The Rosicrucian
The tripod flared with a purple spark,And the mist hung emerald in the dark:Now he stooped to the lilac flameOver the glare of the amber embers,Thrice to utter no earthly name;Thrice, like a mind that half remembers;Bathing his face in the magic mistWhere the brilliance burned like an amethyst.
"Sylph, whose soul was born of mine,Born of the love that made me thine,Once more flash on my eyes! AgainBe the loved caresses taken!Lip to lip let our forms remain!--Here in the circle sense, awaken!Ere spirit meet spirit, the flesh laid by,Let me touch thee, and let me die."
Sunset heavens may burn, but neverKnow such splendor! There bloomed an everOpaline orb, where the sylphid roseA shape of luminous white; divinerWhite than the essence of light that sowsThe moons and suns through space; and finerThan radiance born of a shooting-star,Or the wild Aurora that streams afar.
"Look on the face of the soul to whomThou givest thy soul like added perfume!Thou, who heard'st me, who long had prayed,Waiting alone at morning's portal!--Thus on thy lips let my lips be laid,Love, who hast made me all immortal!Give me thine arms now! Come and restWeariness out on my beaming breast!"
Was it her soul? or the sapphire fireThat sang like the note of a seraph's lyre?Out of her mouth there fell no word--She spake with her soul, as a flower speaketh.
Fragrant messages none hath heard,Which the sense divines when the spirit seeketh....And he seemed alone in a place so dimThat the spirit's face, who was gazing at him,For its burning eyes he could not see:Then he knew he had died; that she and heWere one; and he saw that this was she.
Words in this poem
- tripod n.
- Any utensil or vessel, as a stool, table, altar, caldron, etc., supported on three feet. [L. tripus, -odis, Gr. Tri-) + Foot, and cf. Tripos, Trivet.]
- glare v. i.
- To shine with a bright, dazzling light. [OE. glaren, gloren; cf. AS. glær amber, LG. glaren to glow or burn like coals, D. gloren to glimmer; prob. akin to E. glass.]
- amethyst
- A variety of crystallized quartz, of a purple or bluish violet color, of different shades. It is much used as a jeweler's stone. [F. ametiste, amatiste, F. améthyste, L. amethystus, fr. Gr. Mead.]
- sylph n.
- An imaginary being inhabiting the air; a fairy.
- opaline a.
- Of, pertaining to, or like, opal in appearance; having changeable colors like those of the opal. [Cf. F. opalin.]
- sylphid n.
- A little sylph; a young or diminutive sylph. [F. sylphide, fem. See Sylph.]
- aurora n.
- The rising light of the morning; the dawn of day; the redness of the sky just before the sun rises. [L. aurora, for ausosa, akin to Gr. ushas, and E. east.]
- 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.]
- hast
- , 2d pers. sing. pres. of. Fave, contr. of havest.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Rosicrucian is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems, Project Gutenberg ebook #7796; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Madison Julius Cawein, The Rosicrucian, in Poems (1911), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #7796, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/cawein-poems/the-rosicrucian.html, id L10948.
Form and metre
The Rosicrucian is 43 lines in 6 stanzas. The metre is trochaic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 76%). 87% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.9 syllables. 13 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 33% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in trochaic pentameter.
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 AABCBC-- sparkA · darkA · flameB · embersC · nameB · remembersC · mist · amethyst
- 2 DD-E-EFF mineD · thineD · again · takenE · remain · awakenE · byF · dieF
- 3 GGH-H-II neverG · everG · roseH · diviner · sowsH · finer · starI · afarI
- 4 JJKLKLMM whomJ · perfumeJ · prayedK · portalL · laidK · immortalL · restM · breastM
- 5 --NO fire · lyre · wordN · speakethO
- 6 NOPPQQQ heardN · seekethO · dimP · himP · seeQ · heQ · sheQ
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 trochaic pentameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| The tripod flared with a purple spark, | 9 | ·/····/˘· |
| And the mist hung emerald in the dark: | 9 | ····/˘··· |
| Now he stooped to the lilac flame | 8 | ·····/·· |
| Over the glare of the amber embers, | 9 | ·····/˘/˘ |
| Thrice to utter no earthly name; | 8 | ··/˘·/˘· |
| Thrice, like a mind that half remembers; | 9 | ······˘/˘ |
| Bathing his face in the magic mist | 9 | /˘····/˘· |
| Where the brilliance burned like an amethyst. | 9 | ··/˘···/˘ |
| "Sylph, whose soul was born of mine, | 7 | ······· |
| Born of the love that made me thine, | 8 | ········ |
| Once more flash on my eyes! Again | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Be the loved caresses taken! | 8 | ···˘/˘/˘ |
| Lip to lip let our forms remain!-- | 8 | ····/·˘/ |
| Here in the circle sense, awaken! | 9 | ···/˘·˘/˘ |
| Ere spirit meet spirit, the flesh laid by, | 8 | ·/·/···· |
| Let me touch thee, and let me die." | 8 | ········ |
| Sunset heavens may burn, but never | 9 | /·/˘···/˘ |
| Know such splendor! There bloomed an ever | 9 | ··/˘···/˘ |
| Opaline orb, where the sylphid rose | 9 | /˘····/˘· |
| A shape of luminous white; diviner | 9 | ···/˘·˘/˘ |
| White than the essence of light that sows | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| The moons and suns through space; and finer | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| Than radiance born of a shooting-star, | 9 | ·/˘···/˘· |
| Or the wild Aurora that streams afar. | 10 | ········˘/ |
| "Look on the face of the soul to whom | 9 | ········· |
| Thou givest thy soul like added perfume! | 10 | ······/˘˘/ |
| Thou, who heard'st me, who long had prayed, | 8 | ········ |
| Waiting alone at morning's portal!-- | 9 | /˘˘/·/˘/˘ |
| Thus on thy lips let my lips be laid, | 9 | ········· |
| Love, who hast made me all immortal! | 9 | ······˘/˘ |
| Give me thine arms now! Come and rest | 8 | ········ |
| Weariness out on my beaming breast!" | 8 | /˘···/˘· |
| Was it her soul? or the sapphire fire | 9 | ······/˘/ |
| That sang like the note of a seraph's lyre? | 10 | ·········· |
| Out of her mouth there fell no word-- | 8 | ········ |
| She spake with her soul, as a flower speaketh. | 10 | ·······//˘ |
| Fragrant messages none hath heard, | 8 | /˘/˘˘··· |
| Which the sense divines when the spirit seeketh.... | 10 | ···˘/··//˘ |
| And he seemed alone in a place so dim | 10 | ···˘/····· |
| That the spirit's face, who was gazing at him, | 11 | ··/˘···/˘·· |
| For its burning eyes he could not see: | 9 | ··/˘····· |
| Then he knew he had died; that she and he | 10 | ·········· |
| Were one; and he saw that this was she. | 9 | ········· |
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.