Evening Song
O gladsome lightOf the Father Immortal,And of the celestialSacred and blessedJesus, our Saviour!
Now to the sunsetAgain hast thou brought us;And seeing the eveningTwilight, we bless thee!Praise thee, adore thee!
Father omnipotent!Son, the Life-giver!Spirit, the Comforter!Worthy at all timesOf worship and wonder!
PRINCE HENRY, at the door,Amen!
URSULA.Who was it said Amen?
ELSIE.It was the Prince: he stood at the door,And listened a moment, as we chantedThe evening song. He is gone again.I have often seen him there before.
URSULA.Poor Prince!
GOTTLIEB.I thought the house was haunted!Poor Prince, alas! and yet as mildAnd patient as the gentlest child!
MAX.I love him because he is so good,And makes me such fine bows and arrows,To shoot at the robins and the sparrows,And the red squirrels in the wood!
BERTHA.I love him, too!
GOTTLIEB.Ah, yes! we allLove him from the bottom of our hearts;He gave us the farm, the house, and the grange,He gave us the horses and the carts,And the great oxen in the stall,The vineyard, and the forest range!We have nothing to give him but our love!
BERTHA.Did he give us the beautiful stork aboveOn the chimney-top, with its large, round nest?
GOTTLIEB.No, not the stork; by God in heaven,As a blessing, the dear white stork was given,But the Prince has given us all the rest.God bless him, and make him well again.
ELSIE.Would I could do something for his sake,Something to cure his sorrow and pain!
GOTTLIEB.That no one can; neither thou nor I,Nor any one else.
ELSIE.And must he die?
URSULA.Yes; if the dear God does not takePity upon him in his distress,And work a miracle!
GOTTLIEB.Or unlessSome maiden, of her own accord,Offers her life for that of her lord,And is willing to die in his stead.
ELSIE.I will!
URSULA.Prithee, thou foolish child, be still!Thou shouldst not say what thou dost not mean!
ELSIE.I mean it truly!
MAX.O father! this morning,Down by the mill, in the ravine,Hans killed a wolf, the very sameThat in the night to the sheepfold came,And ate up my lamb, that was left outside.
GOTTLIEB.I am glad he is dead. It will be a warningTo the wolves in the forest, far and wide.
MAX.And I am going to have his hide!
BERTHA.I wonder if this is the wolf that ateLittle Red Ridinghood!
URSULA.Oh, no!That wolf was killed a long while ago.Come, children, it is growing late.
MAX.Ah, how I wish I were a man,As stout as Hans is, and as strong!I would do nothing else, the whole day long,But just kill wolves.
GOTTLIEB.Then go to bed,And grow as fast as a little boy can.Bertha is half asleep already.See how she nods her heavy head,And her sleepy feet are so unsteadyShe will hardly be able to creep upstairs.
URSULA.Goodnight, my children. Here's the light.And do not forget to say your prayersBefore you sleep.
GOTTLIEB.Good night!
MAX and BERTHA.Good night!
URSULA, spinning.She is a strange and wayward child,That Elsie of ours. She looks so old,And thoughts and fancies weird and wildSeem of late to have taken holdOf her heart, that was once so docile and mild!
GOTTLIEB.She is like all girls.
URSULA.Ah no, forsooth!Unlike all I have ever seen.For she has visions and strange dreams,And in all her words and ways, she seemsMuch older than she is in truth.Who would think her but fifteen?And there has been of late such a change!My heart is heavy with fear and doubtThat she may not live till the year is out.She is so strange,--so strange,--so strange!
GOTTLIEB.I am not troubled with any such fear;She will live and thrive for many a year.
Words in this poem 18
- gladsome a.
- Pleased; joyful; cheerful.
- saviour n.
- One who saves, preserves, or delivers from destruction or danger. [OE. saveour, OF. salveor, F. sauveur, fr. L. salvator to save. See Save, v.]
- hast
- , 2d pers. sing. pres. of. Fave, contr. of havest.
- adore v. t.
- To worship with profound reverence; to pay divine honors to; to honor as deity or as divine. [OE. aouren, anouren, adoren, OF. aorer, adorer, F. adorer, fr. L. adorare; ad + orare to speak, pray, os, oris, mouth. In OE. confused with honor, the French pr]
- giver n.
- One who gives; a donor; a bestower; a grantor; one who imparts or distributes.
- comforter n.
- One who administers comfort or consolation.
- amen interj.
- An expression used at the end of prayers, and meaning, So be it. At the end of a creed, it is a solemn asseveration of belief. [L. amen, Gr. am certainly, truly.]
- ursula n.
- A beautiful North American butterfly (Basilarchia, or Limenitis, astyanax). Its wings are nearly black with red and blue spots and blotches. Called also red-spotted purple.
- haunted a.
- Inhabited by, or subject to the visits of, apparitions; frequented by a ghost.
- bertha n.
- A kind of collar or cape worn by ladies. [F. berthe, fr. Berthe, a woman's name.]
