The Harp of Wales: Introductory Stanzas, Inscribed to the Ruthin Welsh Literary Society
Harp of the mountain-land! sound forth againAs when the foaming Hirlas horn was crown’d,And warrior hearts beat proudly to the strain,And the bright mead at Owain’s feast went round:Wake with the spirit and the power of yore!Harp of the ancient hills! be heard once more!
Thy tones are not to cease! The Roman cameO’er the blue waters with his thousand oars:Through Mona’s oaks he sent the wasting flame;The Druid shrines lay prostrate on our shores:All gave their ashes to the wind and sea--Ring out, thou harp! he could not silence thee.
Thy tones are not to cease! The Saxon pass’d,His banners floated on Eryri’s gales;But thou wert heard above the trumpet’s blast,E’en when his towers rose loftiest o’er the vales!Thine was the voice that cheer’d the brave and free;They had their hills, their chainless hearts, and thee.
Those were dark years!--They saw the valiant fall,The rank weeds gathering round the chieftain’s board,The hearth left lonely in the ruin’d hall--Yet power was thine--a gift in every chord!Call back that spirit to the days of peace,Thou noble harp! thy tones are not to cease!
Words in this poem
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- yore adv.
- In time long past; in old time; long since. [OE. , yare, , AS. geára;akin to geár a year, E. year. Year.]
- mona n.
- A small, handsome, long-tailed West American monkey (Cercopithecus mona). The body is dark olive, with a spot of white on the haunches. [CF. Sp. & Pg. mona, fem. of mono a monkey, ape.]
- druid n.
- One of an order of priests which in ancient times existed among certain branches of the Celtic race, especially among the Gauls and Britons. [L. Druides; of Celtic origin; cf. Ir. & Gael. draoi, druidh, magician, Druid, W. derwydd Druid.]
- chainless a.
- Having no chain; not restrained or fettered.
- valiant a.
- Vigorous in body; strong; powerful; as, a valiant fencer. [OE. valiant, F. vaillant, OF. vaillant, valant, originally p. pr. of OF. & F. valoir to be worth, L. valere to be strong. See Wield, and cf. Avail, Convalesce, ]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Harp of Wales: Introductory Stanzas, Inscribed to the Ruthin Welsh Literary Society 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 Harp of Wales: Introductory Stanzas, Inscribed to the Ruthin Welsh Literary Society, in Poems (1808–1835), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #66785, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/hemans-poems/the-harp-of-wales-introductory-stanzas-inscribed-to-the-ruth.html, id L13515.
Form and metre
The Harp of Wales: Introductory Stanzas, Inscribed to the Ruthin Welsh Literary Society is 24 lines in 4 stanzas of 6 lines each. Every stanza rhymes ABABCC. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 88%). 98% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.0 syllables. 8% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in iambic pentameter.
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 ABABCC againA · crown'dB · strainA · roundB · yoreC · moreC
- 2 ABABCC cameA · oarsB · flameA · shoresB · seaC · theeC
- 3 ABABCC pass'dA · galesB · blastA · valesB · freeC · theeC
- 4 ABABCC fallA · boardB · hallA · chordB · peaceC · ceaseC
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 pentameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Harp of the mountain-land! sound forth again | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| As when the foaming Hirlas horn was crown’d, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| And warrior hearts beat proudly to the strain, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| And the bright mead at Owain’s feast went round: | 10 | ·········· |
| Wake with the spirit and the power of yore! | 10 | ···/··/˘·· |
| Harp of the ancient hills! be heard once more! | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Thy tones are not to cease! The Roman came | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| O’er the blue waters with his thousand oars: | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Through Mona’s oaks he sent the wasting flame; | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| The Druid shrines lay prostrate on our shores: | 10 | ·/˘··/˘·/· |
| All gave their ashes to the wind and sea-- | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Ring out, thou harp! he could not silence thee. | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Thy tones are not to cease! The Saxon pass’d, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| His banners floated on Eryri’s gales; | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| But thou wert heard above the trumpet’s blast, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| E’en when his towers rose loftiest o’er the vales! | 10 | ···/······ |
| Thine was the voice that cheer’d the brave and free; | 10 | ·········· |
| They had their hills, their chainless hearts, and thee. | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Those were dark years!--They saw the valiant fall, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| The rank weeds gathering round the chieftain’s board, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| The hearth left lonely in the ruin’d hall-- | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Yet power was thine--a gift in every chord! | 10 | ·/·····/˘· |
| Call back that spirit to the days of peace, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Thou noble harp! thy tones are not to cease! | 10 | ·/˘······· |
Notes from the edition 2
Notes from The Poems of Felicia Hemans (Project Gutenberg #66785), largely Mrs Hemans's own.
- Stanza 1, line 2 Hirlas, from hir, long, and glas, blue or azure.
- Stanza 3, line 2 Eryri, the Welsh name for the Snowdon mountains.
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.