Homeward Bound XVI
The sea outspreading glorious,In the dying sunbeams shone.We sat by the lonely fisher's house,We sat there mute and alone.
The waters swell, the mists arise,The sea-mew flutters past,And then from out thy loving eyesThe tears come flowing fast.
I see them falling on thy hand.Upon my knees I sink,And from the hollow of thy handThe burning tears I drink.
Since then strange flames my flesh devour,My spent soul disappears,The wretched woman in that hourPoisoned me with her tears.
Words in this poem
- 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.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Homeward Bound XVI 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 XVI, in Poems and Ballads (1881), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #31726, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/heine-poems-ballads/homeward-bound-xvi.html, id L15343.
Form and metre
Homeward Bound XVI is 16 lines in 4 stanzas of 4 lines each. Every stanza rhymes ABAB. The metre is common measure, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 92%). 96% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.4 syllables. 3 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 19% 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 ABAB gloriousA · shoneB · houseA · aloneB
- 2 ABAB ariseA · pastB · eyesA · fastB
- 3 ABAB handA · sinkB · handA · drinkB
- 4 ABAB devourA · disappearsB · hourA · tearsB
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 sea outspreading glorious, | 8 | ·····/˘˘ |
| In the dying sunbeams shone. | 7 | ··/˘/·· |
| We sat by the lonely fisher's house, | 9 | ····/˘/˘· |
| We sat there mute and alone. | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| The waters swell, the mists arise, | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| The sea-mew flutters past, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| And then from out thy loving eyes | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| The tears come flowing fast. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| I see them falling on thy hand. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Upon my knees I sink, | 6 | ······ |
| And from the hollow of thy hand | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| The burning tears I drink. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Since then strange flames my flesh devour, | 9 | ······˘/˘ |
| My spent soul disappears, | 6 | ····˘/ |
| The wretched woman in that hour | 9 | ·/˘/˘··/˘ |
| Poisoned me with her tears. | 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.