- grange n.
- A building for storing grain; a granary. [F. grange barn, LL. granea, from L. granum grain. See Grain a kernel.]
- vineyard n.
- An inclosure or yard for grapevines; a plantation of vines producing grapes. [For OE. winyard, AS. wingeard; influenced by E. vine. See Wine, and Yard an inclosure.]
- prithee interj.
- A corruption of pray thee; as, I prithee; generally used without I.
- sheepfold n.
- A fold or pen for sheep; a place where sheep are collected or confined.
- upstairs adv.
- Up the stairs; in or toward an upper story.
- wayward a.
- Taking one's own way; disobedient; froward; perverse; willful. [OE. weiward, for aweiward, i. e., turned away. See Away, and -ward.]
- docile a.
- Teachable; easy to teach; docible. [L. docilis,fr. docere to teach; cf. Gr. discere to learn, Gr. docile. Cf. Doctor, Didactic, Disciple.]
- forsooth v. t.
- To address respectfully with the term forsooth.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Evening Song is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Complete Poetical Works of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Project Gutenberg ebook #1365; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Evening Song, in Christus: A Mystery (1872), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #1365, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/longfellow-christus/evening-song.html, id L19196.
Form and metre
Evening Song is 137 lines in 35 stanzas.
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 ---AA sunset · us · evening · theeA · theeA
- 6 -A--A elsie · doorA · chanted · again · beforeA
- 8 --AA gottlieb · haunted · mildA · childA
- 9 -ABBA max · goodA · arrowsB · sparrowsB · woodA
- 11 -ABCBAC- gottlieb · allA · heartsB · grangeC · cartsB · stallA · rangeC · love
- 13 -AA-A gottlieb · heavenA · givenA · rest · againA
- 18 --AA- gottlieb · unless · accordA · lordA · stead
- 22 ---AA- max · morning · ravine · sameA · cameA · outside
- 26 -AA- ursula · noA · agoA · late
- 27 --AA- max · man · strongA · longA · wolves
- 28 -A-BAB- gottlieb · bedA · can · alreadyB · headA · unsteadyB · upstairs
- 32 -ABABA spinning · childA · oldB · wildA · holdB · mildA
- 34 -ABCCABDEED ursula · forsoothA · seenB · dreamsC · seemsC · truthA · fifteenB · changeD · doubtE · outE · strangeD
- 35 -AA gottlieb · fearA · yearA
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 |
|---|---|---|
| O gladsome light | 4 | ·/˘· |
| Of the Father Immortal, | 7 | ··/˘˘/˘ |
| And of the celestial | 6 | ···˘/˘ |
| Sacred and blessed | 4 | /˘·· |
| Jesus, our Saviour! | 6 | /˘/˘/˘ |
| Now to the sunset | 5 | ···/· |
| Again hast thou brought us; | 6 | ˘/···· |
| And seeing the evening | 6 | ·/˘·/˘ |
| Twilight, we bless thee! | 5 | /···· |
| Praise thee, adore thee! | 5 | ··˘/· |
| Father omnipotent! | 6 | /˘˘/˘˘ |
| Son, the Life-giver! | 5 | ···/˘ |
| Spirit, the Comforter! | 6 | /˘·/˘˘ |
| Worthy at all times | 5 | /˘··· |
| Of worship and wonder! | 6 | ·/˘·/˘ |
| PRINCE HENRY, at the door, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Amen! | 2 | ˘/ |
| URSULA. | 3 | /˘˘ |
| Who was it said Amen? | 6 | ····˘/ |
| ELSIE. | 2 | /˘ |
| It was the Prince: he stood at the door, | 9 | ········· |
| And listened a moment, as we chanted | 10 | ·/˘·/˘··/˘ |
| The evening song. He is gone again. | 9 | ·/˘····˘/ |
| I have often seen him there before. | 9 | ··/˘····· |
| URSULA. | 3 | /˘˘ |
| Poor Prince! | 2 | ·· |
| GOTTLIEB. | 2 | /· |
| I thought the house was haunted! | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Poor Prince, alas! and yet as mild | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| And patient as the gentlest child! | 9 | ·/˘··/˘˘· |
| MAX. | 1 | · |
| I love him because he is so good, | 9 | ········· |
| And makes me such fine bows and arrows, | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| To shoot at the robins and the sparrows, | 10 | ····/˘··/˘ |
| And the red squirrels in the wood! | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| BERTHA. | 2 | /˘ |
| I love him, too! | 4 | ···· |
| GOTTLIEB. | 2 | /· |
| Ah, yes! we all | 4 | ···· |
| Love him from the bottom of our hearts; | 10 | ····/˘·/˘· |
| He gave us the farm, the house, and the grange, | 10 | ·········· |
| He gave us the horses and the carts, | 9 | ····/˘··· |
| And the great oxen in the stall, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| The vineyard, and the forest range! | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| We have nothing to give him but our love! | 10 | ··/˘····/· |
| BERTHA. | 2 | /˘ |
