Part I: Section 15
On happy home like thunderstoneFell that disaster, strange and dread,And poor Tamàra with a groanFell swooning on her bridal bed.And wild spasmodic sobbing tore her,And burning tear fell after tear.'Twas then she listening seemed to hearA voice unearthly whisper o'er her:"Ah weep not, child, thy tears are vain;They fall in no reviving rainTo make the unheeding dead return:They only cloud thy face with pain,And make thy maiden cheeks to burn.He is so far, he will not stayTo heed thy tears, to reck thy sighs.Caressing angels kiss awayAll disappointment from his eyes.His dreams of earth are fading dimIn that far land so still, so calm,What are a maiden's tears to himWho listens to the angels' psalm?The happiness and woes of earth,Whate'er their transient chances be,Nay, all creation is not worthOne momentary tear from thee.
"In the broad ethereal ocean,Free of rudder, free of sail,Wandering planets in their motionChant a myriad-voicèd tale.Fleecy flocks of cloud are wendingTheir irrevocable flight,Through the fields that have no endingIn the labyrinth of light.Now they meet and now they sever,Their's no joy and their's no pain.Yesterday is gone for ever,And to-morrow's cares are vain.When there comes a day of anguish,Only think of these and say,'I will neither pine nor languish,Recking earth no more than they!'
"Soon as the night her sable veilOver the Caucasus has spread,When charmed as by enchanter's tale,The busy world asleep is laid;Soon as the wind in mountain passMakes rustle in the faded grass,Where hidden bird by sleep oppressedFlutters contented to its nest;When the night flower 'neath sheltering vineSips nectared draughts of dew divine,Spreading its timid petals tender,And the pale moon with stealthy splendourClear of the hills her beauty flingsTo gaze on thee with envy wan—Lo! I will come on dew-dipped wingsTo dwell with thee till flickering dawn,And waft on thy silk-shaded eyesThe golden dreams of Paradise."
Words in this poem 17
- thunderstone n.
- A thunderbolt, -- formerly believed to be a stone.
- disaster n.
- An unpropitious or baleful aspect of a planet or star; malevolent influence of a heavenly body; hence, an ill portent. [F. désastre; pref. dés- (L. dis-) + astre star, fr. L. astrum; a word of astrological origin. See Aster, Astral, Star.]
- sobbing n.
- A series of short, convulsive inspirations, the glottis being suddenly closed so that little or no air enters into the lungs.
- tore n.
- The dead grass that remains on mowing land in winter and spring. Mortimer. [Probably from the root of tear; cf. W. tór a break, cut, tóri to break, cut.]
- unearthly a.
- Not terrestrial; supernatural; preternatural; hence, weird; appalling; terrific; as, an unearthly sight or sound.
- reck v. t.
- To make account of; to care for; to heed; to regard. [AS. reccan, remccan, to care for; akin to OS. rokian, OHG. ruochan, G. geruhen, Icel. rækja, also to E. reckon, rake an implement. See Rake, and cf. Reckon.]
- disappointment n.
- The act of disappointing, or the state of being disappointed; defeat or failure of expectation or hope; miscarriage of design or plan; frustration. [Cf. F. désappointement.]
- fading n.
- An Irish dance; also, the burden of a song.
- myriad n.
- The number of ten thousand; ten thousand persons or things. [Gr. myriade.]
- fleecy a.
- Covered with, made of, or resembling, a fleece.
- languish v. i.
- To cause to dr Shak.
- 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.]
- rustle v. i.
- To make a quick succession of small sounds, like the rubbing or moving of silk cloth or dry leaves. [AS. hristlan to rustle; or cf. Sw. rusta to stir, make a riot, or E. rush, v.]
- nectared a.
- Imbued with nectar; mingled with nectar; abounding with nectar.
- splendour n.
- Great brightness; brilliant luster; brilliancy; as, the splendor ot the sun. B. Jonson. [L. fr. splendere to shine: cf. F. splendeur.]
- dwell v. i.
- To delay; to linger. [OE. dwellen, dwelien, to err, linger, AS. dwellan to deceive, hinder, delay, dwelian to err; akin to Icel. dvelja to delay, tarry, Sw. dväljas to dwell, Dan. dv]
- waft v. t.
- To give notice to by waving something; to wave the hand to; to beckon. [Prob. originally imp. & p. p. of wave, v. t. See Wave to waver.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Part I: Section 15 is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Demon, translated from the Russian of Lermontoff by Robert Burness, B.A. (Oxon.), Edinburgh: Douglas & Foulis, 1918, Internet Archive, the Robert Burness 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: Mikhail Lermontov, Part I: Section 15, in The Demon (1918), text of Internet Archive, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/lermontov-demon/1-15.html, id L28468.
