First Stasimon
CHORUS.O Muse, be near me now, and makeA strange song for Ilion's sake,Till a tone of tears be about mine earsAnd out of my lips a music breakFor Troy, Troy, and the end of the years:When the wheels of the Greek above me pressed,And the mighty horse-hoofs beat my breast;And all around were the Argive spears.
A towering Steed of golden rein--O gold without, dark steel within!--Ramped in our gates; and all the plainLay silent where the Greeks had been.And a cry broke from all the folkGathered above on Ilion's rock:"Up, up, O fear is over now!To Pallas, who hath saved us living,To Pallas bear this victory-vow!"Then rose the old man from his room,The merry damsel left her loom,And each bound death about his browWith minstrelsy and high thanksgiving!
O, swift were all in Troy that day,And girt them to the portal-way,Marvelling at that mountain ThingSmooth-carven, where the Argives lay,And wrath, and Ilion's vanquishing:Meet gift for her that spareth not,Heaven's yokeless Rider. Up they broughtThrough the steep gates her offering:Like some dark ship that climbs the shoreOn straining cables, up, where stoodHer marble throne, her hallowed floor,Who lusted for her people's blood.
A very weariness of joyFell with the evening over Troy:And lutes of Afric mingled thereWith Phrygian songs: and many a maiden,With white feet glancing light as air,Made happy music through the gloom:And fires on many an inward roomAll night broad-flashing, flung their glareOn laughing eyes and slumber-laden.
A MAIDEN.I was among the dancers thereTo Artemis, and glorying sangHer of the Hills, the Maid most fair,Daughter of Zeus: and, lo, there rangA shout out of the dark, and fellDeathlike from street to street, and madeA silence in the citadel:And a child cried, as if afraid,And hid him in his mother's veil.Then stalked the Slayer from his den,The hand of Pallas served her well!O blood, blood of Troy was deepAbout the streets and altars then:And in the wedded rooms of sleep,Lo, the desolate dark alone,And headless things, men stumbled on.
And forth, lo, the women go,The crown of War, the crown of Woe,To bear the children of the foeAnd weep, weep, for Ilion!
Words in this poem 15
- argive a.
- Of or performance to Argos, the capital of Argolis in Greece. [L. Argivus, fr. Argos, Argi.]
- towering a.
- Very high; elevated; rising aloft; as, a towering height.
- steed n.
- A horse, especially a spirited horse for state of war; -- used chiefly in poetry or stately prose. [OE. stede, AS. steda a stud-horse, war horse, fr. stod a stud of breeding steeds; akin to G. stute a mare, Icel. stedda, sto, a stud. *163. See Stud of horses.]
- broke v. i.
- To transact business for another. Brome. [See Broker, and cf. Brook.]
- folk n.
- In Anglo-Saxon times, the people of a group of townships or villages; a community; a tribe. [AS. folc; akin to D. volk, OS. & OHG. folk, G. volk, Icel. f, Sw. & Dan. folk, Lith. pulkas crowd, and perh. to E. follow.]
- pallas n.
- Pallas Athene, the Grecian goddess of wisdom, called also Athene, and identified, at a later period, with the Roman Minerva.
- damsel n.
- A young person, either male or female, of noble or gentle extraction; as, Damsel Pepin; Damsel Richard, Prince of Wales. [OE. damosel, damesel, damisel, damsel, fr. OF. damoisele, damisele, gentlewoman, F. demoiselle young lady; cf. OF. damoisel young nobleman, F. damoiseau; fr. LL]
- minstrelsy n.
- The arts and occupation of minstrels; the singing and playing of a minstrel.
- thanksgiving n.
- The act of rending thanks, or expressing gratitude for favors or mercies.
- girt v. t.
- To gird; to encircle; to invest by means of a girdle; to measure the girth of; as, to girt a tree. [From Girt, n., cf. Girth, v.]
- glancing a.
- Shooting, as light.
- 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.]
- slayer n.
- One who slays; a killer; a murderer; a destrroyer of life.
- wedded a.
- Joined in wedlock; married.
- headless a.
- Having no head; beheaded; as, a headless body, neck, or carcass. [AS. heáfodleás.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
First Stasimon is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Trojan Women of Euripides, translated into English rhyming verse by Gilbert Murray, Project Gutenberg ebook #35171, the Gilbert Murray 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: Euripides, First Stasimon, in The Trojan Women (1905), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #35171, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/euripides-trojan-women/first-stasimon.html, id L28779.
