Gastibelza
Gastibelza, with gun the measure beating,Would often sing:"Has one o' ye with sweet Sabine been meeting,As, gay, ye bringYour songs and steps which, by the music,Are reconciled--Oh! this chill wind across the mountain rushingWill drive me wild!
"You stare as though you hardly knew my lady--Sabine's her name!Her dam inhabits yonder cavern shady,A witch of shame,Who shrieks o' nights upon the Haunted Tower,With horrors piled--Oh! this chill wind, etc.
"Sing on and leap--enjoying all the favorsGood heaven sends;She, too, was young--her lips had peachy savorsWith honey blends;Give to that hag--not always old--a penny,Though crime-defiled--Oh! this chill wind, etc.
"The queen beside her looked a wench uncomely,When, near to-night,She proudly stalked a-past the maids so homely,In bodice tightAnd collar old as reign of wicked Julian,By fiend beguiled--Oh! this chill wind, etc.
"The king himself proclaimed her peerless beautyBefore the court,And held it were to win a kiss his dutyTo give a fort,Or, more, to sign away all bright Dorado,Tho' gold-plate tiled--Oh! this chill wind, etc.
"Love her? at least, I know I am most lonelyWithout her nigh;I'm but a hound to follow her, and onlyAt her feet die.I'd gayly spend of toilsome years a dozen--A felon styled--Oh! this chill wind, etc.
"One summer day when long--so long? I'd missed her,She came anew,To play i' the fount alone but for her sister,And bared to viewThe finest, rosiest, most tempting ankle,Like that of child--Oh! this chill wind, etc.
"When I beheld her, I--a lowly shepherd--Grew in my mindTill I was Caesar--she that crownèd leopardHe crouched behind,No Roman stern, but in her silken leashesA captive mild--Oh! this chill wind, etc.
"Yet dance and sing, tho' night be thickly falling;--In selfsame timePoor Sabine heard in ecstasy the calling,In winning rhyme,Of Saldane's earl so noble, ay, and wealthy,Name e'er reviled--Oh! this chill wind, etc.
"(Let me upon this bench be shortly resting,So weary, I!)That noble bore her smiling, unresisting,By yonder highAnd ragged road that snakes towards the summitWhere crags are piled--Oh! this chill wind, etc.
"I saw her pass beside my lofty station--A glance--'twas all!And yet I loathe my daily honest ration,The air's turned gall!My soul's in chase, my body chafes to wander--My dagger's filed--Oh! this chill wind may change, and o'er the mountainMay drive me wild!"
Words in this poem
- sabine a.
- Of or pertaining to the ancient Sabines, a people of Italy. [L. Sabinus.]
- yonder adv.
- At a distance, but within view. [OE. yonder, ýonder; cf. OD. ginder, Goth. jaindr there. Yond, adv.]
- haunted a.
- Inhabited by, or subject to the visits of, apparitions; frequented by a ghost.
- piled a.
- Having a pile or point; pointed. [From 2d Pile.]
- peachy a.
- Resembling a peach or peaches.
- homely a.
- Belonging to, or having the characteristics of, home; domestic; familiar; intimate. [From Home, n.]
- bodice n.
- A kind of under waist stiffened with whalebone, etc., worn esp. by women; a corset; stays. [This is properly the plural of body, Oe. bodise a pair of bodies, equiv. to a bodice. Cf. Corset, and see Body.]
- julian a.
- Relating to, or derived from, Julius Cæsar. Julian calendar, the calendar as adjusted by Julius Cæsar, in which the year was made to consist of 365 days, each fourth year having 366 days. [L. Julianus, fr. Julius. Cf. July, Gillian.]
- dorado n.
- A southern constellation, within which is the south pole of the ecliptic; -- called also sometimes Xiphias, or the Swordfish. [Sp. dorado gilt, fr. dorar to gild, fr. L. deaurare. See 1st Dory, and cf. Fl Dorado.]
- gayly adv.
- With mirth and frolic; merrily; blithely; gleefully.
- crouched a.
- Marked with the sign of the cross. Crouched friar. See Crutched friar, under Crutched.
- selfsame a.
- Precisely the same; the very same; identical. [Self, a. + same.]
- shortly adv.
- In a short or brief time or manner; soon; quickly. [AS. sceortlice.]
- ration n.
- A fixed daily allowance of provisions assigned to a soldier in the army, or a sailor in the navy, for his subsistence. [F., fr. L. ratio a reckoning, calculation, relation, reference, LL. ratio ration. See Ratio.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Gastibelza 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, Gastibelza, in Poems (1888), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #8775, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/hugo-poems/gastibelza.html, id L26784.