Form and metre
Part I: Section 15 is 59 lines in 3 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 88%).
See other poems in iambic tetrameter.
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 ABABCDDCEEFEFGHGHIJIJKLKL thunderstoneA · dreadB · groanA · bedB · herC · tearD · hearD · herC · vainE · rainE · returnF · painE · burnF · stayG · sighsH · awayG · eyesH · dimI · calmJ · himI · psalmJ · earthK · beL · worthK · theeL
- 2 ABABCDCDEFEFGHGH oceanA · sailB · motionA · taleB · wendingC · flightD · endingC · lightD · severE · painF · everE · vainF · anguishG · sayH · languishG · theyH
- 3 A-A-BBCCDDEEF-F--- veilA · spread · taleA · laid · passB · grassB · oppressedC · nestC · vineD · divineD · tenderE · splendourE · flingsF · wan · wingsF · dawn · eyes · paradise
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 tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| On happy home like thunderstone | 8 | ·/˘··/˘˘ |
| Fell that disaster, strange and dread, | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| And poor Tamàra with a groan | 8 | ········ |
| Fell swooning on her bridal bed. | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| And wild spasmodic sobbing tore her, | 9 | ··˘/˘/˘·· |
| And burning tear fell after tear. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| 'Twas then she listening seemed to hear | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| A voice unearthly whisper o'er her: | 9 | ··˘/˘/˘·· |
| "Ah weep not, child, thy tears are vain; | 8 | ········ |
| They fall in no reviving rain | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| To make the unheeding dead return: | 9 | ·······˘/ |
| They only cloud thy face with pain, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| And make thy maiden cheeks to burn. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| He is so far, he will not stay | 8 | ········ |
| To heed thy tears, to reck thy sighs. | 8 | ········ |
| Caressing angels kiss away | 8 | ˘/˘/˘·˘/ |
| All disappointment from his eyes. | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| His dreams of earth are fading dim | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| In that far land so still, so calm, | 8 | ········ |
| What are a maiden's tears to him | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Who listens to the angels' psalm? | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| The happiness and woes of earth, | 8 | ·/˘˘···· |
| Whate'er their transient chances be, | 9 | ˘˘/·/˘/˘· |
| Nay, all creation is not worth | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| One momentary tear from thee. | 8 | ·/˘·˘··· |
| "In the broad ethereal ocean, | 9 | ···˘/˘˘/˘ |
| Free of rudder, free of sail, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Wandering planets in their motion | 9 | /˘˘/˘··/˘ |
| Chant a myriad-voicèd tale. | 7 | ··/˘˘·· |
| Fleecy flocks of cloud are wending | 8 | /˘····/˘ |
| Their irrevocable flight, | 7 | ·˘/˘˘˘· |
| Through the fields that have no ending | 8 | ······/˘ |
| In the labyrinth of light. | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Now they meet and now they sever, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Their's no joy and their's no pain. | 7 | ······· |
| Yesterday is gone for ever, | 8 | /˘····/˘ |
| And to-morrow's cares are vain. | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| When there comes a day of anguish, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Only think of these and say, | 7 | /˘····· |
| 'I will neither pine nor languish, | 8 | ··/˘··/˘ |
| Recking earth no more than they!' | 7 | /˘····· |
| "Soon as the night her sable veil | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Over the Caucasus has spread, | 8 | ···/˘˘·· |
| When charmed as by enchanter's tale, | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| The busy world asleep is laid; | 8 | ·/˘·˘/·· |
| Soon as the wind in mountain pass | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Makes rustle in the faded grass, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Where hidden bird by sleep oppressed | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| Flutters contented to its nest; | 8 | /˘˘/˘··· |
| When the night flower 'neath sheltering vine | 8 | ···/·/˘· |
| Sips nectared draughts of dew divine, | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| Spreading its timid petals tender, | 9 | /˘·/˘/˘/˘ |
| And the pale moon with stealthy splendour | 9 | ·····/˘/˘ |
| Clear of the hills her beauty flings | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| To gaze on thee with envy wan— | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Lo! I will come on dew-dipped wings | 8 | ········ |
| To dwell with thee till flickering dawn, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And waft on thy silk-shaded eyes | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| The golden dreams of Paradise." | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
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.