| Did he give us the beautiful stork above | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| On the chimney-top, with its large, round nest? | 10 | ··/˘······ |
| GOTTLIEB. | 2 | /· |
| No, not the stork; by God in heaven, | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| As a blessing, the dear white stork was given, | 11 | ··/˘·····/˘ |
| But the Prince has given us all the rest. | 10 | ····/˘···· |
| God bless him, and make him well again. | 9 | ·······˘/ |
| ELSIE. | 2 | /˘ |
| Would I could do something for his sake, | 9 | ····/˘··· |
| Something to cure his sorrow and pain! | 9 | /˘···/˘·· |
| GOTTLIEB. | 2 | /· |
| That no one can; neither thou nor I, | 9 | ····/˘··· |
| Nor any one else. | 5 | ·/˘·· |
| ELSIE. | 2 | /˘ |
| And must he die? | 4 | ···· |
| URSULA. | 3 | /˘˘ |
| Yes; if the dear God does not take | 8 | ········ |
| Pity upon him in his distress, | 9 | /˘·····˘/ |
| And work a miracle! | 6 | ···/˘˘ |
| GOTTLIEB. | 2 | /· |
| Or unless | 3 | ··· |
| Some maiden, of her own accord, | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| Offers her life for that of her lord, | 9 | /˘······· |
| And is willing to die in his stead. | 9 | ··/˘····· |
| ELSIE. | 2 | /˘ |
| I will! | 2 | ·· |
| URSULA. | 3 | /˘˘ |
| Prithee, thou foolish child, be still! | 8 | /˘·/˘··· |
| Thou shouldst not say what thou dost not mean! | 9 | ········· |
| ELSIE. | 2 | /˘ |
| I mean it truly! | 5 | ···/˘ |
| MAX. | 1 | · |
| O father! this morning, | 6 | ·/˘·/˘ |
| Down by the mill, in the ravine, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Hans killed a wolf, the very same | 9 | ··˘···/˘· |
| That in the night to the sheepfold came, | 9 | ······/˘· |
| And ate up my lamb, that was left outside. | 10 | ········// |
| GOTTLIEB. | 2 | /· |
| I am glad he is dead. It will be a warning | 12 | ··········/˘ |
| To the wolves in the forest, far and wide. | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| MAX. | 1 | · |
| And I am going to have his hide! | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| BERTHA. | 2 | /˘ |
| I wonder if this is the wolf that ate | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Little Red Ridinghood! | 6 | /˘···· |
| URSULA. | 3 | /˘˘ |
| Oh, no! | 2 | ·· |
| That wolf was killed a long while ago. | 10 | ····˘···˘/ |
| Come, children, it is growing late. | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| MAX. | 1 | · |
| Ah, how I wish I were a man, | 8 | ········ |
| As stout as Hans is, and as strong! | 8 | ········ |
| I would do nothing else, the whole day long, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| But just kill wolves. | 4 | ···· |
| GOTTLIEB. | 2 | /· |
| Then go to bed, | 4 | ···· |
| And grow as fast as a little boy can. | 10 | ······/˘·· |
| Bertha is half asleep already. | 9 | /˘··˘/˘/˘ |
| See how she nods her heavy head, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And her sleepy feet are so unsteady | 10 | ··/˘···˘/˘ |
| She will hardly be able to creep upstairs. | 11 | ··/˘·/˘··˘/ |
| URSULA. | 3 | /˘˘ |
| Goodnight, my children. Here's the light. | 8 | /··/˘··· |
| And do not forget to say your prayers | 9 | ···˘/···· |
| Before you sleep. | 4 | ···· |
| GOTTLIEB. | 2 | /· |
| Good night! | 2 | ·· |
| MAX and BERTHA. | 4 | ··/˘ |
| Good night! | 2 | ·· |
| URSULA, spinning. | 5 | /˘˘/˘ |
| She is a strange and wayward child, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| That Elsie of ours. She looks so old, | 10 | ·/˘·/˘···· |
| And thoughts and fancies weird and wild | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Seem of late to have taken hold | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Of her heart, that was once so docile and mild! | 11 | ·······/˘·· |
| GOTTLIEB. | 2 | /· |
| She is like all girls. | 5 | ····· |
| URSULA. | 3 | /˘˘ |
| Ah no, forsooth! | 4 | ··˘/ |
| Unlike all I have ever seen. | 8 | ˘/···/˘· |
| For she has visions and strange dreams, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And in all her words and ways, she seems | 9 | ········· |
| Much older than she is in truth. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Who would think her but fifteen? | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| And there has been of late such a change! | 9 | ········· |
| My heart is heavy with fear and doubt | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| That she may not live till the year is out. | 10 | ·········· |
| She is so strange,--so strange,--so strange! | 8 | ········ |
| GOTTLIEB. | 2 | /· |
| I am not troubled with any such fear; | 10 | ···/˘·/˘·· |
| She will live and thrive for many a year. | 10 | ······/˘·· |
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.