The Last Song of Sappho
Thou peaceful night, thou chaste and silver rayOf the declining Moon; and thou, arisingAmid the quiet forest on the rocks,Herald of day: O cherished and endeared,Whilst Fate and doom were to my knowledge closed,Objects of sight! No lovely land or skyDoth longer gladden my despairing mood.By unaccustomed joy we are revivedWhen o'er the liquid spaces of the HeavensAnd o'er the fields alarmed doth wildly whirlThe tempest of the winds; and when the car,The ponderous car of Jove, above our headsThundering, divides the heavy air obscure.O'er mountain peaks and o'er abysses deepWe love to float amid the swiftest clouds;We love the terror of the herds dispersed,The streams that flood the plain,And the victorious, thunderous fury of the main.
Fair is thy sight, O sky divine, and fairArt thou, O dewy earth! Alas, of allThis beauty infinite, no slightest partTo wretched Sappho did the Gods or FateInexorable give. Unto thy reignSuperb, O Nature, an unwelcome guestAnd a disprized adorer, doth my heartAnd do mine eyes implore thy lovely forms;But all in vain. The sunny land aroundSmiles not for me, nor from ethereal gatesThe blush of early dawn; not me the songsOf brilliant feathered birds, not me the treesSalute with murmuring leaves; and where in shadeOf drooping willows doth a liquid streamDisplay its pure and crystal course, from myAdvancing foot the soft and flowing wavesWithdrawing with affright,Disdainfully it takes through flowery dell its flight.
What fault so great, what guiltiness so dire,Did blight me ere my birth, that adverse grewTo me the brow of fortune and the sky?How did I sin, a child, when ignorantOf wickedness is life, that from that timeDespoiled of youth, and of its fairest flowers,The cruel Fates wove with relentless wrathThe web of my existence? Reckless wordsRise on thy lips; the events that are to be,A secret council guides. Secret is all,Our agony excepted. We were born,Neglected race, for tears; the reason liesAmid the gods on high. Oh cares and hopesOf early years! To beauty did the Sire,To glorious beauty an eternal reignGive o'er this humankind; for warlike deedFor learned lyre or song,In unadorned shape, no charms to fame belong.
Ah, let us die! The unworthy garb divested,The naked soul will take to Dis its flight,And expiate the cruel fault of blindDispensers of our lot. And thou, for whomLong love in vain, long faith and fruitless rageOf unappeased desire assailed my heart,Live happily, if happily on earthA mortal yet hath lived. Not me did JoveSprinkle with the delightful liquor fromThe niggard urn, since of my childhood diedThe dreams and fond delusions. The glad daysOf our existence are the first to fly;And then disease and age approach, and last,The shade of frigid Death. Behold! of allThe palms I hoped for, and the errors sweet,Hades remains; and the transcendent mindSinks to the Stygian shoreWhere sable night doth reign, and silence evermore.
Words in this poem 24
- amid prep.
- In the midst or middle of; surrounded or encompassed by; among. [OE. amidde, amiddes, on midden, AS. on middan, in the middle, fr. midde the middle. The s is an adverbial ending, originally marking the genitive; the t is a la]
- gladden v. t.
- To make glad; to cheer; to please; to gratify; to rejoice; to exhilarate. [See Glad, v. t.]
- despairing a.
- Feeling or expressing despair; hopeless.
- jove n.
- The chief divinity of the ancient Romans; Jupiter. [L. Jupiter, gen. Jovis, OL. Jovis, nom. & gen. for Djovis; akin to E. Tuesday. See Tuesday, and cf. Jupiter.]
- thundering a.
- Emitting thunder.
- thunderous a.
- Producing thunder. [Written also thundrous.]
- sappho n.
- Any one of several species of brilliant South American humming birds of the genus Sappho, having very bright-colored and deeply forked tails; -- called also firetail. [See Sapphic.]
- superb a.
- Grand; magnificent; august; stately; as, a superb edifice; a superb colonnade. [F. superbe, L. superbus, fr. super over. See Super-.]
- adorer n.
- One who adores; a worshiper; one who admires or loves greatly; an ardent admirer.
- sunny a.
- Of or pertaining to the sun; proceeding from, or resembling the sun; hence, shining; bright; brilliant; radiant.
- dell n.
- A small, retired valley; a ravine. [AS. del, akin to E. dale; cf. D. delle, del, low ground. See Dale.]
