Homeward Bound XIV
The evening shades are falling,The sea-fog spreads with night.Mysterious waters are calling,There rises something white.
The mermaid comes from the ocean,Beside me sitting down;Her white breast's breathing motion,I see through the gossamer gown.
And she doth clasp and hold me,In passionate, painful way.Too close thou dost enfold me,Thou lovely water fay!
"Within mine arms I hide thee,With all my strength enfold,I warm myself beside thee,The night is far too cold."
Paler the moon is growingThrough shadowy vapors gray.Thine eyes with tears are flowing,Thou lovely water fay!
"With tears they are not flowing.As I from waves did rise,Forth from the ocean going,A drop fell in mine eyes."
The sea-mews moan, entreating,What does the mad surf say?Thy heart is wildly beating,Thou lovely water fay.
"My heart is beating sadlyAnd wild as ever it can,Because I love thee madly,Thou lovely son of man."
Words in this poem
- mermaid n.
- A fabled marine creature, typically represented as having the upper part like that of a woman, and the lower like a fish; a sea nymph, sea woman, or woman fish. [AS. mere lake, sea. See Mere lake, and maid.]
- gossamer n.
- A fine, filmy substance, like cobwebs, floating in the air, in calm, clear weather, especially in autumn. It is seen in stubble fields and on furze or low bushes, and is formed by small spiders. [OE. gossomer, gossummer, gosesomer, perh. for goose summer, from its downy appearance, or perh. for God's summer, cf. G. mariengarr gossamer, properly Mary's ya]
- enfold v. t.
- To infold. See Infold.
- mews n.
- An alley where there are stables; a narrow passage; a confined place. [Eng.] [Prop. pl. of mew. See Mew a cage.]
- sadly adv.
- Wearily; heavily; firmly.
- madly adv.
- In a mad manner; without reason or understanding; wildly. [From Mad, a.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Homeward Bound XIV is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems and Ballads, Project Gutenberg ebook #31726, the Emma Lazarus 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: Heinrich Heine, Homeward Bound XIV, in Poems and Ballads (1881), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #31726, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/heine-poems-ballads/homeward-bound-xiv.html, id L15341.
Form and metre
Homeward Bound XIV is 32 lines in 8 stanzas of 4 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABAB, complete in 7 of its 8 stanzas. The metre is common measure, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 91%). 94% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 6.8 syllables. 11 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 6% 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.
- 1 -A-A falling · nightA · calling · whiteA
- 2 ABAB oceanA · downB · motionA · gownB
- 3 ABAB meA · wayB · meA · fayB
- 4 ABAB theeA · enfoldB · theeA · coldB
- 5 ABAB growingA · grayB · flowingA · fayB
- 6 ABAB flowingA · riseB · goingA · eyesB
- 7 ABAB entreatingA · sayB · beatingA · fayB
- 8 ABAB sadlyA · canB · madlyA · manB
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 evening shades are falling, | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| The sea-fog spreads with night. | 6 | ······ |
| Mysterious waters are calling, | 9 | ˘/˘˘/˘·/˘ |
| There rises something white. | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| The mermaid comes from the ocean, | 8 | ·/····/˘ |
| Beside me sitting down; | 6 | ˘/·/˘· |
| Her white breast's breathing motion, | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| I see through the gossamer gown. | 8 | ····/˘˘· |
| And she doth clasp and hold me, | 7 | ······· |
| In passionate, painful way. | 7 | ·/˘˘/˘· |
| Too close thou dost enfold me, | 7 | ····˘/· |
| Thou lovely water fay! | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| "Within mine arms I hide thee, | 7 | ······· |
| With all my strength enfold, | 6 | ····˘/ |
| I warm myself beside thee, | 7 | ···/˘/· |
| The night is far too cold." | 6 | ······ |
| Paler the moon is growing | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Through shadowy vapors gray. | 7 | ·/˘˘/˘· |
| Thine eyes with tears are flowing, | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Thou lovely water fay! | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| "With tears they are not flowing. | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| As I from waves did rise, | 6 | ······ |
| Forth from the ocean going, | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| A drop fell in mine eyes." | 6 | ······ |
| The sea-mews moan, entreating, | 7 | ······· |
| What does the mad surf say? | 6 | ······ |
| Thy heart is wildly beating, | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| Thou lovely water fay. | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| "My heart is beating sadly | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| And wild as ever it can, | 7 | ···/˘·· |
| Because I love thee madly, | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Thou lovely son of man." | 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.