Dictated Before the Rhone Glacier
When my mind, on the ocean of poesy hurled,Floats on in repose round this wonderful world,Oft the sacred fire from heaven--Mysterious sun, that gives light to the soul--Strikes mine with its ray, and above the poleIts upward course is driven,
Like a wandering cloud, then, my eager thoughtCapriciously flies, to no guidance brought,With every quarter's wind;It regards from those radiant vaults on high,Earth's cities below, and again doth fly,And leaves but its shadow behind.
In the glistening gold of the morning bright,It shines, detaching some lance of light,Or, as warrior's armor rings;It forages forests that ferment around,Or bathed in the sun-red gleams is found,Where the west its radiance flings.
Or, on mountain peak, that rears its headWhere snow-clad Alps around are spread,By furious gale 'tis thrown.From the yawning abyss see the cloud scud away,And the glacier appears, with its multiform ray,The giant mountain's crown!
Like Parnassian pinnacle yet to be scaled,In its form from afar, by the aspirant hailed;On its side the rainbow plays,And at eve, when the shadow sinks sleeping below,The last slanting ray on its crest of snowMakes its cap like a crater to blaze.
In the darkness, its front seems some pale orb of light,The chamois with fear flashes on in its flight,The eagle afar is driven;The deluge but roars in despair to its feet,And scarce dare the eye its aspect to meet,So near doth it rise to heaven.
Alone on these altitudes, feeling no fear,Forgetful of earth, my spirit draws near;On the starry vault to gaze,And nearer, to gaze on those glories of night,On th' horizon high heaving, like arches of light,Till again the sun shall blaze.
For then will the glacier with glory be graced,On its prisms will light streaked with darkness be placed,The morn its echoes greet;Like a torrent it falls on the ocean of life,Like Chaos unformed, with the sea-stormy strife,When waters on waters meet.
As the spirit of poesy touches my thought,It is thus my ideas in a circle are brought,From earth, with the waters of pain.As under a sunbeam a cloud ascends,These fly to the heavens--their course never ends,But descend to the ocean again.
Words in this poem 19
- poesy n.
- The art of composing poems; poetical skill or faculty; as, the heavenly gift of poesy. [F. poésie (cf. It. poesia), L. poesis, from Gr. Posy.]
- clad v.
- To clothe. Holland.
- scud v. i.
- To move swiftly; especially, to move as if driven forward by something. [Dan. skyde to shoot, shove, push, akin to skud shot, gunshot, a shoot, young bough, and to E. shoot. sq. root159. See Shoot.]
- multiform a.
- Having many forms, shapes, or appearances. [L. multiformis; multus much, many + forma shape: cf. F. multiforme.]
- parnassian a.
- Of or pertaining to Parnassus. [L. Parnassius.]
- pinnacle n.
- An architectural member, upright, and generally ending in a small spire, -- used to finish a buttress, to constitute a part in a proportion, as where pinnacles flank a gable or spire, and the like. [OE. pinacle, F. pinacle, L. pinnaculum, fr. pinna pinnacle, feather. See Pin a peg.]
- scaled a.
- Covered with scales, or scalelike structures; -- said of a fish, a reptile, a moth, etc.
- 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.]
- aspirant n.
- One who aspires; one who eagerly seeks some high position or object of attainment. [Cf. F. aspirant.]
- crater n.
- The basinlike opening or mouth of a volcano, through which the chief eruption comes; similarly, the mouth of a gevser, about which a cone of silica is often built up. [L. crater, cratera, a mixing vessel, the mouth of a volcano, Gr. ir to cook, Crail, in Holy Grail.]
- scarce a.
- Not plentiful or abundant; in small quantity in proportion to the demand; not easily to be procured; rare; uncommon. [OE. scars, OF. escars, eschars, LL. scarpsus, for L. excerptus, p. p. of excerpere to pick out, and hence to contract, to shorten; ex (see Ex-) + carpere. See C]
- forgetful a.
- Apt to forget; easily losing remembrance; as, a forgetful man should use helps to strengthen his memory.
- starry a.
- Abounding with stars; adorned with stars.
- 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,]
- graced a.
- Endowed with grace; beautiful; full of graces; honorable.
- 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.]
- chaos n.
- An empty, immeasurable space; a yawning chasm. [L. chaos chaos (in senses 1 & 2), Gr. Chasm.]
- strife n.
- The act of striving; earnest endeavor. [OF. estrif. See Strive.]
- sunbeam n.
- A beam or ray of the sun. [AS. sunnebeam.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Dictated Before the Rhone Glacier is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems, Project Gutenberg ebook #8775, the various hands translation; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Victor Hugo, Dictated Before the Rhone Glacier, in Poems (1888), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #8775, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/hugo-poems/dictated-before-the-rhone-glacier.html, id L26738.
Form and metre
Dictated Before the Rhone Glacier is 54 lines in 9 stanzas of 6 lines each. Every stanza rhymes AABCCB. This poem did not settle on a metre of its own; the book it comes from is in iambic pentameter.
