The Requiem of Genius
“Les poetes, dont l’imagination tient la puissance d’aimer et desouffrir, ne sont-ils pas les bannis d’une autre region?”Madame de Stael--“De L’Allemagne.”
No tears for thee!--though light be from us goneWith thy soul’s radiance, bright, yet restless one!No tears for thee!They that have loved an exile, must not mournTo see him parting for his native bourneO’er the dark sea.
All the high music of thy spirit hereBreathed but the language of another sphere,Unecho’d round;And strange, though sweet, as midst our weeping skiesSome half-remember’d strain of ParadiseMight sadly sound.
Hast thou been answer’d?--thou, that from the night,And from the voices of the tempest’s might,And from the past,Wert seeking still some oracle’s reply,To pour the secrets of man’s destinyForth on the blast!
Hast thou been answer’d?--thou, that through the gloom,And shadow, and stern silence of the tomb,A cry didst send,So passionate and deep?--to pierce, to move,To win back token of unburied loveFrom buried friend!
And hast thou found where living waters burst?Thou that didst pine amidst us in the thirstOf fever-dreams!Are the true fountains thine for evermore?O lured so long by shining mists that woreThe light of streams!
Speak! is it well with thee? We call, as thou,With thy lit eye, deep voice, and kindled brow,Wert wont to callOn the departed! Art thou bless’d and free?--Alas! the lips earth covers, even to theeWere silent all!
Yet shall our hope rise fann’d by quenchless faith,As a flame, foster’d by some warm wind’s breath,In light upsprings:Freed soul of song! yes, thou hast found the sought;Borne to thy home of beauty and of thought,On morning’s wings.
And we will dream it is thy joy we hear,When life’s young music, ringing far and clear,O’erflows the sky.No tears for thee! the lingering gloom is ours--Thou art for converse with all glorious powers,Never to die!
Words in this poem
- puissance n.
- Power; strength; might; force; potency. [F., fr.puissant. See Puissant, and cf. Potency, Potance, Potence.]
- madame n.
- My lady; -- a French title formerly given to ladies of quality; now, in France, given to all married women. [F., fr. ma my (L. mea) + dame dame. See Dame, and cf. Madonna.]
- bourne n.
- A stream or rivulet; a burn. [OE. burne, borne, AS. burna; akin to OS. brunno spring, G. born, brunnen, OHG. prunno, Goth. brunna, Icel. brunnr, and perh. to Gr. burn, v., because the source]
- sadly adv.
- Wearily; heavily; firmly.
- hast
- , 2d pers. sing. pres. of. Fave, contr. of havest.
- oracle v. i.
- To utter oracles.
- didst
- , the 2d pers. sing. imp. of Do.
- amidst prep.
- In the midst or middle of; surrounded or encompassed by; among. [OE. amidde, amiddes, on midden, AS. on middan, in the middle, fr. midde the middle. The s is an adverbial ending, originally marking the genitive; the t is a la]
- evermore adv.
- During eternity; always; forever; for an indefinite period; at all times; -- often used substantively with for.
- 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,]
- quenchless a.
- Incapable of being quenched; inextinguishable; as, quenchless fire or fury.
- 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.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Requiem of Genius 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 Requiem of Genius, in Poems (1808–1835), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #66785, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/hemans-poems/the-requiem-of-genius.html, id L19524.
Form and metre
The Requiem of Genius is 51 lines in 9 stanzas. The commonest rhyme scheme is AABCCB, in 4 of the 9 stanzas; the rest vary or could not be confirmed. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 87%).
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.
- 2 --ABBA gone · one · theeA · mournB · bourneB · seaA
- 3 AAB--B hereA · sphereA · roundB · skies · paradise · soundB
- 4 AAB--B nightA · mightA · pastB · reply · destiny · blastB
- 5 AABCCB gloomA · tombA · sendB · moveC · loveC · friendB
- 6 AABCCB burstA · thirstA · dreamsB · evermoreC · woreC · streamsB
- 7 AABCCB thouA · browA · callB · freeC · theeC · allB
- 8 --ABBA faith · breath · upspringsA · soughtB · thoughtB · wingsA
- 9 AABCCB hearA · clearA · skyB · oursC · powersC · dieB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| “Les poetes, dont l’imagination tient la puissance d’aimer et de | 18 | ·/˘········/˘˘···· |
| souffrir, ne sont-ils pas les bannis d’une autre region?” | 13 | ···········/˘ |
| Madame de Stael--“De L’Allemagne.” | 8 | /˘······ |
| No tears for thee!--though light be from us gone | 10 | ·········· |
| With thy soul’s radiance, bright, yet restless one! | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| No tears for thee! | 4 | ···· |
| They that have loved an exile, must not mourn | 10 | ·····/···· |
| To see him parting for his native bourne | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| O’er the dark sea. | 4 | ···· |
| All the high music of thy spirit here | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Breathed but the language of another sphere, | 10 | ···/˘·˘/˘· |
| Unecho’d round; | 4 | ···· |
| And strange, though sweet, as midst our weeping skies | 10 | ······//˘· |
| Some half-remember’d strain of Paradise | 10 | ··˘/˘··/˘· |
| Might sadly sound. | 4 | ·/˘· |
| Hast thou been answer’d?--thou, that from the night, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| And from the voices of the tempest’s might, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| And from the past, | 4 | ···· |
| Wert seeking still some oracle’s reply, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘˘˘/ |
| To pour the secrets of man’s destiny | 10 | ···/˘··/˘˘ |
| Forth on the blast! | 4 | ···· |
| Hast thou been answer’d?--thou, that through the gloom, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| And shadow, and stern silence of the tomb, | 10 | ·/···/˘··· |
| A cry didst send, | 4 | ···· |
| So passionate and deep?--to pierce, to move, | 10 | ·/˘˘······ |
| To win back token of unburied love | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| From buried friend! | 4 | ·/˘· |
| And hast thou found where living waters burst? | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| Thou that didst pine amidst us in the thirst | 10 | ····˘/···· |
| Of fever-dreams! | 4 | ·/˘· |
| Are the true fountains thine for evermore? | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| O lured so long by shining mists that wore | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| The light of streams! | 4 | ···· |
| Speak! is it well with thee? We call, as thou, | 10 | ·········· |
| With thy lit eye, deep voice, and kindled brow, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Wert wont to call | 4 | ···· |
| On the departed! Art thou bless’d and free? | 10 | ··˘/˘····· |
| --Alas! the lips earth covers, even to thee | 10 | ˘/···/˘/·· |
| Were silent all! | 4 | ·/˘· |
| Yet shall our hope rise fann’d by quenchless faith, | 10 | ··/····/˘· |
| As a flame, foster’d by some warm wind’s breath, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| In light upsprings: | 4 | ···· |
| Freed soul of song! yes, thou hast found the sought; | 10 | ·········· |
| Borne to thy home of beauty and of thought, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| On morning’s wings. | 4 | ·/˘· |
| And we will dream it is thy joy we hear, | 10 | ·········· |
| When life’s young music, ringing far and clear, | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| O’erflows the sky. | 4 | ···· |
| No tears for thee! the lingering gloom is ours-- | 10 | ·····/˘··/ |
| Thou art for converse with all glorious powers, | 11 | ···/˘··/˘/˘ |
| Never to die! | 4 | /˘·· |
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.