The Source of Poetic Inspiration
"I spring from the heel of a wise man,From the meeting-place of wisdom I come forth;From the place where goodness dwells serene.From the red sunrise of the dawn I come,Where grow the nine hazels of poetic art.From the wide circuits of splendourOut of which, according to their judgment, truth is weighed.There is a land where righteousness is instilled,And where falsehood wanes into twilight.There is a land of varied coloursWhere poems are bathed anew.And thou, O well-spring of Knowledge, whence comest thou?"
"Well can the answer be given:I move along the columns of age,Along the streams of inspiration,Along the elf-mound of Nechtan's wife,Along the forearm of the wife of Nuada,Along the fair land of knowledgeThe bright country of the sun;Along the hidden land which by day the moon inhabits;Along the first beginnings of life.I demand of thee, O wise youth, what it is that lies before thee?"
"That I can answer thee.I travel towards the plain of age,Through the mountain-heights of youth.I go forward to the hunting-grounds of old age,Into the sunny dwelling of a king (death?),Into the abode of the tomb;Between burial and judgment,Between battles and their horrorsAmong Tethra's mighty men.And thou, O master of Wisdom, what lies before thee?"
"I pass into the lofty heights of honour,Into the community of knowledge,Into the fair country inhabited of noble sages,Into the haven of prosperities,Into the assembly of the king's son.Into contempt of upstarts,Into the slopes of death where great honour lies.O Son of Instructions, whose son art thou?"
"I am the son of Poetry,Poetry son of investigation,Investigation son of meditation,Meditation son of lore,Lore son of research,Research son of enquiry,Enquiry son of wide knowledge,Knowledge son of good sense,Good sense son of understanding,Understanding son of wisdom,Wisdom son of the three gods of Poetry.O Fount of Wisdom, of whom art thou the son?"
"I am the son of the man who has lived, but has never been born;Of him who was buried in the womb of his own mother;Of him who was baptized after his death.He of all living, was first betrothed to death,His is the first name uttered by the living,His the name lamented by all the dead:Adam, the High One, is his name."
Words in this poem
- splendour n.
- Great brightness; brilliant luster; brilliancy; as, the splendor ot the sun. B. Jonson. [L. fr. splendere to shine: cf. F. splendeur.]
- righteousness n.
- The quality or state of being righteous; holiness; purity; uprightness; rectitude. [AS. rihtwisnes.]
- sunny a.
- Of or pertaining to the sun; proceeding from, or resembling the sun; hence, shining; bright; brilliant; radiant.
- abode n.
- Act of waiting; delay. [OE. abad, abood, fr. abiden to abide. See Abide. For the change of vowel, cf. abode, imp. of abide.]
- burial n.
- A grave; a tomb; a place of sepulture. [OE. buriel, buriels, grave, tomb, AS. byrgels, fr. byrgan to bury, and akin to OS. burgisli sepulcher.]
- honour n.
- Esteem due or paid to worth; high estimation; respect; consideration; reverence; veneration; manifestation of respect or reverence. [OE. honor, honour, onour, onur, OF. honor, onor, honur, onur, honour, onour, F. honneur, fr. L. honor, honos.]
- inhabited a.
- Uninhabited. Brathwait.
- womb n.
- The belly; the abdomen. [OE. wombe, wambe, AS. wamb, womb; akin to D. wam belly, OS. & OHG. wamba, G. wamme, wampe, Icel. vömb, Sw. v&mb, Dan. vom, Goth. wamba.]
- lamented a.
- Mourned for; bewailed.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Source of Poetic Inspiration 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, The Source of Poetic Inspiration, in The Poem-Book of the Gael (1912), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #46917, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/hull-gael/the-source-of-poetic-inspiration.html, id L11664.
Form and metre
The Source of Poetic Inspiration is 59 lines in 6 stanzas. 90% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 9.6 syllables. 22 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 7% 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.
