Krinken
Krinken was a little child,--It was summer when he smiled.Oft the hoary sea and grimStretched its white arms out to him,Calling, "Sun-child, come to me;Let me warm my heart with thee!"But the child heard not the sea,Calling, yearning evermoreFor the summer on the shore.
Krinken on the beach one daySaw a maiden Nis at play;On the pebbly beach she playedIn the summer Krinken made.Fair, and very fair, was she,Just a little child was he."Krinken," said the maiden Nis,"Let me have a little kiss,Just a kiss, and go with meTo the summer-lands that beDown within the silver sea."
Krinken was a little child--By the maiden Nis beguiled,Hand in hand with her went he,And 'twas summer in the sea.And the hoary sea and grimTo its bosom folded him--Clasped and kissed the little form,And the ocean's heart was warm.
Now the sea calls out no more;It is winter on the shore,--Winter where that little childMade sweet summer when he smiled;Though 'tis summer on the seaWhere with maiden Nis went he,--Summer, summer evermore,--It is winter on the shore,Winter, winter evermore.Of the summer on the deepCome sweet visions in my sleep:His fair face lifts from the sea,His dear voice calls out to me,--These my dreams of summer be.
Krinken was a little child,By the maiden Nis beguiled;Oft the hoary sea and grimReached its longing arms to him,Crying, "Sun-child, come to me;Let me warm my heart with thee!"But the sea calls out no more;It is winter on the shore,--Winter, cold and dark and wild;Krinken was a little child,--It was summer when he smiled;Down he went into the sea,And the winter bides with me.Just a little child was he.
Words in this poem
- hoary a.
- White or whitish."The hoary willows."
- evermore adv.
- During eternity; always; forever; for an indefinite period; at all times; -- often used substantively with for.
- pebbly a.
- Full of pebbles; pebbled.
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Krinken is in the public domain. This text is taken from A Little Book of Western Verse, Project Gutenberg ebook #9606; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Eugene Field, Krinken, in A Little Book of Western Verse (1889), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #9606, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/field-western-verse/krinken.html, id L24634.
Form and metre
Krinken is 56 lines in 5 verse paragraphs. It is in rhyming couplets, 79% of the lines. The metre is trochaic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 92%).
See other poems in rhyming couplets, other poems in trochaic 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 AABBCCCDD childA · smiledA · grimB · himB · meC · theeC · seaC · evermoreD · shoreD
- 2 AABBCC--CCC dayA · playA · playedB · madeB · sheC · heC · nis · kiss · meC · beC · seaC
- 3 AABBCCDD childA · beguiledA · heB · seaB · grimC · himC · formD · warmD
- 4 AABBCCAAADDCCC moreA · shoreA · childB · smiledB · seaC · heC · evermoreA · shoreA · evermoreA · deepD · sleepD · seaC · meC · beC
- 5 AABBCCDDAAACCC childA · beguiledA · grimB · himB · meC · theeC · moreD · shoreD · wildA · childA · smiledA · seaC · meC · heC
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 tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Krinken was a little child,-- | 7 | ····/˘· |
| It was summer when he smiled. | 8 | ··/˘···˘ |
| Oft the hoary sea and grim | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Stretched its white arms out to him, | 8 | ·˘······ |
| Calling, "Sun-child, come to me; | 7 | /˘····· |
| Let me warm my heart with thee!" | 7 | ······· |
| But the child heard not the sea, | 7 | ······· |
| Calling, yearning evermore | 7 | /˘/˘/˘· |
| For the summer on the shore. | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Krinken on the beach one day | 7 | ······· |
| Saw a maiden Nis at play; | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| On the pebbly beach she played | 8 | ··/˘···˘ |
| In the summer Krinken made. | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Fair, and very fair, was she, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Just a little child was he. | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| "Krinken," said the maiden Nis, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| "Let me have a little kiss, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Just a kiss, and go with me | 7 | ······· |
| To the summer-lands that be | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Down within the silver sea." | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Krinken was a little child-- | 7 | ····/˘· |
| By the maiden Nis beguiled, | 8 | ··/˘·˘/˘ |
| Hand in hand with her went he, | 7 | ······· |
| And 'twas summer in the sea. | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| And the hoary sea and grim | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| To its bosom folded him-- | 7 | ··/˘/˘· |
| Clasped and kissed the little form, | 8 | ·˘···/˘· |
| And the ocean's heart was warm. | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Now the sea calls out no more; | 7 | ······· |
| It is winter on the shore,-- | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Winter where that little child | 7 | /˘··/˘· |
| Made sweet summer when he smiled; | 8 | ··/˘···˘ |
| Though 'tis summer on the sea | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Where with maiden Nis went he,-- | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Summer, summer evermore,-- | 7 | /˘/˘/˘· |
| It is winter on the shore, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Winter, winter evermore. | 7 | /˘/˘/˘· |
| Of the summer on the deep | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Come sweet visions in my sleep: | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| His fair face lifts from the sea, | 7 | ······· |
| His dear voice calls out to me,-- | 7 | ······· |
| These my dreams of summer be. | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Krinken was a little child, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| By the maiden Nis beguiled; | 8 | ··/˘·˘/˘ |
| Oft the hoary sea and grim | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Reached its longing arms to him, | 8 | ·˘·/˘··· |
| Crying, "Sun-child, come to me; | 7 | /˘····· |
| Let me warm my heart with thee!" | 7 | ······· |
| But the sea calls out no more; | 7 | ······· |
| It is winter on the shore,-- | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Winter, cold and dark and wild; | 7 | /˘····· |
| Krinken was a little child,-- | 7 | ····/˘· |
| It was summer when he smiled; | 8 | ··/˘···˘ |
| Down he went into the sea, | 7 | ······· |
| And the winter bides with me. | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Just a little child was he. | 7 | ··/˘··· |
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.