ·/···/˘······ |
| Why rocked they not my cradle in that delicious spot, | 13 | ·····/˘··˘/˘· |
| That garden of the happy, where Heaven endures me not? | 13 | ·/˘··/˘·/˘/·· |
| "Rose of the Alpine valley! I feel, in every vein, | 13 | ···/·/˘···/˘· |
| Thy soft touch on my fingers; oh, press them not again! | 13 | ·····/˘····˘/ |
| Bewitch me not, ye garlands, to tread that upward track, | 13 | ˘/···/˘···/˘· |
| And thou, my cheerless mansion, receive thy master back." | 13 | ···/˘/˘˘/·/˘· |
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.