- 2 -ABC-AB-C- given · ageA · inspirationB · wifeC · nuada · knowledgeA · sunB · inhabits · lifeC · thee
- 3 AB-B-----A theeA · ageB · youth · ageB · death · tomb · judgment · horrors · men · theeA
- 4 --AA--A- honour · knowledge · sagesA · prosperitiesA · son · upstarts · liesA · thou
- 5 ABB-------A- poetryA · investigationB · meditationB · lore · research · enquiry · knowledge · sense · understanding · wisdom · poetryA · son
- 6 --AA--- born · mother · deathA · deathA · living · dead · name
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 |
|---|---|---|
| "I spring from the heel of a wise man, | 9 | ········· |
| From the meeting-place of wisdom I come forth; | 11 | ··/˘··/˘··· |
| From the place where goodness dwells serene. | 9 | ····/˘·˘/ |
| From the red sunrise of the dawn I come, | 10 | ···/······ |
| Where grow the nine hazels of poetic art. | 11 | ····/˘·˘/˘· |
| From the wide circuits of splendour | 8 | ···/˘·/˘ |
| Out of which, according to their judgment, truth is weighed. | 13 | ···˘/˘··/˘··· |
| There is a land where righteousness is instilled, | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| And where falsehood wanes into twilight. | 9 | ··/····/· |
| There is a land of varied colours | 9 | ·····/˘/˘ |
| Where poems are bathed anew. | 8 | ·/˘··˘˘/ |
| And thou, O well-spring of Knowledge, whence comest thou?" | 12 | ······/˘···· |
| "Well can the answer be given: | 8 | ···/˘·/˘ |
| I move along the columns of age, | 9 | ··˘/·/˘·· |
| Along the streams of inspiration, | 9 | ˘/····˘/˘ |
| Along the elf-mound of Nechtan's wife, | 9 | ˘/······· |
| Along the forearm of the wife of Nuada, | 11 | ˘/·/······· |
| Along the fair land of knowledge | 8 | ˘/····/˘ |
| The bright country of the sun; | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Along the hidden land which by day the moon inhabits; | 14 | ˘/·/˘······˘/˘ |
| Along the first beginnings of life. | 9 | ˘/··˘/˘·· |
| I demand of thee, O wise youth, what it is that lies before thee?" | 16 | ·˘/············· |
| "That I can answer thee. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| I travel towards the plain of age, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Through the mountain-heights of youth. | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| I go forward to the hunting-grounds of old age, | 12 | ··/˘··/˘···· |
| Into the sunny dwelling of a king (death?), | 11 | ···/˘/˘···· |
| Into the abode of the tomb; | 8 | ···˘/··· |
| Between burial and judgment, | 8 | ··/˘˘·/˘ |
| Between battles and their horrors | 8 | ··/˘··/˘ |
| Among Tethra's mighty men. | 7 | ····/˘· |
| And thou, O master of Wisdom, what lies before thee?" | 13 | ···/˘·/˘····· |
| "I pass into the lofty heights of honour, | 11 | ·····/˘··/˘ |
| Into the community of knowledge, | 9 | ···˘/˘·/˘ |
| Into the fair country inhabited of noble sages, | 14 | ····/˘˘/˘·/˘/˘ |
| Into the haven of prosperities, | 9 | ···/˘·˘/˘ |
| Into the assembly of the king's son. | 10 | ···˘/˘···· |
| Into contempt of upstarts, | 7 | ··˘/·˘/ |
| Into the slopes of death where great honour lies. | 11 | ········/˘· |
| O Son of Instructions, whose son art thou?" | 10 | ···˘/˘···· |
| "I am the son of Poetry, | 8 | ·····/˘˘ |
| Poetry son of investigation, | 9 | /˘··˘·˘/˘ |
| Investigation son of meditation, | 11 | ˘·˘/˘···˘/˘ |
| Meditation son of lore, | 7 | ·˘/˘··· |
| Lore son of research, | 5 | ···˘/ |
| Research son of enquiry, | 7 | ˘/··˘/˘ |
| Enquiry son of wide knowledge, | 8 | ˘/˘···/˘ |
| Knowledge son of good sense, | 6 | /˘···· |
| Good sense son of understanding, | 8 | ·····˘/˘ |
| Understanding son of wisdom, | 8 | ·˘/˘··/˘ |
| Wisdom son of the three gods of Poetry. | 10 | /˘······/˘ |
| O Fount of Wisdom, of whom art thou the son?" | 11 | ···/˘······ |
| "I am the son of the man who has lived, but has never been born; | 15 | ············/·· |
| Of him who was buried in the womb of his own mother; | 14 | ····/˘······/˘ |
| Of him who was baptized after his death. | 10 | ····˘/···· |
| He of all living, was first betrothed to death, | 11 | ···/˘······ |
| His is the first name uttered by the living, | 11 | ·····/˘··/˘ |
| His the name lamented by all the dead: | 10 | ···˘/˘···· |
| Adam, the High One, is his name." | 8 | /˘······ |
Notes from the edition 6
Eleanor Hull's notes to The Poem-Book of the Gael (1912; Project Gutenberg #46917).
- Stanza 1, line 10 The colours denote the qualities of the inhabitants.
- Stanza 2, line 5 Two poetic names for the River Boyne; Nuada was the deified ancestor of the Kings of Leinster. In the Boyne dwelt the "salmon of knowledge," which the poet must consume, and at its source grew the hazels of poetic inspiration. Its tumuli were believed to be the haunts of gods or fairies.
- Stanza 3, line 9 Tethra was god of the assemblies of the dead.
- Stanza 6, line 2 Explained in the gloss to mean "the Earth."
- Stanza 6, line 3 i.e. "in the Passion of Christ."
- Stanza 6, line 7 The above translation is founded on Dr. Whitley Stokes edition of the Colloquy (see note, p. 349).
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