After Heine
When I look on thee and feel how dear,How pure, and how fair thou art,Into my eyes there steals a tear,And a shadow mingled of love and fearCreeps slowly over my heart.
And my very hands feel as if they would layThemselves on thy fair young head,And pray the good God to keep thee alwayAs good and lovely, as pure and gay,--When I and my wild love are dead.
Let your feet not falter, your course not alterBy golden apples, till victory's won!The sword's sharp clangour, the dart's shrill anger,Swerve not the hero thundering on.
A bold beginning is half the winning,An Alexander makes worlds his fee.No long debating! The Queens are waitingIn his pavilion on beaded knee.
Thus swift pursuing his wars and wooing,He mounts old Darius' bed and throne.O glorious ruin! O blithe undoing!O drunk death-triumph in Babylon!
Double flutes and horns resoundAs they dance the idol round;Jacob's daughters, madly reeling,Whirl about the golden calf.Hear them laugh!Kettledrums and laughter pealing.
Dresses tucked above their knees,Maids of noblest families,In the swift dance blindly wheeling,Circle in their wild careerRound the steer,--Kettledrums and laughter pealing.
Aaron's self, the guardian greyOf the faith, at last gives way,Madness all his senses stealing;Prances in his high priest's coatLike a goat,--Kettledrums and laughter pealing.
Daily walked the fair and lovelySultan's daughter in the twilight,--In the twilight by the fountain,Where the sparkling waters plash.
Daily stood the young slave silentIn the twilight by the fountain,Where the plashing waters sparkle,Pale and paler every day.
Once by twilight came the princessUp to him with rapid questions:"I would know thy name, thy nation,Whence thou comest, who thou art."
And the young slave said, "My name isMahomet, I come from Yemmen.I am of the sons of Azra,Men who perish if they love."
Good luck is the gayest of all gay girls,Long in one place she will not stay;Back from your brow she strokes the curls,Kisses you quick and flies away.
But Madame Bad Luck soberly comesAnd stays,--no fancy has she for flitting,--Snatches of true love-songs she hums,And sits by your bed, and brings her knitting.
Words in this poem 18
- falter v. t.
- To thrash in the chaff; also, to cleanse or sift, as barley.
- clangour n.
- A sharp, harsh, ringing sound. [L., fr. clangere. See Clang, v. t.]
- thundering a.
- Emitting thunder.
- debating n.
- The act of discussing or arguing; discussion. Debating society or club, a society or club for the purpose of debate and improvement in extemporaneous speaking.
- pavilion n.
- A temporary movable habitation; a large tent; a marquee; esp., a tent raised on posts. [F. pavillon, fr. L. pavilio a butterfly, also, a tent, because spread out like a butterfly's wings.]
- glorious a.
- Exhibiting attributes, qualities, or acts that are worthy of or receive glory; noble; praiseworthy; excellent; splendid; illustrious; inspiring admiration; as, glorious deeds. [OF. glorios, glorious, F. glorieux, fr. L. gloriosus. See Glory, n.]
- blithe a.
- Gay; merry; sprightly; joyous; glad; cheerful; as, a blithe spirit. [AS. bli blithe, kind; akin to Goth. blei kind, Icel. bli mild, gentle, Dan. & Sw. blid gentle, D. blijd blithe, OHG. blidi kind, blithe.]
- undoing n.
- The reversal of what has been done.
- idol n.
- An image or representation of anything. [OE. idole, F. idole, L. idolum, fr. Gr. Wit, and cf. Eidolon.]
- madly adv.
- In a mad manner; without reason or understanding; wildly. [From Mad, a.]
- blindly adv.
- Without sight, discernment, or understanding; without thought, investigation, knowledge, or purpose of one's own.
- wheeling n.
- The act of conveying anything, or traveling, on wheels, or in a wheeled vehicle.
- career n.
- A race course: the ground run over. [F. carrière race course, high road, street, fr. L. carrus wagon. See Car.]
- plashing n.
- The cutting or bending and intertwining the branches of small trees, as in hedges.
- princess n.
- A female prince; a woman having sovereign power, or the rank of a prince. [F. princesse. See Prince, and cf. Princesse.]
- madame n.
- My lady; -- a French title formerly given to ladies of quality; now, in France, given to all married women. [F., fr. ma my (L. mea) + dame dame. See Dame, and cf. Madonna.]
- soberly a.
- Grave; serious; solemn; sad.
- flitting n.
- A flying with lightness and celerity; a fluttering.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
After Heine is in the public domain. This text is taken from Pike County Ballads and Other Poems, Project Gutenberg ebook #6062; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: John Hay, After Heine, in Pike County Ballads and Other Poems (1871), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #6062, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/hay-pike-county/after-heine.html, id L21641.
Form and metre
After Heine is 64 lines in 14 stanzas. The metre is trochaic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 81%).
