The Lyre's Lament
A deep-toned lyre hung murmuringTo the wild wind of the sea;“O melancholy wind,” it sigh’d,“What would thy breath with me?
“Thou canst not wake the spiritThat in me slumbering lies,Thou strikest not forth th’ electric fireOf buried melodies.
“Wind of the dark sea-waters!Thou dost but sweep my stringsInto wild gusts of mournfulness,With the rushing of thy wings.
“But the spell--the gift--the lightning--Within my frame conceal’d,Must I moulder on the rock awayWith their triumphs unreveal’d?
“I have power, high power, for freedomTo wake the burning soul!I have sounds that through the ancient hillsLike a torrent’s voice might roll.
“I have pealing notes of victoryThat might welcome kings from war;I have rich, deep tones to send the wailFor a hero’s death afar.
“I have chords to lift the pæanFrom the temple to the sky,Full as the forest-unisonsWhen sweeping winds are high.
“And love--for love’s lone sorrowI have accents that might swellThrough the summer air with the rose’s breath,Or the violet’s faint farewell:
“Soft--spiritual--mournful--Sighs in each note enshrined--But who shall call that sweetness forth?Thou can’st not, ocean-wind!
“I pass without my glory,Forgotten I decay--Where is the touch to give me life?--Wild, fitful wind, away!”
So sigh’d the broken musicThat in gladness had no part--How like art thou, neglected Lyre!To many a human heart!
Words in this poem
- moulder n.
- One who, or that which, molds or forms into shape; specifically (Founding), one skilled in the art of making molds for castings.
- 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.]
- 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,]
- fitful a.
- Full of fits; irregularly variable; impulsive and unstable. [From 7th Fit.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Lyre's Lament 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 Lyre's Lament, in Poems (1808–1835), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #66785, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/hemans-poems/the-lyre-s-lament.html, id L19517.
Form and metre
The Lyre's Lament is 44 lines in 11 stanzas of 4 lines each. The metre is common measure, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 87%).
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 murmuring · seaA · sigh'd · meA
- 2 -A-A spirit · liesA · fire · melodiesA
- 3 -A-A waters · stringsA · mournfulness · wingsA
- 4 -A-A lightning · conceal'dA · away · unreveal'dA
- 5 -A-A freedom · soulA · hills · rollA
- 7 -A-A pæan · skyA · unisons · highA
- 8 -A-A sorrow · swellA · breath · farewellA
- 9 -A-A mournful · enshrinedA · forth · windA
- 10 -A-A glory · decayA · life · awayA
- 11 -A-A music · partA · lyre · heartA
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 |
|---|---|---|
| A deep-toned lyre hung murmuring | 8 | ·····/˘˘ |
| To the wild wind of the sea; | 7 | ······· |
| “O melancholy wind,” it sigh’d, | 8 | ·/˘·˘··· |
| “What would thy breath with me? | 6 | ······ |
| “Thou canst not wake the spirit | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| That in me slumbering lies, | 7 | ···/˘˘· |
| Thou strikest not forth th’ electric fire | 9 | ·/˘··˘/˘/ |
| Of buried melodies. | 6 | ·/˘/˘˘ |
| “Wind of the dark sea-waters! | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Thou dost but sweep my strings | 6 | ······ |
| Into wild gusts of mournfulness, | 8 | ········ |
| With the rushing of thy wings. | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| “But the spell--the gift--the lightning-- | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Within my frame conceal’d, | 6 | ····˘/ |
| Must I moulder on the rock away | 9 | ··/˘···˘/ |
| With their triumphs unreveal’d? | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| “I have power, high power, for freedom | 8 | ··/·/·/˘ |
| To wake the burning soul! | 6 | ···/˘· |
| I have sounds that through the ancient hills | 9 | ······/˘· |
| Like a torrent’s voice might roll. | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| “I have pealing notes of victory | 8 | ··/˘··/˘ |
| That might welcome kings from war; | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| I have rich, deep tones to send the wail | 9 | ········· |
| For a hero’s death afar. | 7 | ··/˘·˘/ |
| “I have chords to lift the pæan | 7 | ······· |
| From the temple to the sky, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Full as the forest-unisons | 8 | ···/˘/˘˘ |
| When sweeping winds are high. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| “And love--for love’s lone sorrow | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| I have accents that might swell | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Through the summer air with the rose’s breath, | 10 | ··/˘···/˘· |
| Or the violet’s faint farewell: | 7 | ··/˘··/ |
| “Soft--spiritual--mournful-- | 7 | ·/˘˘˘/˘ |
| Sighs in each note enshrined-- | 7 | ····˘/˘ |
| But who shall call that sweetness forth? | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Thou can’st not, ocean-wind! | 6 | ···/˘· |
| “I pass without my glory, | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Forgotten I decay-- | 6 | ˘/˘·˘/ |
| Where is the touch to give me life? | 8 | ········ |
| --Wild, fitful wind, away!” | 6 | ·/˘·˘/ |
| So sigh’d the broken music | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| That in gladness had no part-- | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| How like art thou, neglected Lyre! | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| To many a human heart! | 7 | ·/˘·/˘· |
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