Death of the Old Sea King. 39
The sluggish blood in the old man's veinsWith sudden vigor stirred.
"I hear them call," cried the dying man,His eyes grew full of light;"Now bring me here my warrior robes,My sword and armor bright.
"In the tempest's lull I heard a voice,I knew 'twas Odin's call.The Valkyrs are gathering round my bedTo lead me unto his hall.
"Bear me unto my noblest ship,Light up a funeral pyre;I'll walk to the palace of the bravesThrough a path of flame and fire."
Oh! wild and bright was the stormy lightThat flashed from the old man's eye,As they bore him from the couch of deathTo his battle-ship to die,
And lit with many a mournful torchThe sea-king's dying bed,And like a banner fair and brightThe flames around him spread.
Words in this poem
- lull v. t.
- To cause to rest by soothing influences; to compose; to calm; to soothe; to quiet. [Akin to OD. lullen to sing to sleep, G. lullen, Dan. lulle, Sw. lulla; all of imitative origin. Cf. Loll, Lollard.]
- pyre n.
- A funeral pile; a combustible heap on which the dead are burned; hence, any pile to be burnt. [L. pure, Gr. Fire.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Death of the Old Sea King. 39 is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems, Project Gutenberg ebook #679; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Frances Ellen Watkins Harper, Death of the Old Sea King. 39, in Poems (1854–1871), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #679, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/harper-poems/death-of-the-old-sea-king-39.html, id L10574.
Form and metre
Death of the Old Sea King. 39 is 22 lines in 6 stanzas. The metre is common measure, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 87%). 98% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.7 syllables. 3 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 32% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in common measure.
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.
- 2 -A-A man · lightA · robes · brightA
- 3 -A-A voice · callA · bed · hallA
- 4 -A-A ship · pyreA · braves · fireA
- 5 -A-A light · eyeA · death · dieA
- 6 -A-A torch · bedA · bright · spreadA
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 common measure. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| The sluggish blood in the old man's veins | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| With sudden vigor stirred. | 7 | ·/˘/˘·˘ |
| "I hear them call," cried the dying man, | 9 | ······/˘· |
| His eyes grew full of light; | 6 | ······ |
| "Now bring me here my warrior robes, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| My sword and armor bright. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| "In the tempest's lull I heard a voice, | 9 | ··/˘····· |
| I knew 'twas Odin's call. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| The Valkyrs are gathering round my bed | 9 | ····/˘··· |
| To lead me unto his hall. | 7 | ······· |
| "Bear me unto my noblest ship, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Light up a funeral pyre; | 8 | ···/˘˘/˘ |
| I'll walk to the palace of the braves | 9 | ····/˘··· |
| Through a path of flame and fire." | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Oh! wild and bright was the stormy light | 9 | ······/˘· |
| That flashed from the old man's eye, | 8 | ··˘····· |
| As they bore him from the couch of death | 9 | ········· |
| To his battle-ship to die, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| And lit with many a mournful torch | 8 | ···/·/˘· |
| The sea-king's dying bed, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| And like a banner fair and bright | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| The flames around him spread. | 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.