The Palmer
“The faded palm-branch in his handShow’d pilgrim from the Holy Land.” Scott.
Art thou come from the far-off land at last?Thou that hast wander’d long!Thou art come to a home whence the smile hath pass’dWith the merry voice of song.
For the sunny glance and the bounding heartThou wilt seek--but all are gone;They are parted, e’en as waters part,To meet in the deep alone!
And thou--from thy lip is fled the glow,From thine eye the light of morn;And the shades of thought o’erhang thy brow,And thy cheek with life is worn.
Say what hast thou brought from the distant shoreFor thy wasted youth to pay?Hast thou treasure to win thee joys once more?Hast thou vassals to smooth thy way?
“I have brought but the palm-branch in my hand,Yet I call not my bright youth lost!I have won but high thought in the Holy Land,Yet I count not too dear the cost!
“I look on the leaves of the deathless tree--These records of my track;And better than youth in its flush of glee,Are the memories they give me back!
“They speak of toil, and of high emprise,As in words of solemn cheer;They speak of lonely victoriesO’er pain, and doubt, and fear.
“They speak of scenes which have now becomeBright pictures in my breast;Where my spirit finds a glorious home,And the love of my heart can rest.
“The colours pass not from these away,Like tints of shower or sun;Oh! beyond all treasures that know decay,Is the wealth my soul hath won!
“A rich light thence o’er my life’s decline,An inborn light is cast;For the sake of the palm from the holy shrine,I bewail not my bright days past!”
Words in this poem
- hast
- , 2d pers. sing. pres. of. Fave, contr. of havest.
- sunny a.
- Of or pertaining to the sun; proceeding from, or resembling the sun; hence, shining; bright; brilliant; radiant.
- morn n.
- The first part of the day; the morning; -- used chiefly in poetry. [OE. morwen, morgen, AS. morgen; akin to D. morgen, OS. morgan, G. morgen, Icel. morginn, morgunn, Sw. morgon, Dan. morgen, Goth. maúrgins. Cf. Morrow, Morning.]
- deathless a.
- Not subject to death, destruction, or extinction; immortal; undying; imperishable; as, deathless beings; deathless fame.
- glee n.
- Music; minstrelsy; entertainment.
- emprise n.
- An enterprise; endeavor; adventure. [OF. emprise, fr. emprendre to undertake; pref. em- (L. in) + F. prendre to take, L. prehendere, prendere; prae before + a verb akin to E. get. See Get, and cf. ]
- 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.]
- wealth n.
- Weal; welfare; prosperity; good. [OE. welthe, from wele; cf. D. weelde luxury. See Weal prosperity.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Palmer 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 Palmer, in Poems (1808–1835), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #66785, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/hemans-poems/the-palmer.html, id L19569.
Form and metre
The Palmer is 42 lines in 11 stanzas. The rhyme scheme is ABAB, complete in 8 of its 11 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 80%).
See other poems in iambic tetrameter.
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.
- 2 ABAB lastA · longB · pass'dA · songB
- 3 A-A- heartA · gone · partA · alone
- 4 -A-A glow · mornA · brow · wornA
- 5 ABAB shoreA · payB · moreA · wayB
- 6 ABAB handA · lostB · landA · costB
- 7 ABAB treeA · trackB · gleeA · backB
- 8 ABAB empriseA · cheerB · victoriesA · fearB
- 9 ABAB becomeA · breastB · homeA · restB
- 10 ABAB awayA · sunB · decayA · wonB
- 11 ABAB declineA · castB · shrineA · pastB
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 tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| “The faded palm-branch in his hand | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Show’d pilgrim from the Holy Land.” Scott. | 9 | ·/˘··/˘·· |
| Art thou come from the far-off land at last? | 10 | ·········· |
| Thou that hast wander’d long! | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Thou art come to a home whence the smile hath pass’d | 11 | ··········· |
| With the merry voice of song. | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| For the sunny glance and the bounding heart | 10 | ··/˘···/˘· |
| Thou wilt seek--but all are gone; | 7 | ······· |
| They are parted, e’en as waters part, | 9 | ··/˘··/˘· |
| To meet in the deep alone! | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| And thou--from thy lip is fled the glow, | 9 | ········· |
| From thine eye the light of morn; | 7 | ······· |
| And the shades of thought o’erhang thy brow, | 9 | ········· |
| And thy cheek with life is worn. | 7 | ······· |
| Say what hast thou brought from the distant shore | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| For thy wasted youth to pay? | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Hast thou treasure to win thee joys once more? | 10 | ··/˘······ |
| Hast thou vassals to smooth thy way? | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| “I have brought but the palm-branch in my hand, | 10 | ·········· |
| Yet I call not my bright youth lost! | 8 | ········ |
| I have won but high thought in the Holy Land, | 11 | ········/˘· |
| Yet I count not too dear the cost! | 8 | ········ |
| “I look on the leaves of the deathless tree-- | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| These records of my track; | 6 | ·˘/··· |
| And better than youth in its flush of glee, | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Are the memories they give me back! | 9 | ··/˘˘···· |
| “They speak of toil, and of high emprise, | 9 | ·······˘/ |
| As in words of solemn cheer; | 7 | ····/˘· |
| They speak of lonely victories | 8 | ···/˘/˘˘ |
| O’er pain, and doubt, and fear. | 6 | ······ |
| “They speak of scenes which have now become | 9 | ·······˘/ |
| Bright pictures in my breast; | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Where my spirit finds a glorious home, | 10 | ··/˘··/˘˘· |
| And the love of my heart can rest. | 8 | ········ |
| “The colours pass not from these away, | 9 | ·/˘····˘/ |
| Like tints of shower or sun; | 7 | ···/˘·· |
| Oh! beyond all treasures that know decay, | 10 | ····/˘··˘/ |
| Is the wealth my soul hath won! | 7 | ······· |
| “A rich light thence o’er my life’s decline, | 9 | ·······˘/ |
| An inborn light is cast; | 6 | ·/···· |
| For the sake of the palm from the holy shrine, | 11 | ········/˘· |
| I bewail not my bright days past!” | 8 | ·˘/····· |
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.