From the German of Heine
In the far North stands a Pine-tree, lone,Upon a wintry height;It sleeps: around it snows have thrownA covering of white.
It dreams forever of a PalmThat, far i' the Morning-land,Stands silent in a most sad calmMidst of the burning sand.
Words in this poem
- lone n.
- A lane. See Loanin.
- wintry a.
- Suitable to winter; resembling winter, or what belongs to winter; brumal; hyemal; cold; stormy; wintery. [AS. wintrig.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
From the German of Heine is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Poems of Sidney Lanier, Project Gutenberg ebook #579; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Sidney Lanier, From the German of Heine, in Poems (1884), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #579, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/lanier-poems/from-the-german-of-heine.html, id L07689.
Form and metre
From the German of Heine is 8 lines in 2 stanzas of 4 lines each. Every stanza rhymes ABAB. The metre is common measure, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 86%). 96% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.2 syllables. 38% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in 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 loneA · heightB · thrownA · whiteB
- 2 ABAB palmA · landB · calmA · sandB
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 common measure. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| In the far North stands a Pine-tree, lone, | 9 | ········· |
| Upon a wintry height; | 6 | ···/˘· |
| It sleeps: around it snows have thrown | 8 | ········ |
| A covering of white. | 6 | ·/˘˘·· |
| It dreams forever of a Palm | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| That, far i' the Morning-land, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Stands silent in a most sad calm | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Midst of the burning sand. | 6 | ···/˘· |
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.