The Burgomeister's Well
A peaceful spot, a little street,So still between the double roarOf sea and city that it seemedA rest in music, set beforeSome clashing chords--vibrating yetWith hurried measures fast and sweet;For so the harsh chords of the town,And so the ocean's rythmic beat.
A little street with linden treesSo thickly set, the belfry's faceWas leaf-veiled, while above them pierced,Four slender spires flamboyant grace.Old porches carven when the trees,Were seedlings yellow in the sunFive hundred years ago that brightUpon the quaint old city shone.
A fountain prim, and richly cutIn ruddy granite, carved to tellHow a good burgomeister rear'dThe stone above the people's well.A sea-horse from his nostrils blewTwo silver threads; a dragon's lipDropp'd di'monds, and a giant handHeld high an urn on finger tip.
'Twas there I met my little maid,There saw her flaxen tresses first;She filled the cup for one who lean'd(A soldier, crippl'd and athirst)Against the basin's carven rim;Her dear small hand's white lovelinessWas pinkly flush'd, the gay bright dropsPlash'd on her brow and silken dress.
I took the flagon from her hand,Too small, dear hand, for such a weight.From cobweb weft and woof is spunThe tapestry of Life and Fate!The linden trees had gilded buds,The dove wheeled high on joyous wing,When on that darling hand of hersI slipped the glimmer of a ring.Ah, golden heart, and golden locksYe wove so sweet, so sure a spell!That quiet day I saw her firstBeside the Burgomeister's Well!
Words in this poem
- flamboyant a.
- Characterized by waving or flamelike curves, as in the tracery of windows, etc.; -- said of the later (15th century) French Gothic style. [F.]
- carven a.
- Wrought by carving; ornamented by carvings; carved.
- quaint a.
- Prudent; wise; hence, crafty; artful; wily. [OE. queint, queynte, coint, prudent, wise, cunning, pretty, odd, OF. cointe cultivated, amiable, agreeable, neat, fr. L. cognitus known, p. p. of cognoscere to ]
- flaxen a.
- Made of flax; resembling flax or its fibers; of the color of flax; of a light soft straw color; fair and flowing, like flax or tow; as, flaxen thread; flaxen hair.
- athirst a.
- Wanting drink; thirsty. [OE. ofthurst, AS. ofpyrsted, p. p. of ofpyrstan; pref. of-, intensive + pyrstan to thirst. See Thirst.]
- loveliness n.
- The state or quality of being lovely. [From Lovely.]
- flagon n.
- A vessel with a narrow mouth, used for holding and conveying liquors. It is generally larger than a bottle, and of leather or stoneware rather than of glass. [F. flacon, for flascon, fr. OF. flasche, from LL. flasco. See Flask.]
- cobweb n.
- The network spread by a spider to catch its prey. [Cob a spider + web.]
- wove
- p. pr. & rare vb. n. of Weave.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Burgomeister's Well is in the public domain. This text is taken from Old Spookses' Pass, Malcolm's Katie, and other poems, Project Gutenberg ebook #6815; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Isabella Valancy Crawford, The Burgomeister's Well, in Old Spookses' Pass, Malcolm's Katie and Other Poems (1884), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #6815, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/crawford-poems/the-burgomeister-s-well.html, id L11163.
Form and metre
The Burgomeister's Well is 44 lines in 5 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 94%). 98% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.0 syllables. 1 line ends on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 48% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
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 AB-B-A-A streetA · roarB · seemed · beforeB · yet · sweetA · town · beatA
- 2 AB-BA--- treesA · faceB · pierced · graceB · treesA · sun · bright · shone
- 3 -A-A-B-B cut · tellA · rear'd · wellA · blew · lipB · hand · tipB
- 4 -A-A-B-B maid · firstA · lean'd · athirstA · rim · lovelinessB · drops · dressB
- 5 -A-A-B-B-C-C hand · weightA · spun · fateA · buds · wingB · hers · ringB · locks · spellC · first · wellC
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 |
|---|---|---|
| A peaceful spot, a little street, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| So still between the double roar | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Of sea and city that it seemed | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| A rest in music, set before | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Some clashing chords--vibrating yet | 8 | ·/˘·/˘˘· |
| With hurried measures fast and sweet; | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| For so the harsh chords of the town, | 8 | ········ |
| And so the ocean's rythmic beat. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| A little street with linden trees | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| So thickly set, the belfry's face | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Was leaf-veiled, while above them pierced, | 8 | ········ |
| Four slender spires flamboyant grace. | 8 | ·/˘·˘/˘· |
| Old porches carven when the trees, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| Were seedlings yellow in the sun | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| Five hundred years ago that bright | 8 | ·/˘·˘/·· |
| Upon the quaint old city shone. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| A fountain prim, and richly cut | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| In ruddy granite, carved to tell | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| How a good burgomeister rear'd | 8 | ········ |
| The stone above the people's well. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| A sea-horse from his nostrils blew | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Two silver threads; a dragon's lip | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Dropp'd di'monds, and a giant hand | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Held high an urn on finger tip. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| 'Twas there I met my little maid, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| There saw her flaxen tresses first; | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| She filled the cup for one who lean'd | 8 | ········ |
| (A soldier, crippl'd and athirst) | 8 | ·/˘/˘·˘/ |
| Against the basin's carven rim; | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Her dear small hand's white loveliness | 8 | ·····/˘˘ |
| Was pinkly flush'd, the gay bright drops | 8 | ········ |
| Plash'd on her brow and silken dress. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| I took the flagon from her hand, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Too small, dear hand, for such a weight. | 8 | ········ |
| From cobweb weft and woof is spun | 8 | ·/······ |
| The tapestry of Life and Fate! | 8 | ·/˘˘···· |
| The linden trees had gilded buds, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| The dove wheeled high on joyous wing, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| When on that darling hand of hers | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| I slipped the glimmer of a ring. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Ah, golden heart, and golden locks | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Ye wove so sweet, so sure a spell! | 8 | ········ |
| That quiet day I saw her first | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Beside the Burgomeister's Well! | 8 | ˘/······ |
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