The Diver
Thou hast been where the rocks of coral grow,Thou hast fought with eddying waves;--Thy cheek is pale, and thy heart beats low,Thou searcher of ocean’s caves!
Thou hast look’d on the gleaming wealth of old,And wrecks where the brave have striven:The deep is a strong and a fearful hold,But thou its bar hast riven!
A wild and weary life is thine--A wasting task and lone,Though treasure-grots for thee may shine,To all besides unknown!
A weary life! but a swift decaySoon, soon shall set thee free;Thou’rt passing fast from thy toils away,Thou wrestler with the sea!
In thy dim eye, on thy hollow cheek,Well are the death-signs read--Go! for the pearl in its cavern seek,Ere hope and power be fled!
And bright in beauty’s coronalThat glistening gem shall be;A star to all in the festive hall--But who will think on thee?
None!--as it gleams from the queen-like head,Not one midst throngs will say,“A life hath been, like a raindrop, shedFor that pale, quivering ray!”
Woe for the wealth thus dearly bought!--And are not those like thee,Who win for earth the gems of thought?O wrestler with the sea!
Down to the gulfs of the soul they go,Where the passion-fountains burn,Gathering the jewels far belowFrom many a buried urn:
Wringing from lava-veins the fire,That o’er bright words is pour’d;Learning deep sounds, to make the lyreA spirit in each chord.
But, oh! the price of bitter tearsPaid for the lonely powerThat throws at last, o’er desert years,A darkly glorious dower!
Like flower-seeds, by the wild wind spread,So radiant thoughts are strew’d;--The soul whence those high gifts are shedMay faint in solitude!
And who will think, when the strain is sungTill a thousand hearts are stirr’d,What life-drops, from the minstrel wrung,Have gush’d with every word?
None, none!--his treasures live like thine,He strives and dies like thee;--Thou, that hast been to the pearl’s dark shrine,O wrestler with the sea!
Words in this poem
- hast
- , 2d pers. sing. pres. of. Fave, contr. of havest.
- wealth n.
- Weal; welfare; prosperity; good. [OE. welthe, from wele; cf. D. weelde luxury. See Weal prosperity.]
- lone n.
- A lane. See Loanin.
- 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,]
- wrestler n.
- One who wrestles; one who is skillful in wrestling. [AS. wræstlere.]
- coronal a.
- Of or pertaining to a corona (in any of the senses). [L. coronalis: cf. F. coronal.]
- raindrop n.
- A drop of rain.
- wringing
- a. & n. from Wring, v. Wringing machine, a wringer. See Wringer, 2.
- 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
The Diver is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Poems of Felicia Hemans, Project Gutenberg ebook #66785; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Felicia Hemans, The Diver, in Poems (1808–1835), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #66785, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/hemans-poems/the-diver.html, id L19523.
Form and metre
The Diver is 56 lines in 14 stanzas of 4 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABAB, complete in 12 of its 14 stanzas. The metre is common measure, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 84%).
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 growA · wavesB · lowA · cavesB
- 2 ABAB oldA · strivenB · holdA · rivenB
- 3 ABAB thineA · loneB · shineA · unknownB
- 4 ABAB decayA · freeB · awayA · seaB
- 5 ABAB cheekA · readB · seekA · fledB
- 6 -A-A coronal · beA · hall · theeA
- 7 ABAB headA · sayB · shedA · rayB
- 8 ABAB boughtA · theeB · thoughtA · seaB
- 9 ABAB goA · burnB · belowA · urnB
- 10 ABAB fireA · pour'dB · lyreA · chordB
- 11 A-A- tearsA · power · yearsA · dower
- 12 ABAB spreadA · strew'dB · shedA · solitudeB
- 13 ABAB sungA · stirr'dB · wrungA · wordB
- 14 ABAB thineA · theeB · shrineA · seaB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Thou hast been where the rocks of coral grow, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Thou hast fought with eddying waves;-- | 8 | ····/˘˘· |
| Thy cheek is pale, and thy heart beats low, | 9 | ········· |
| Thou searcher of ocean’s caves! | 7 | ·/˘·/˘· |
| Thou hast look’d on the gleaming wealth of old, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| And wrecks where the brave have striven: | 8 | ······/˘ |
| The deep is a strong and a fearful hold, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| But thou its bar hast riven! | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| A wild and weary life is thine-- | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| A wasting task and lone, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Though treasure-grots for thee may shine, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| To all besides unknown! | 6 | ··˘/˘/ |
| A weary life! but a swift decay | 9 | ·/˘····˘/ |
| Soon, soon shall set thee free; | 6 | ······ |
| Thou’rt passing fast from thy toils away, | 9 | ·/˘····˘/ |
| Thou wrestler with the sea! | 7 | ·/˘˘··· |
| In thy dim eye, on thy hollow cheek, | 9 | ······/˘· |
| Well are the death-signs read-- | 6 | ······ |
| Go! for the pearl in its cavern seek, | 9 | ······/˘· |
| Ere hope and power be fled! | 7 | ···/˘·· |
| And bright in beauty’s coronal | 8 | ···/˘/˘˘ |
| That glistening gem shall be; | 7 | ·/˘˘··· |
| A star to all in the festive hall-- | 9 | ······/˘· |
| But who will think on thee? | 6 | ······ |
| None!--as it gleams from the queen-like head, | 9 | ········· |
| Not one midst throngs will say, | 6 | ······ |
| “A life hath been, like a raindrop, shed | 9 | ······/·· |
| For that pale, quivering ray!” | 7 | ···/˘˘· |
| Woe for the wealth thus dearly bought! | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| --And are not those like thee, | 6 | ······ |
| Who win for earth the gems of thought? | 8 | ········ |
| O wrestler with the sea! | 7 | ·/˘˘··· |
| Down to the gulfs of the soul they go, | 9 | ········· |
| Where the passion-fountains burn, | 7 | ··/˘/˘· |
| Gathering the jewels far below | 9 | /˘˘·/˘··· |
| From many a buried urn: | 7 | ·/˘·/˘· |
| Wringing from lava-veins the fire, | 9 | /˘·/˘··/˘ |
| That o’er bright words is pour’d; | 6 | ······ |
| Learning deep sounds, to make the lyre | 8 | /˘······ |
| A spirit in each chord. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| But, oh! the price of bitter tears | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Paid for the lonely power | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| That throws at last, o’er desert years, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| A darkly glorious dower! | 7 | ·/˘/˘˘· |
| Like flower-seeds, by the wild wind spread, | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| So radiant thoughts are strew’d; | 7 | ·/˘˘··· |
| --The soul whence those high gifts are shed | 8 | ········ |
| May faint in solitude! | 6 | ···/˘· |
| And who will think, when the strain is sung | 9 | ········· |
| Till a thousand hearts are stirr’d, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| What life-drops, from the minstrel wrung, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Have gush’d with every word? | 7 | ···/˘˘· |
| None, none!--his treasures live like thine, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| He strives and dies like thee; | 6 | ······ |
| --Thou, that hast been to the pearl’s dark shrine, | 9 | ········· |
| O wrestler with the sea! | 7 | ·/˘˘··· |
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