The Minster
Speak low! The place is holy to the breathOf awful harmonies, of whisper’d prayer:Tread lightly!--for the sanctity of deathBroods with a voiceless influence on the air,Stern, yet serene!--a reconciling spell,Each troubled billow of the soul to quell.
Leave me to linger silently awhile!--Not for the light that pours its fervid streamsOf rainbow glory down through arch and aisle,Kindling old banners into haughty gleams,Flushing proud shrines, or by some warrior’s tombDying away in clouds of gorgeous gloom:
Not for rich music, though in triumph pealing,Mighty as forest-sounds when winds are high;Nor yet for torch, and cross, and stole, revealingThrough incense-mists their sainted pageantry,--Though o’er the spirit each hath charm and power,Yet not for these I ask one lingering hour.
But by strong sympathies, whose silver cordLinks me to mortal weal, my soul is bound;Thoughts of the human hearts, that here have pour’dTheir anguish forth, are with me and around;I look back on the pangs, the burning tears,Known to these altars of a thousand years.
Send up a murmur from the dust, Remorse!That here hast bow’d with ashes on thy head;And thou, still battling with the tempest’s force--Thou, whose bright spirit through all time has bled--Speak, wounded Love! if penance here, or prayer,Hath laid one haunting shadow of despair?
No voice, no breath!--of conflicts past, no trace!--Doth not this hush give answer to my quest?Surely the dread religion of the placeBy every grief hath made its might confest!--Oh! that within my heart I could but keepHoly to heaven, a spot thus pure, and still, and deep!
Words in this poem
- voiceless a.
- Having no voice, utterance, or vote; silent; mute; dumb.
- billow n.
- A great wave or surge of the sea or other water, caused usually by violent wind. [Cf. Icel. bylgja billow, Dan. bölge, Sw. bölja; akin to MHG. bulge billow, bag, and to E. bulge. See Bulge.]
- quell v. t.
- To take the life of; to kill. [OE. quellen to kill, AS. cwellan, causative of cwelan to die; akin to OHG. quellen to torment, Icel. kvelja. See Quail to cower.]
- awhile adv.
- For a while; for some time; for a short time. [Adj. a + while time, interval.]
- fervid a.
- Very hot; burning; boiling. [L. fervidus, fr. fervere. See Fervent.]
- haughty a.
- High; lofty; bold. [OE. hautein, F. hautain, fr. haut high, OF. also halt, fr. L. altus. See Altitude.]
- gorgeous a.
- Imposing through splendid or various colors; showy; fine; magnificent. [OF. gorgias beautiful, glorious, vain, luxurious; cf. OF. gorgias ruff, neck handkerchief, and F. gorge throat, and se pengorger to assume airs. Cf. Gorge, n.]
- stole n.
- A long, loose garment reaching to the feet. [AS. stole, L. stola, Gr. stall. See Stall.]
- sainted a.
- Consecrated; sacred; holy; pious.
- pageantry n.
- Scenic shows or spectacles, taken collectivelly; spectacular guality; splendor.
- hast
- , 2d pers. sing. pres. of. Fave, contr. of havest.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Minster 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 Minster, in Poems (1808–1835), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #66785, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/hemans-poems/the-minster.html, id L19505.
Form and metre
The Minster is 36 lines in 6 stanzas of 6 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABABCC, complete in 5 of its 6 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 85%).
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 breathA · prayerB · deathA · airB · spellC · quellC
- 2 ABABCC awhileA · streamsB · aisleA · gleamsB · tombC · gloomC
- 3 A-A-BB pealingA · high · revealingA · pageantry · powerB · hourB
- 4 ABABCC cordA · boundB · pour'dA · aroundB · tearsC · yearsC
- 5 ABABCC remorseA · headB · forceA · bledB · prayerC · despairC
- 6 ABABCC traceA · questB · placeA · confestB · keepC · deepC
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Speak low! The place is holy to the breath | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Of awful harmonies, of whisper’d prayer: | 10 | ·/˘/˘˘·/˘· |
| Tread lightly!--for the sanctity of death | 10 | ·/˘··/˘˘·· |
| Broods with a voiceless influence on the air, | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| Stern, yet serene!--a reconciling spell, | 10 | ··˘/·/˘·˘· |
| Each troubled billow of the soul to quell. | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| Leave me to linger silently awhile! | 10 | ···/˘/˘˘˘/ |
| --Not for the light that pours its fervid streams | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Of rainbow glory down through arch and aisle, | 10 | ·/·/˘····· |
| Kindling old banners into haughty gleams, | 10 | /˘·/˘··/˘· |
| Flushing proud shrines, or by some warrior’s tomb | 10 | /˘·····/˘· |
| Dying away in clouds of gorgeous gloom: | 10 | /˘˘/···/˘· |
| Not for rich music, though in triumph pealing, | 11 | ···/˘··/˘/˘ |
| Mighty as forest-sounds when winds are high; | 10 | /˘·/˘····· |
| Nor yet for torch, and cross, and stole, revealing | 11 | ········˘/˘ |
| Through incense-mists their sainted pageantry,-- | 10 | ·/···/˘/˘˘ |
| Though o’er the spirit each hath charm and power, | 11 | ···/˘····/˘ |
| Yet not for these I ask one lingering hour. | 10 | ·······/˘/ |
| But by strong sympathies, whose silver cord | 10 | ···/˘˘·/˘· |
| Links me to mortal weal, my soul is bound; | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Thoughts of the human hearts, that here have pour’d | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Their anguish forth, are with me and around; | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| I look back on the pangs, the burning tears, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Known to these altars of a thousand years. | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Send up a murmur from the dust, Remorse! | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| That here hast bow’d with ashes on thy head; | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| And thou, still battling with the tempest’s force-- | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Thou, whose bright spirit through all time has bled-- | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Speak, wounded Love! if penance here, or prayer, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| Hath laid one haunting shadow of despair? | 10 | ···/˘/··˘/ |
| No voice, no breath!--of conflicts past, no trace! | 10 | ·····˘/··· |
| --Doth not this hush give answer to my quest? | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Surely the dread religion of the place | 10 | /˘··˘/˘··· |
| By every grief hath made its might confest!-- | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Oh! that within my heart I could but keep | 10 | ·········· |
| Holy to heaven, a spot thus pure, and still, and deep! | 12 | /˘·/········ |
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