My Castle in Spain
There was never a castle seenSo fair as mine in Spain:It stands embowered in green,Crowning the gentle slopeOf a hill by the Xenil's shoreAnd at eve its shade flaunts o'erThe storied Vega plain,And its towers are hid in the mists of Hope;And I toil through years of painIts glimmering gates to gain.
In visions wild and sweetSometimes its courts I greet:Sometimes in joy its shining hallsI tread with favoured feet;But never my eyes in the light of dayWere blest with its ivied walls,Where the marble white and the granite grayTurn gold alike when the sunbeams play,When the soft day dimly falls.
I know in its dusky roomsAre treasures rich and rare;The spoil of Eastern looms,And whatever of bright and fairPainters divine have caught and wonFrom the vault of Italy's air:White gods in Phidian stonePeople the haunted glooms;And the song of immortal singersLike a fragrant memory lingers,I know, in the echoing rooms.
But nothing of these, my soul!Nor castle, nor treasures, nor skies,Nor the waves of the river that roilWith a cadence faint and sweetIn peace by its marble feet--Nothing of these is the goalFor which my whole heart sighs.'Tis the pearl gives worth to the shell--The pearl I would die to gain;For there does my lady dwell,My love that I love so well--The Queen whose gracious reignMakes glad my castle in Spain.
Her face so pure and fairSheds light in the shady places,And the spell of her girlish gracesHolds charmed the happy air.A breath of purityFor ever before her flies,And ill things cease to beIn the glance of her honest eyes.Around her pathway flutter,Where her dear feet wander freeIn youth's pure majesty,The wings of the vague desires;But the thought that love would utterIn reverence expires.
Not yet! not yet shall I seeThat face which shines like a starO'er my storm-swept life afar,Transfigured with love for me.Toiling, forgetting, and learningWith labour and vigils and prayers,Pure heart and resolute will,At last I shall climb the hillAnd breathe the enchanted airsWhere the light of my life is burningMost lovely and fair and free,Where alone in her youth and beautyAnd bound by her fate's sweet duty,Unconscious she waits for me.
Words in this poem
- storied a.
- Told in a story. [From Story.]
- vega n.
- A brilliant star of the first magnitude, the brightest of those constituting the constellation Lyra. [Ar. w, properly, falling: cf. F. Wéga.]
- favoured a.
- Countenanced; aided; regarded with kidness; as, a favored friend.
- ivied a.
- Overgrown with ivy. [From Ivy.]
- dimly adv.
- In a dim or obscure manner; not brightly or clearly; with imperfect sight.
- haunted a.
- Inhabited by, or subject to the visits of, apparitions; frequented by a ghost.
- dwell v. i.
- To delay; to linger. [OE. dwellen, dwelien, to err, linger, AS. dwellan to deceive, hinder, delay, dwelian to err; akin to Icel. dvelja to delay, tarry, Sw. dväljas to dwell, Dan. dv]
- girlish a.
- Like, or characteristic of, a girl; of or pertaining to girlhood; innocent; artless; immature; weak; as, girlish ways; girlish grief.
- pathway n.
- A footpath; a beaten track; any path or course. Also used figuratively.
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
- afar adv.
- At, to, or from a great distance; far away; -- often used with from preceding, or off following; as, he was seen from afar; I saw him afar off. [Pref. a-.(for on or of) + far.]
- enchanted a.
- Under the power of enchantment; possessed or exercised by enchanters; as, an enchanted castle.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
My Castle in Spain 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, My Castle in Spain, in Pike County Ballads and Other Poems (1871), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #6062, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/hay-pike-county/my-castle-in-spain.html, id L21592.
Form and metre
My Castle in Spain is 71 lines in 6 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 81%).