- guiltiness n.
- The quality or state of being guilty.
- dire a.
- Ill-boding; portentous; as, dire omens. [L. dirus; of uncertain origin.]
- wove
- p. pr. & rare vb. n. of Weave.
- relentless a.
- Unmoved by appeals for sympathy or forgiveness; insensible to the distresses of others; destitute of tenderness; unrelenting; unyielding; unpitying; as, a prey to relentless despotism.
- sire n.
- A lord, master, or other person in authority. See Sir. [F. sire, originally, an older person. See Sir.]
- glorious a.
- Exhibiting attributes, qualities, or acts that are worthy of or receive glory; noble; praiseworthy; excellent; splendid; illustrious; inspiring admiration; as, glorious deeds. [OF. glorios, glorious, F. glorieux, fr. L. gloriosus. See Glory, n.]
- garb n.
- External appearance, as expressive of the feelings or character; looks; fashion or manner, as of speech. [OF. garbe looks, countenance, grace, ornament, fr. OHG. garawi, garwi, ornament, dress. akin to E. gear. See Gear, n.]
- fruitless a.
- Lacking, or not bearing, fruit; barren; destitute of offspring; as, a fruitless tree or shrub; a fruitless marriage.
- happily adv.
- By chance; peradventure; haply. Piers Plowman. [From Happy.]
- childhood n.
- The state of being a child; the time in which persons are children; the condition or time from infancy to puberty. [AS. cildhad; cild child + -had. See Child, and hood.]
- stygian a.
- Of or pertaining to the river Styx; hence, hellish; infernal.
- sable n.
- A carnivorous animal of the Weasel family (Mustela zibellina) native of the northern latitudes of Europe, Asia, and America, -- noted for its fine, soft, and valuable fur. [OF. sable, F. zibeline sable (in sense 4), LL. sabellum; cf. D. sabel, Dan. sabel, zobel, Sw. sabel, sobel, G. zobel; all fr. Russ. sóbole.]
- evermore adv.
- During eternity; always; forever; for an indefinite period; at all times; -- often used substantively with for.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Last Song of Sappho is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Poems of Leopardi, Project Gutenberg ebook #53020, the Frederick Townsend 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: Giacomo Leopardi, The Last Song of Sappho, in The Poems of Leopardi (1887), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #53020, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/leopardi-poems/the-last-song-of-sappho.html, id L15292.
Form and metre
The Last Song of Sappho is 72 lines in 4 stanzas of 18 lines each. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 90%). 93% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.0 syllables. 6 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 60% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
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 ----------------AA ray · arising · rocks · endeared · closed · sky · mood · revived · heavens · whirl · car · heads · obscure · deep · clouds · dispersed · plainA · mainA
- 2 --A---A---------BB fair · all · partA · fate · reign · guest · heartA · forms · around · gates · songs · trees · shade · stream · my · waves · affrightB · flightB
- 3 A------------A--BB direA · grew · sky · ignorant · time · flowers · wrath · words · be · all · born · lies · hopes · sireA · reign · deed · songB · belongB
- 4 --A------------ABB divested · flight · blindA · whom · rage · heart · earth · jove · from · died · days · fly · last · all · sweet · mindA · shoreB · evermoreB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Thou peaceful night, thou chaste and silver ray | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| Of the declining Moon; and thou, arising | 11 | ··˘/˘···˘/˘ |
| Amid the quiet forest on the rocks, | 10 | ˘/·/˘/˘··· |
| Herald of day: O cherished and endeared, | 10 | /˘···/˘·˘/ |
| Whilst Fate and doom were to my knowledge closed, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Objects of sight! No lovely land or sky | 10 | ˘/···/˘··· |
| Doth longer gladden my despairing mood. | 10 | ·/˘/˘·˘/˘· |
| By unaccustomed joy we are revived | 10 | ··˘/˘···˘/ |
| When o'er the liquid spaces of the Heavens | 11 | ···/˘/˘··/˘ |
| And o'er the fields alarmed doth wildly whirl | 10 | ····˘/·/˘· |
| The tempest of the winds; and when the car, | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| The ponderous car of Jove, above our heads | 10 | ·/˘·····/· |
