The Lover's Wish

Victor Hugo (1802–1885), translated by various hands · 1888

anapaestic common measure · ABAB · 32 lines · from Poems

Oh! were I the leaf that the wind of the West,His course through the forest uncaring;To sleep on the gale or the wave's placid breastIn a pendulous cradle is bearing.

All fresh with the morn's balmy kiss would I haste,As the dewdrops upon me were glancing;When Aurora sets out on the roseate waste,And round her the breezes are dancing.

On the pinions of air I would fly, I would rushThro' the glens and the valleys to quiver;Past the mountain ravine, past the grove's dreamy hush,And the murmuring fall of the river.

By the darkening hollow and bramble-bush lane,To catch the sweet breath of the roses;Past the land would I speed, where the sand-driven plain'Neath the heat of the noonday reposes.

Past the rocks that uprear their tall forms to the sky,Whence the storm-fiend his anger is pouring;Past lakes that lie dead, tho' the tempest roll nigh,And the turbulent whirlwind be roaring.

On, on would I fly, till a charm stopped my way,A charm that would lead to the bower;Where the daughter of Araby sings to the day,At the dawn and the vesper hour.

Then hovering down on her brow would I light,'Midst her golden tresses entwining;That gleam like the corn when the fields are bright,And the sunbeams upon it shining.

A single frail gem on her beautiful head,I should sit in the golden glory;And prouder I'd be than the diadem spreadRound the brow of kings famous in story.

Words in this poem

placid a.: Pleased; contented; unruffied; undisturbed; serene; peaceful; tranquil; quiet; gentle. [L. placidus, originally, pleasing, mild, from placere to please: cf. F. placide. See Please.]
balmy a.: Having the qualities of balm; odoriferous; aromatic; assuaging; soothing; refreshing; mild.
glancing a.: Shooting, as light.
aurora n.: The rising light of the morning; the dawn of day; the redness of the sky just before the sun rises. [L. aurora, for ausosa, akin to Gr. ushas, and E. east.]
roseate a.: Full of roses; rosy; as, roseate bowers. [Cf. L. roseus, rosatus, prepared from roses. See Roseal, Rose.]
dreamy a.: Abounding in dreams or given to dreaming; appropriate to, or like, dreams; visionary.
bramble n.: Any plant of the genus Rubus, including the raspberry and blackberry. Hence: Any rough, prickly shrub. [OE. brembil, AS.brbramal), fr. the same root as E. broom, As. br. See Broom.]
noonday n.: Midday; twelve o'clock in the day; noon.
uprear v. t.: To raise; to erect.
araby n.: The country of Arabia.
vesper n.: The evening star; Hesper; Venus, when seen after sunset; hence, the evening. [L., the evening, the evening star, the west; akin to Gr. west. Cf. Hesperian, Vespers.]

Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.

About this text

The Lover's Wish 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, The Lover's Wish, in Poems (1888), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #8775, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/hugo-poems/the-lover-s-wish.html, id L26726.

Form and metre

The Lover's Wish is 32 lines in 8 stanzas of 4 lines each. Every stanza rhymes ABAB. The metre is anapaestic common measure, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 89%).

See other poems in anapaestic common measure.

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 west^A · uncaring^B · breast^A · bearing^B
2 ABAB haste^A · glancing^B · waste^A · dancing^B
3 ABAB rush^A · quiver^B · hush^A · river^B
4 ABAB lane^A · roses^B · plain^A · reposes^B
5 ABAB sky^A · pouring^B · nigh^A · roaring^B
6 ABAB way^A · bower^B · day^A · hour^B
7 ABAB light^A · entwining^B · bright^A · shining^B
8 ABAB head^A · glory^B · spread^A · story^B

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 anapaestic common measure. How this is done.

Line	Syl.	Stress
Oh! were I the leaf that the wind of the West,	11	···········
His course through the forest uncaring;	9	····/˘˘/˘
To sleep on the gale or the wave's placid breast	11	········/˘·
In a pendulous cradle is bearing.	10	··/˘˘/˘·/˘
All fresh with the morn's balmy kiss would I haste,	11	·····/˘····
As the dewdrops upon me were glancing;	10	········/˘
When Aurora sets out on the roseate waste,	11	········/˘·
And round her the breezes are dancing.	9	····/˘·/˘
On the pinions of air I would fly, I would rush	12	··/˘········
Thro' the glens and the valleys to quiver;	10	·····/˘·/˘
Past the mountain ravine, past the grove's dreamy hush,	12	··/˘˘/···/˘·
And the murmuring fall of the river.	10	··/˘˘···/˘
By the darkening hollow and bramble-bush lane,	11	··/˘/˘·/˘··
To catch the sweet breath of the roses;	9	·······/˘
Past the land would I speed, where the sand-driven plain	11	·········/·
'Neath the heat of the noonday reposes.	10	·····/˘/·˘
Past the rocks that uprear their tall forms to the sky,	12	····˘/······
Whence the storm-fiend his anger is pouring;	10	·····/˘·/˘
Past lakes that lie dead, tho' the tempest roll nigh,	11	·······/˘··
And the turbulent whirlwind be roaring.	10	··/˘˘/··/˘
On, on would I fly, till a charm stopped my way,	11	···········
A charm that would lead to the bower;	9	·······/˘
Where the daughter of Araby sings to the day,	12	··/˘·/˘˘····
At the dawn and the vesper hour.	9	·····/˘/˘
Then hovering down on her brow would I light,	10	·/˘·······
'Midst her golden tresses entwining;	9	··/˘/˘˘/˘
That gleam like the corn when the fields are bright,	10	··········
And the sunbeams upon it shining.	9	··/····/˘
A single frail gem on her beautiful head,	10	·/˘····/˘·
I should sit in the golden glory;	9	·····/˘/˘
And prouder I'd be than the diadem spread	10	·/····/˘··
Round the brow of kings famous in story.	10	·····/˘·/˘

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.

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