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 ABAC--BCBB seenA · spainB · greenA · slopeC · shore · o'er · plainB · hopeC · painB · gainB
- 2 AABACBCCB sweetA · greetA · hallsB · feetA · dayC · wallsB · grayC · playC · fallsB
- 3 ABAB-B-A--A roomsA · rareB · loomsA · fairB · won · airB · stone · gloomsA · singers · lingers · roomsA
- 4 AB-CCABDEDDEE soulA · skiesB · roil · sweetC · feetC · goalA · sighsB · shellD · gainE · dwellD · wellD · reignE · spainE
- 5 ABBA-CDCED-FEF fairA · placesB · gracesB · airA · purity · fliesC · beD · eyesC · flutterE · freeD · majesty · desiresF · utterE · expiresF
- 6 ABBACDEEDCAFFA seeA · starB · afarB · meA · learningC · prayersD · willE · hillE · airsD · burningC · freeA · beautyF · dutyF · meA
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 |
|---|---|---|
| There was never a castle seen | 8 | ··/˘·/˘· |
| So fair as mine in Spain: | 6 | ······ |
| It stands embowered in green, | 8 | ·····˘·· |
| Crowning the gentle slope | 6 | /˘·/˘· |
| Of a hill by the Xenil's shore | 8 | ········ |
| And at eve its shade flaunts o'er | 7 | ······· |
| The storied Vega plain, | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| And its towers are hid in the mists of Hope; | 10 | ··/······· |
| And I toil through years of pain | 7 | ······· |
| Its glimmering gates to gain. | 7 | ·/˘˘··· |
| In visions wild and sweet | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Sometimes its courts I greet: | 6 | ˘/···· |
| Sometimes in joy its shining halls | 8 | ˘/···/˘· |
| I tread with favoured feet; | 7 | ···/˘˘· |
| But never my eyes in the light of day | 9 | ·/······· |
| Were blest with its ivied walls, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Where the marble white and the granite gray | 10 | ··/˘···/˘· |
| Turn gold alike when the sunbeams play, | 9 | ··˘/··/·· |
| When the soft day dimly falls. | 7 | ····/˘· |
| I know in its dusky rooms | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Are treasures rich and rare; | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| The spoil of Eastern looms, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| And whatever of bright and fair | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| Painters divine have caught and won | 8 | /˘˘/···· |
| From the vault of Italy's air: | 8 | ····/˘˘· |
| White gods in Phidian stone | 6 | ······ |
| People the haunted glooms; | 6 | /˘·/˘· |
| And the song of immortal singers | 9 | ····˘/˘/˘ |
| Like a fragrant memory lingers, | 9 | ··/˘/˘˘/˘ |
| I know, in the echoing rooms. | 8 | ····/˘˘· |
| But nothing of these, my soul! | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| Nor castle, nor treasures, nor skies, | 8 | ·/˘·/˘·· |
| Nor the waves of the river that roil | 9 | ·····/˘·· |
| With a cadence faint and sweet | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| In peace by its marble feet-- | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Nothing of these is the goal | 7 | /˘····· |
| For which my whole heart sighs. | 6 | ······ |
| 'Tis the pearl gives worth to the shell-- | 8 | ········ |
| The pearl I would die to gain; | 7 | ······· |
| For there does my lady dwell, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| My love that I love so well-- | 7 | ······· |
| The Queen whose gracious reign | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Makes glad my castle in Spain. | 7 | ···/˘·· |
| Her face so pure and fair | 6 | ······ |
| Sheds light in the shady places, | 8 | ····/˘/˘ |
| And the spell of her girlish graces | 9 | ·····/˘/˘ |
| Holds charmed the happy air. | 7 | ··˘·/˘· |
| A breath of purity | 6 | ···/˘˘ |
| For ever before her flies, | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| And ill things cease to be | 6 | ······ |
| In the glance of her honest eyes. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Around her pathway flutter, | 7 | ···/·/˘ |
| Where her dear feet wander free | 7 | ····/˘· |
| In youth's pure majesty, | 6 | ···/˘˘ |
| The wings of the vague desires; | 8 | ·····˘/˘ |
| But the thought that love would utter | 8 | ······/˘ |
| In reverence expires. | 7 | ·/˘˘˘/˘ |
| Not yet! not yet shall I see | 7 | ······· |
| That face which shines like a star | 7 | ······· |
| O'er my storm-swept life afar, | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| Transfigured with love for me. | 8 | ···˘···· |
| Toiling, forgetting, and learning | 8 | /˘˘/˘·/˘ |
| With labour and vigils and prayers, | 8 | ·/··/˘·· |
| Pure heart and resolute will, | 7 | ···/˘·· |
| At last I shall climb the hill | 7 | ······· |
| And breathe the enchanted airs | 7 | ···˘/˘· |
| Where the light of my life is burning | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| Most lovely and fair and free, | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| Where alone in her youth and beauty | 9 | ·˘/····/˘ |
| And bound by her fate's sweet duty, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Unconscious she waits for me. | 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.