Form and metre
Gastibelza is 79 lines in 11 stanzas. 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 ABAB-CBC beatingA · singB · meetingA · bringB · music · reconciledC · rushingB · wildC
- 2 ABAB--- ladyA · nameB · shadyA · shameB · tower · piled · etc
- 3 ABAB--- favorsA · sendsB · savorsA · blendsB · penny · defiled · etc
- 4 -A-A--- uncomely · nightA · homely · tightA · julian · beguiled · etc
- 5 ABAB--- beautyA · courtB · dutyA · fortB · dorado · tiled · etc
- 6 ABAB--- lonelyA · nighB · onlyA · dieB · dozen · styled · etc
- 7 -A-A--- her · anewA · sister · viewA · ankle · child · etc
- 8 ABAB--- shepherdA · mindB · leopardA · behindB · leashes · mild · etc
- 9 -A-A--- falling · timeA · calling · rhymeA · wealthy · reviled · etc
- 10 ABAB--- restingA · iB · unresistingA · highB · summit · piled · etc
- 11 ABAB-C-C stationA · allB · rationA · gallB · wander · filedC · mountain · wildC
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Gastibelza, with gun the measure beating, | 11 | ·······/˘/˘ |
| Would often sing: | 4 | ·/˘· |
| "Has one o' ye with sweet Sabine been meeting, | 11 | ······˘/·/˘ |
| As, gay, ye bring | 4 | ···· |
| Your songs and steps which, by the music, | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| Are reconciled-- | 4 | ·/˘· |
| Oh! this chill wind across the mountain rushing | 11 | ····˘/·/˘/˘ |
| Will drive me wild! | 4 | ···· |
| "You stare as though you hardly knew my lady-- | 11 | ·····/˘··/˘ |
| Sabine's her name! | 4 | ˘/·· |
| Her dam inhabits yonder cavern shady, | 11 | ··˘/˘/˘/˘/˘ |
| A witch of shame, | 4 | ···· |
| Who shrieks o' nights upon the Haunted Tower, | 11 | ·······/˘/˘ |
| With horrors piled-- | 4 | ·/˘· |
| Oh! this chill wind, etc. | 8 | ·····/˘˘ |
| "Sing on and leap--enjoying all the favors | 11 | ····˘/˘··/˘ |
| Good heaven sends; | 4 | ·/˘· |
| She, too, was young--her lips had peachy savors | 11 | ·······/˘/˘ |
| With honey blends; | 4 | ·/˘· |
| Give to that hag--not always old--a penny, | 11 | ·····/···/˘ |
| Though crime-defiled-- | 4 | ···· |
| Oh! this chill wind, etc. | 8 | ·····/˘˘ |
| "The queen beside her looked a wench uncomely, | 11 | ··˘/····˘/˘ |
| When, near to-night, | 4 | ···· |
| She proudly stalked a-past the maids so homely, | 11 | ·/˘······/˘ |
| In bodice tight | 4 | ·/˘· |
| And collar old as reign of wicked Julian, | 11 | ·/˘····/˘/˘ |
| By fiend beguiled-- | 4 | ··˘/ |
| Oh! this chill wind, etc. | 8 | ·····/˘˘ |
| "The king himself proclaimed her peerless beauty | 11 | ··˘/˘/·/˘/˘ |
| Before the court, | 4 | ···· |
| And held it were to win a kiss his duty | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| To give a fort, | 4 | ···· |
| Or, more, to sign away all bright Dorado, | 11 | ····˘/··˘/˘ |
| Tho' gold-plate tiled-- | 4 | ···· |
| Oh! this chill wind, etc. | 8 | ·····/˘˘ |
| "Love her? at least, I know I am most lonely | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| Without her nigh; | 4 | ···· |
| I'm but a hound to follow her, and only | 11 | ·····/˘··/˘ |
| At her feet die. | 4 | ···· |
| I'd gayly spend of toilsome years a dozen-- | 11 | ·/˘··/˘··/˘ |
| A felon styled-- | 4 | ·/˘· |
| Oh! this chill wind, etc. | 8 | ·····/˘˘ |
| "One summer day when long--so long? I'd missed her, | 11 | ·/˘········ |
| She came anew, | 4 | ··˘/ |
| To play i' the fount alone but for her sister, | 12 | ·····˘/···/˘ |
| And bared to view | 4 | ···· |
| The finest, rosiest, most tempting ankle, | 11 | ·/˘/˘˘·/˘/˘ |
| Like that of child-- | 4 | ···· |
| Oh! this chill wind, etc. | 8 | ·····/˘˘ |
| "When I beheld her, I--a lowly shepherd-- | 11 | ··˘/···/˘/˘ |
| Grew in my mind | 4 | ···· |
| Till I was Caesar--she that crownèd leopard | 10 | ···/˘···/˘ |
| He crouched behind, | 4 | ···· |
| No Roman stern, but in her silken leashes | 11 | ·/˘····/˘/˘ |
| A captive mild-- | 4 | ·/˘· |
| Oh! this chill wind, etc. | 8 | ·····/˘˘ |
| "Yet dance and sing, tho' night be thickly falling;-- | 11 | ·······/˘/˘ |
| In selfsame time | 4 | ·/˘· |
| Poor Sabine heard in ecstasy the calling, | 11 | ·˘/··/˘˘·/˘ |
| In winning rhyme, | 4 | ·/˘· |
| Of Saldane's earl so noble, ay, and wealthy, | 11 | ·····/˘··/˘ |
| Name e'er reviled-- | 4 | ··˘/ |
| Oh! this chill wind, etc. | 8 | ·····/˘˘ |
| "(Let me upon this bench be shortly resting, | 11 | ·······/˘/˘ |
| So weary, I!) | 4 | ·/˘· |
| That noble bore her smiling, unresisting, | 11 | ·/˘··/˘···· |
| By yonder high | 4 | ·/˘· |
| And ragged road that snakes towards the summit | 11 | ·/˘······/˘ |
| Where crags are piled-- | 4 | ···· |
| Oh! this chill wind, etc. | 8 | ·····/˘˘ |
| "I saw her pass beside my lofty station-- | 11 | ····˘/·/˘/˘ |
| A glance--'twas all! | 4 | ···· |
| And yet I loathe my daily honest ration, | 11 | ·····/˘/˘/˘ |
| The air's turned gall! | 4 | ···· |
| My soul's in chase, my body chafes to wander-- | 11 | ·····/˘··/˘ |
| My dagger's filed-- | 4 | ·/˘· |
| Oh! this chill wind may change, and o'er the mountain | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| May drive me wild!" | 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.