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 hurledA · worldA · heavenB · soulC · poleC · drivenB
- 2 AABCCB thoughtA · broughtA · windB · highC · flyC · behindB
- 3 AABCCB brightA · lightA · ringsB · aroundC · foundC · flingsB
- 4 AABCCB headA · spreadA · thrownB · awayC · rayC · crownB
- 5 AABCCB scaledA · hailedA · playsB · belowC · snowC · blazeB
- 6 AABCCB lightA · flightA · drivenB · feetC · meetC · heavenB
- 7 AABCCB fearA · nearA · gazeB · nightC · lightC · blazeB
- 8 AABCCB gracedA · placedA · greetB · lifeC · strifeC · meetB
- 9 AABCCB thoughtA · broughtA · painB · ascendsC · endsC · againB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| When my mind, on the ocean of poesy hurled, | 11 | ·····/·/˘˘· |
| Floats on in repose round this wonderful world, | 10 | ···˘/··/˘· |
| Oft the sacred fire from heaven-- | 10 | ··/˘˘/˘·/˘ |
| Mysterious sun, that gives light to the soul-- | 10 | ˘/˘······· |
| Strikes mine with its ray, and above the pole | 10 | ·········· |
| Its upward course is driven, | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| Like a wandering cloud, then, my eager thought | 10 | ··/˘···/˘· |
| Capriciously flies, to no guidance brought, | 10 | ˘/˘˘···/˘· |
| With every quarter's wind; | 7 | ·/˘˘/˘· |
| It regards from those radiant vaults on high, | 10 | ·˘/··/˘··· |
| Earth's cities below, and again doth fly, | 10 | ·/˘···˘/·· |
| And leaves but its shadow behind. | 8 | ····/··· |
| In the glistening gold of the morning bright, | 10 | ··/˘···/˘· |
| It shines, detaching some lance of light, | 9 | ··˘/˘···· |
| Or, as warrior's armor rings; | 8 | ··/˘˘/˘· |
| It forages forests that ferment around, | 10 | ·/˘/˘·˘/·· |
| Or bathed in the sun-red gleams is found, | 10 | ··˘······· |
| Where the west its radiance flings. | 8 | ····/˘˘· |
| Or, on mountain peak, that rears its head | 9 | ··/˘····· |
| Where snow-clad Alps around are spread, | 8 | ········ |
| By furious gale 'tis thrown. | 7 | ·/˘˘··· |
| From the yawning abyss see the cloud scud away, | 12 | ··/˘˘/····˘/ |
| And the glacier appears, with its multiform ray, | 12 | ··/˘˘/··/˘˘· |
| The giant mountain's crown! | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| Like Parnassian pinnacle yet to be scaled, | 10 | ·˘/˘/˘···· |
| In its form from afar, by the aspirant hailed; | 11 | ····˘/··/˘· |
| On its side the rainbow plays, | 7 | ····/·· |
| And at eve, when the shadow sinks sleeping below, | 12 | ·····/··/˘·· |
| The last slanting ray on its crest of snow | 10 | ··/˘······ |
| Makes its cap like a crater to blaze. | 9 | ·····/˘·· |
| In the darkness, its front seems some pale orb of light, | 12 | ··/˘········ |
| The chamois with fear flashes on in its flight, | 11 | ·/˘··/˘···· |
| The eagle afar is driven; | 8 | ·/˘˘/·/˘ |
| The deluge but roars in despair to its feet, | 11 | ·/˘···˘/··· |
| And scarce dare the eye its aspect to meet, | 10 | ······/··· |
| So near doth it rise to heaven. | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Alone on these altitudes, feeling no fear, | 11 | ˘/··/˘·/˘·· |
| Forgetful of earth, my spirit draws near; | 10 | ˘/˘···/˘·· |
| On the starry vault to gaze, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| And nearer, to gaze on those glories of night, | 11 | ·/˘····/˘·· |
| On th' horizon high heaving, like arches of light, | 12 | ·˘/˘·/˘·/˘·· |
| Till again the sun shall blaze. | 7 | ·˘/···· |
| For then will the glacier with glory be graced, | 11 | ····/˘·/˘·· |
| On its prisms will light streaked with darkness be placed, | 12 | ··/˘····/˘·· |
| The morn its echoes greet; | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Like a torrent it falls on the ocean of life, | 11 | ··/˘····/·· |
| Like Chaos unformed, with the sea-stormy strife, | 11 | ·/˘˘/···/˘· |
| When waters on waters meet. | 7 | ·/˘·/˘· |
| As the spirit of poesy touches my thought, | 11 | ··/·/˘˘/˘·· |
| It is thus my ideas in a circle are brought, | 13 | ····˘/˘··/˘·· |
| From earth, with the waters of pain. | 8 | ····/˘·· |
| As under a sunbeam a cloud ascends, | 10 | ····/···˘/ |
| These fly to the heavens--their course never ends, | 10 | ····/˘··/· |
| But descend to the ocean again. | 9 | ·˘/··/˘˘/ |
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.