Prologue
Full often I strolled by the brink of the river,On the greensward soaked by the heavy dew,Skirting the woods in the bays of the mountains,No care in my heart, while the day was new.
My soul would light up when I saw Loch GréineLie blue on the breast of the landscape green,The heaven's expanse o'er the ring of the mountains,Peak beckoning to peak o'er the ridges between.
Ah, well might the weakling, the sport of misfortune,Spent of his vigour, embittered with pain,His birthright wasted, his pockets empty,Gaze long on that scene and take heart again.
On its mistless bosom the wild duck settled,Two followed by two rode the stately swan,In wanton gladness the perch leaped upward,Ruddy their scales when the bright sun shone!
Peaceful the scene, as the azure watersIn ripples swept circling in to the shore;Strange is its change in the winter quarter,Its thunderous crash, its hollow roar.
Bright birds in the trees make a melody mirthful,The doe bounds down, the hunt flashes by,I hear the shrill horns, they are close upon me!Brave Reynard in front, and the hounds in full cry!
Words in this poem
- brink n.
- The edge, margin, or border of a steep place, as of a precipice; a bank or edge, as of a river or pit; a verge; a border; as, the brink of a chasm. Also Fig. [Dan. brink edge, verge; akin to Sw. brink declivity, hill, Icel. brekka; cf. LG. brink a grassy hill, W. bryn hill, bryncyn hillock.]
- greensward n.
- Turf green with grass.
- skirting n.
- A skirting board.
- loch n.
- A lake; a bay or arm of the sea. [Gael. & Olr. loch. See Lake of water.]
- weakling n.
- A weak or feeble creature. [Weak + -ling.]
- vigour v. t.
- To invigorate. Feltham.
- rode n.
- Redness; complexion. [See Rud.]
- thunderous a.
- Producing thunder. [Written also thundrous.]
- reynard n.
- An appelation applied after the manner of a proper name to the fox. Same as Renard.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Prologue is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Poem-Book of the Gael Translations from Irish Gaelic Poetry into English Prose and Verse, Project Gutenberg ebook #46917; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Eleanor Hull, Prologue, in The Poem-Book of the Gael (1912), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #46917, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/hull-gael/prologue.html, id L11733.
Form and metre
Prologue is 24 lines in 6 stanzas of 4 lines each. 83% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.3 syllables. 10 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 8% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
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 -A-A river · dewA · mountains · newA
- 2 -A-A gréine · greenA · mountains · betweenA
- 3 AA-A misfortuneA · painA · empty · againA
- 5 -A-A waters · shoreA · quarter · roarA
- 6 -AAA mirthful · byA · meA · cryA
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. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Full often I strolled by the brink of the river, | 12 | ·/˘·······/˘ |
| On the greensward soaked by the heavy dew, | 10 | ··/˘···/˘· |
| Skirting the woods in the bays of the mountains, | 11 | /˘·······/˘ |
| No care in my heart, while the day was new. | 10 | ·········· |
| My soul would light up when I saw Loch Gréine | 10 | ·········· |
| Lie blue on the breast of the landscape green, | 10 | ·······/·· |
| The heaven's expanse o'er the ring of the mountains, | 12 | ·/˘˘/·····/˘ |
| Peak beckoning to peak o'er the ridges between. | 11 | ·/˘····/˘·· |
| Ah, well might the weakling, the sport of misfortune, | 12 | ····/˘···˘/˘ |
| Spent of his vigour, embittered with pain, | 10 | ···/˘˘/˘·· |
| His birthright wasted, his pockets empty, | 10 | ·/·/˘·/˘/˘ |
| Gaze long on that scene and take heart again. | 10 | ········˘/ |
| On its mistless bosom the wild duck settled, | 11 | ····/˘···/˘ |
| Two followed by two rode the stately swan, | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| In wanton gladness the perch leaped upward, | 10 | ·/˘/˘···/˘ |
| Ruddy their scales when the bright sun shone! | 9 | /˘······· |
| Peaceful the scene, as the azure waters | 10 | /˘····/˘/˘ |
| In ripples swept circling in to the shore; | 10 | ·/˘·/˘···· |
| Strange is its change in the winter quarter, | 10 | ······/˘/˘ |
| Its thunderous crash, its hollow roar. | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Bright birds in the trees make a melody mirthful, | 11 | ·······/˘/˘ |
| The doe bounds down, the hunt flashes by, | 9 | ······/˘· |
| I hear the shrill horns, they are close upon me! | 11 | ··········· |
| Brave Reynard in front, and the hounds in full cry! | 11 | ·/˘········ |
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.