The Magic Glass
“The dead! the glorious dead!--and shall they rise?Shall they look on thee with their proud bright eyes?Thou ask’st a fearful spell!Yet say, from shrine or dim sepulchral hall,What kingly vision shall obey my call?The deep grave knows it well!
“Wouldst thou behold earth’s conquerors? shall they passBefore thee, flushing all the Magic GlassWith triumph’s long array?Speak! and those dwellers of the marble urn,Robed for the feast of victory, shall return,As on their proudest day.
“Or wouldst thou look upon the lords of song?O’er the dark mirror that immortal throngShall waft a solemn gleam!Passing, with lighted eyes and radiant brows,Under the foliage of green laurel-boughs,But silent as a dream.”
“Not these, O mighty master!--though their laysBe unto man’s free heart, and tears, and praise,Hallow’d for evermore!And not the buried conquerors--let them sleep,And let the flowery earth her sabbaths keepIn joy, from shore to shore!
“But, if the narrow house may so be moved,Call the bright shadows of the most belovedBack from their couch of rest!That I may learn if their meek eyes be fill’dWith peace, if human love hath ever still’dThe yearning human breast.”
“Away, fond youth!--an idle quest is thine:These have no trophy, no memorial shrine;I know not of their place!Midst the dim valleys, with a secret flow,Their lives, like shepherd reed-notes, faint and low,Have pass’d, and left no trace.
“Haply, begirt with shadowy woods and hills,And the wild sounds of melancholy rills,Their covering turf may bloom;But ne’er hath fame made relics of its flowers--Never hath pilgrim sought their household bowers,Or poet hail’d their tomb.”
“Adieu, then, master of the midnight spell!Some voice, perchance, by those lone graves may tellThat which I pine to know!I haste to seek, from woods and valleys deep,Where the beloved are laid in lowly sleep,Records of joy and woe.”
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.]
- 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,]
- waft v. t.
- To give notice to by waving something; to wave the hand to; to beckon. [Prob. originally imp. & p. p. of wave, v. t. See Wave to waver.]
- hallow v. t.
- To make holy; to set apart for holy or religious use; to consecrate; to treat or keep as sacred; to reverence. [OE. halowen, halwien, halgien, AS. halgian, fr. halig holy. See Holy.]
- evermore adv.
- During eternity; always; forever; for an indefinite period; at all times; -- often used substantively with for.
- trophy n.
- A sign or memorial of a victory raised on the field of battle, or, in case of a naval victory, on the nearest land. Sometimes trophies were erected in the chief city of the conquered people. [F. trophée (cf. It. & Sp. trofeo), L. tropaeum, trophaeum, Gr. Trope.]
- haply adv.
- By hap, chance, luck, or accident; perhaps; it may be.
- begirt v. t.
- To encompass; to begird.
- lone n.
- A lane. See Loanin.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Magic Glass 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 Magic Glass, in Poems (1808–1835), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #66785, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/hemans-poems/the-magic-glass.html, id L19502.
Form and metre
The Magic Glass is 48 lines in 8 stanzas of 6 lines each. The rhyme scheme is AABCCB, complete in 7 of its 8 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 88%).
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 AABCCB riseA · eyesA · spellB · hallC · callC · wellB
- 2 AABCCB passA · glassA · arrayB · urnC · returnC · dayB
- 3 AABCCB songA · throngA · gleamB · browsC · boughsC · dreamB
- 4 AABCCB laysA · praiseA · evermoreB · sleepC · keepC · shoreB
- 5 --ABBA moved · beloved · restA · fill'dB · still'dB · breastA
- 6 AABCCB thineA · shrineA · placeB · flowC · lowC · traceB
- 7 AABCCB hillsA · rillsA · bloomB · flowersC · bowersC · tombB
- 8 AABCCB spellA · tellA · knowB · deepC · sleepC · woeB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| “The dead! the glorious dead!--and shall they rise? | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Shall they look on thee with their proud bright eyes? | 10 | ·········· |
| Thou ask’st a fearful spell! | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Yet say, from shrine or dim sepulchral hall, | 10 | ······˘/˘· |
| What kingly vision shall obey my call? | 10 | ·/˘/˘·˘/·· |
| The deep grave knows it well! | 6 | ······ |
| “Wouldst thou behold earth’s conquerors? shall they pass | 10 | ··˘/·/˘··· |
| Before thee, flushing all the Magic Glass | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| With triumph’s long array? | 6 | ·/˘·˘/ |
| Speak! and those dwellers of the marble urn, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Robed for the feast of victory, shall return, | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| As on their proudest day. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| “Or wouldst thou look upon the lords of song? | 10 | ·········· |
| O’er the dark mirror that immortal throng | 10 | ···/˘·˘/˘· |
| Shall waft a solemn gleam! | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Passing, with lighted eyes and radiant brows, | 10 | /˘·/˘··/˘· |
| Under the foliage of green laurel-boughs, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| But silent as a dream.” | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| “Not these, O mighty master!--though their lays | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| Be unto man’s free heart, and tears, and praise, | 10 | ·········· |
| Hallow’d for evermore! | 6 | /˘·/˘· |
| And not the buried conquerors--let them sleep, | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| And let the flowery earth her sabbaths keep | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| In joy, from shore to shore! | 6 | ······ |
| “But, if the narrow house may so be moved, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Call the bright shadows of the most beloved | 10 | ···/····˘/ |
| Back from their couch of rest! | 6 | ······ |
| That I may learn if their meek eyes be fill’d | 10 | ·········· |
| With peace, if human love hath ever still’d | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| The yearning human breast.” | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| “Away, fond youth!--an idle quest is thine: | 10 | ˘/···/˘··· |
| These have no trophy, no memorial shrine; | 10 | ···/˘·˘/˘· |
| I know not of their place! | 6 | ······ |
| Midst the dim valleys, with a secret flow, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Their lives, like shepherd reed-notes, faint and low, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Have pass’d, and left no trace. | 6 | ······ |
| “Haply, begirt with shadowy woods and hills, | 10 | /˘˘/·/˘··· |
| And the wild sounds of melancholy rills, | 10 | ·····/˘·˘· |
| Their covering turf may bloom; | 7 | ·/˘˘··· |
| But ne’er hath fame made relics of its flowers-- | 11 | ·····/˘··/˘ |
| Never hath pilgrim sought their household bowers, | 11 | /˘·/˘··/·/˘ |
| Or poet hail’d their tomb.” | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| “Adieu, then, master of the midnight spell! | 10 | ˘/·/˘··/·· |
| Some voice, perchance, by those lone graves may tell | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| That which I pine to know! | 6 | ······ |
| I haste to seek, from woods and valleys deep, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Where the beloved are laid in lowly sleep, | 10 | ··˘/···/˘· |
| Records of joy and woe.” | 6 | ˘/···· |
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