See 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 ABAAB dearA · artB · tearA · fearA · heartB
- 2 AB-AB layA · headB · alway · gayA · deadB
- 3 -A-A alter · wonA · anger · onA
- 4 -A-A winning · feeA · waiting · kneeA
- 5 A-A- wooingA · throne · undoingA · babylon
- 6 AABCCB resoundA · roundA · reelingB · calfC · laughC · pealingB
- 7 AABCCB kneesA · familiesA · wheelingB · careerC · steerC · pealingB
- 8 AABCCB greyA · wayA · stealingB · coatC · goatC · pealingB
- 13 ABAB girlsA · stayB · curlsA · awayB
- 14 ABAB comesA · flittingB · humsA · knittingB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| When I look on thee and feel how dear, | 9 | ········· |
| How pure, and how fair thou art, | 7 | ······· |
| Into my eyes there steals a tear, | 8 | ········ |
| And a shadow mingled of love and fear | 10 | ··/·/˘···· |
| Creeps slowly over my heart. | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| And my very hands feel as if they would lay | 11 | ··/˘······· |
| Themselves on thy fair young head, | 7 | ˘/····· |
| And pray the good God to keep thee alway | 10 | ········/˘ |
| As good and lovely, as pure and gay,-- | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| When I and my wild love are dead. | 8 | ········ |
| Let your feet not falter, your course not alter | 11 | ····/˘···/˘ |
| By golden apples, till victory's won! | 9 | ·/˘/˘·/˘· |
| The sword's sharp clangour, the dart's shrill anger, | 10 | ········/˘ |
| Swerve not the hero thundering on. | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| A bold beginning is half the winning, | 10 | ··˘/˘···/˘ |
| An Alexander makes worlds his fee. | 9 | ··˘/˘···· |
| No long debating! The Queens are waiting | 10 | ··˘/˘···/˘ |
| In his pavilion on beaded knee. | 9 | ··˘/˘·/˘· |
| Thus swift pursuing his wars and wooing, | 10 | ··˘/˘···/˘ |
| He mounts old Darius' bed and throne. | 9 | ···˘/˘··· |
| O glorious ruin! O blithe undoing! | 9 | ·/˘/··˘/˘ |
| O drunk death-triumph in Babylon! | 9 | ···/˘·/˘· |
| Double flutes and horns resound | 7 | /˘····/ |
| As they dance the idol round; | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Jacob's daughters, madly reeling, | 8 | /˘/˘/˘/˘ |
| Whirl about the golden calf. | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Hear them laugh! | 3 | ··· |
| Kettledrums and laughter pealing. | 8 | ····/˘/˘ |
| Dresses tucked above their knees, | 8 | /˘·˘···· |
| Maids of noblest families, | 7 | ··/˘/˘˘ |
| In the swift dance blindly wheeling, | 8 | ····/˘/˘ |
| Circle in their wild career | 7 | /˘···˘/ |
| Round the steer,-- | 3 | ··· |
| Kettledrums and laughter pealing. | 8 | ····/˘/˘ |
| Aaron's self, the guardian grey | 8 | /˘··/˘˘· |
| Of the faith, at last gives way, | 7 | ······· |
| Madness all his senses stealing; | 8 | /˘··/˘/˘ |
| Prances in his high priest's coat | 7 | /˘····· |
| Like a goat,-- | 3 | ··· |
| Kettledrums and laughter pealing. | 8 | ····/˘/˘ |
| Daily walked the fair and lovely | 8 | /˘····/˘ |
| Sultan's daughter in the twilight,-- | 8 | /˘/˘··/· |
| In the twilight by the fountain, | 8 | ··/···/˘ |
| Where the sparkling waters plash. | 7 | ··/˘/˘· |
| Daily stood the young slave silent | 8 | /˘····/˘ |
| In the twilight by the fountain, | 8 | ··/···/˘ |
| Where the plashing waters sparkle, | 8 | ··/˘/˘/˘ |
| Pale and paler every day. | 8 | ····/˘˘· |
| Once by twilight came the princess | 8 | ··/···/˘ |
| Up to him with rapid questions: | 8 | ····/˘/˘ |
| "I would know thy name, thy nation, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Whence thou comest, who thou art." | 7 | ······· |
| And the young slave said, "My name is | 8 | ········ |
| Mahomet, I come from Yemmen. | 8 | ········ |
| I am of the sons of Azra, | 8 | ········ |
| Men who perish if they love." | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Good luck is the gayest of all gay girls, | 9 | ········· |
| Long in one place she will not stay; | 8 | ········ |
| Back from your brow she strokes the curls, | 8 | ········ |
| Kisses you quick and flies away. | 8 | /˘····˘/ |
| But Madame Bad Luck soberly comes | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| And stays,--no fancy has she for flitting,-- | 10 | ···/˘···/˘ |
| Snatches of true love-songs she hums, | 8 | /˘······ |
| And sits by your bed, and brings her knitting. | 10 | ········/˘ |
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.