Form and metre
First Stasimon is 64 lines in 6 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 87%).
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 -AABABCCB chorus · makeA · sakeA · earsB · breakA · yearsB · pressedC · breastC · spearsB
- 2 ABAB--CDCEECD reinA · withinB · plainA · beenB · folk · rock · nowC · livingD · vowC · roomE · loomE · browC · thanksgivingD
- 3 AABAB---CDCD dayA · wayA · thingB · layA · vanquishingB · not · brought · offering · shoreC · stoodD · floorC · bloodD
- 4 AABCBDDBC joyA · troyA · thereB · maidenC · airB · gloomD · roomD · glareB · ladenC
- 5 -ABABCDCD-ECFEF-- maiden · thereA · sangB · fairA · rangB · fellC · madeD · citadelC · afraidD · veil · denE · wellC · deepF · thenE · sleepF · alone · on
- 6 AAA- goA · woeA · foeA · ilion
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 |
|---|---|---|
| CHORUS. | 2 | /˘ |
| O Muse, be near me now, and make | 8 | ········ |
| A strange song for Ilion's sake, | 7 | ······· |
| Till a tone of tears be about mine ears | 10 | ·········· |
| And out of my lips a music break | 9 | ······/˘· |
| For Troy, Troy, and the end of the years: | 9 | ········· |
| When the wheels of the Greek above me pressed, | 10 | ·········· |
| And the mighty horse-hoofs beat my breast; | 9 | ··/˘····· |
| And all around were the Argive spears. | 9 | ······/˘· |
| A towering Steed of golden rein-- | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| O gold without, dark steel within!-- | 8 | ········ |
| Ramped in our gates; and all the plain | 8 | ··/····· |
| Lay silent where the Greeks had been. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| And a cry broke from all the folk | 8 | ········ |
| Gathered above on Ilion's rock: | 8 | /˘······ |
| "Up, up, O fear is over now! | 8 | ········ |
| To Pallas, who hath saved us living, | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| To Pallas bear this victory-vow!" | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Then rose the old man from his room, | 8 | ········ |
| The merry damsel left her loom, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| And each bound death about his brow | 8 | ········ |
| With minstrelsy and high thanksgiving! | 9 | ·/˘˘···/˘ |
| O, swift were all in Troy that day, | 8 | ········ |
| And girt them to the portal-way, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Marvelling at that mountain Thing | 8 | ˘/˘··/˘· |
| Smooth-carven, where the Argives lay, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| And wrath, and Ilion's vanquishing: | 8 | ·····/˘˘ |
| Meet gift for her that spareth not, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Heaven's yokeless Rider. Up they brought | 9 | /˘···/··· |
| Through the steep gates her offering: | 8 | ·····/˘˘ |
| Like some dark ship that climbs the shore | 8 | ········ |
| On straining cables, up, where stood | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| Her marble throne, her hallowed floor, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Who lusted for her people's blood. | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| A very weariness of joy | 8 | ·/˘/˘˘·· |
| Fell with the evening over Troy: | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And lutes of Afric mingled there | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| With Phrygian songs: and many a maiden, | 9 | ·/˘··/·/˘ |
| With white feet glancing light as air, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Made happy music through the gloom: | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| And fires on many an inward room | 8 | ·/·/·/˘· |
| All night broad-flashing, flung their glare | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| On laughing eyes and slumber-laden. | 9 | ·/˘··/˘/˘ |
| A MAIDEN. | 3 | ·/˘ |
| I was among the dancers there | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| To Artemis, and glorying sang | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Her of the Hills, the Maid most fair, | 8 | ········ |
| Daughter of Zeus: and, lo, there rang | 8 | /˘······ |
| A shout out of the dark, and fell | 8 | ········ |
| Deathlike from street to street, and made | 8 | /˘······ |
| A silence in the citadel: | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| And a child cried, as if afraid, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| And hid him in his mother's veil. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Then stalked the Slayer from his den, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| The hand of Pallas served her well! | 8 | ········ |
| O blood, blood of Troy was deep | 7 | ······· |
| About the streets and altars then: | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And in the wedded rooms of sleep, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Lo, the desolate dark alone, | 8 | ··/˘˘·˘/ |
| And headless things, men stumbled on. | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| And forth, lo, the women go, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| The crown of War, the crown of Woe, | 8 | ········ |
| To bear the children of the foe | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And weep, weep, for Ilion! | 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.