| Thundering, divides the heavy air obscure. | 10 | /˘˘/·/˘·˘/ |
| O'er mountain peaks and o'er abysses deep | 10 | ·/˘···˘/˘· |
| We love to float amid the swiftest clouds; | 10 | ····˘/·/˘· |
| We love the terror of the herds dispersed, | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| The streams that flood the plain, | 6 | ······ |
| And the victorious, thunderous fury of the main. | 12 | ··˘/˘/˘/˘··· |
| Fair is thy sight, O sky divine, and fair | 10 | ······˘/·· |
| Art thou, O dewy earth! Alas, of all | 10 | ···/˘·˘/·· |
| This beauty infinite, no slightest part | 10 | ·/˘/˘˘·/˘· |
| To wretched Sappho did the Gods or Fate | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| Inexorable give. Unto thy reign | 10 | ·/˘˘˘····· |
| Superb, O Nature, an unwelcome guest | 10 | ˘/·/˘·˘/˘· |
| And a disprized adorer, doth my heart | 10 | ····˘/˘··· |
| And do mine eyes implore thy lovely forms; | 10 | ····˘/·/˘· |
| But all in vain. The sunny land around | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Smiles not for me, nor from ethereal gates | 10 | ······˘/˘· |
| The blush of early dawn; not me the songs | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Of brilliant feathered birds, not me the trees | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| Salute with murmuring leaves; and where in shade | 10 | ˘/·/˘····· |
| Of drooping willows doth a liquid stream | 10 | ·/˘/···/˘· |
| Display its pure and crystal course, from my | 10 | ˘/···/˘··· |
| Advancing foot the soft and flowing waves | 10 | ˘/˘····/˘· |
| Withdrawing with affright, | 6 | ˘/˘·˘/ |
| Disdainfully it takes through flowery dell its flight. | 12 | ·······/˘··· |
| What fault so great, what guiltiness so dire, | 10 | ·····/˘˘·· |
| Did blight me ere my birth, that adverse grew | 10 | ·······˘/· |
| To me the brow of fortune and the sky? | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| How did I sin, a child, when ignorant | 10 | ·······/˘˘ |
| Of wickedness is life, that from that time | 10 | ·/˘˘······ |
| Despoiled of youth, and of its fairest flowers, | 11 | ·······/˘/˘ |
| The cruel Fates wove with relentless wrath | 10 | ·/˘···˘/˘· |
| The web of my existence? Reckless words | 10 | ····˘/˘/˘· |
| Rise on thy lips; the events that are to be, | 11 | ·····˘/···· |
| A secret council guides. Secret is all, | 10 | ·/˘/˘·/˘·· |
| Our agony excepted. We were born, | 10 | //˘˘˘/˘··· |
| Neglected race, for tears; the reason lies | 10 | ˘/˘····/˘· |
| Amid the gods on high. Oh cares and hopes | 10 | ˘/········ |
| Of early years! To beauty did the Sire, | 11 | ·/˘··/˘··/˘ |
| To glorious beauty an eternal reign | 10 | ·/˘/˘·˘/˘· |
| Give o'er this humankind; for warlike deed | 10 | ···/˘··/·· |
| For learned lyre or song, | 5 | ····· |
| In unadorned shape, no charms to fame belong. | 11 | ··˘/·····˘/ |
| Ah, let us die! The unworthy garb divested, | 12 | ·····˘/˘·˘/˘ |
| The naked soul will take to Dis its flight, | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| And expiate the cruel fault of blind | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| Dispensers of our lot. And thou, for whom | 10 | ˘/˘·/····· |
| Long love in vain, long faith and fruitless rage | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Of unappeased desire assailed my heart, | 10 | ····˘/˘/·· |
| Live happily, if happily on earth | 10 | ·/˘˘·/˘˘·· |
| A mortal yet hath lived. Not me did Jove | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Sprinkle with the delightful liquor from | 10 | /˘··˘/˘/˘· |
| The niggard urn, since of my childhood died | 10 | ·/˘····/·· |
| The dreams and fond delusions. The glad days | 10 | ····˘/˘··· |
| Of our existence are the first to fly; | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| And then disease and age approach, and last, | 10 | ··˘/··˘/·· |
| The shade of frigid Death. Behold! of all | 10 | ···/˘·˘/·· |
| The palms I hoped for, and the errors sweet, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Hades remains; and the transcendent mind | 10 | /˘˘/··˘/˘· |
| Sinks to the Stygian shore | 7 | ···/˘˘· |
| Where sable night doth reign, and silence evermore. | 12 | ·/˘····/˘/˘· |
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