Azrael
King Solomon, before his palace gateAt evening, on the pavement tessellateWas walking with a stranger from the East,Arrayed in rich attire as for a feast,The mighty Runjeet-Sing, a learned man,And Rajah of the realms of Hindostan.And as they walked the guest became awareOf a white figure in the twilight air,Gazing intent, as one who with surpriseHis form and features seemed to recognize;And in a whisper to the king he said:"What is yon shape, that, pallid as the dead,Is watching me, as if he sought to traceIn the dim light the features of my face?"
The king looked, and replied: "I know him well;It is the Angel men call Azrael,'T is the Death Angel; what hast thou to fear?"And the guest answered: "Lest he should come near,And speak to me, and take away my breath!Save me from Azrael, save me from death!O king, that hast dominion o'er the wind,Bid it arise and bear me hence to Ind."
The king gazed upward at the cloudless sky,Whispered a word, and raised his hand on high,And lo! the signet-ring of chrysopraseOn his uplifted finger seemed to blazeWith hidden fire, and rushing from the westThere came a mighty wind, and seized the guestAnd lifted him from earth, and on they passed,His shining garments streaming in the blast,A silken banner o'er the walls upreared,A purple cloud, that gleamed and disappeared.Then said the Angel, smiling: "If this manBe Rajah Runjeet-Sing of Hindostan,Thou hast done well in listening to his prayer;I was upon my way to seek him there."
Words in this poem
- solomon n.
- One of the kings of Israel, noted for his superior wisdom and magnificent reign; hence, a very wise man.
- tessellate v. t.
- To form into squares or checkers; to lay with checkered work. [L. tessellatus tessellated. See Tessellar.]
- rajah n.
- A native prince or king; also, a landholder or person of importance in the agricultural districts. [India] [Hind. raja, Skr. rajan, akin to L. rex, regis. See Regal, a.]
- hast
- , 2d pers. sing. pres. of. Fave, contr. of havest.
- cloudless a.
- Without a cloud; clear; bright.
- signet n.
- A seal; especially, in England, the seal used by the sovereign in sealing private letters and grants that pass by bill under the sign manual; -- called also privy signet. [OF. signet a signet, F., a bookmark, dim. of signe. See Sign, n., and cf. Sennet.]
- chrysoprase n.
- An apple-green variety of chalcedony, colored by nickel. It has a dull flinty luster, and is sometimes used in jewelry.
- streaming a.
- Sending forth streams.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Azrael 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, Azrael, in The Complete Poetical Works (1839–1882), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #1365, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/longfellow-poems/azrael.html, id L17690.
Form and metre
Azrael is 36 lines in 3 verse paragraphs. It is in rhyming couplets, 89% of the lines: heroic couplets. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 89%). 96% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.0 syllables. 2 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 28% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in heroic couplets, 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 --AABBCCDDEEFF gate · tessellate · eastA · feastA · manB · hindostanB · awareC · airC · surpriseD · recognizeD · saidE · deadE · traceF · faceF
- 2 --AABBCC well · azrael · fearA · nearA · breathB · deathB · windC · indC
- 3 AABBCCDDEEFFGG skyA · highA · chrysopraseB · blazeB · westC · guestC · passedD · blastD · uprearedE · disappearedE · manF · hindostanF · prayerG · thereG
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 |
|---|---|---|
| King Solomon, before his palace gate | 10 | ·/˘˘···/˘· |
| At evening, on the pavement tessellate | 10 | ·/˘··/˘/˘˘ |
| Was walking with a stranger from the East, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| Arrayed in rich attire as for a feast, | 10 | ˘/··˘/···· |
| The mighty Runjeet-Sing, a learned man, | 10 | ·/˘·····˘· |
| And Rajah of the realms of Hindostan. | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| And as they walked the guest became aware | 10 | ······˘/˘/ |
| Of a white figure in the twilight air, | 10 | ···/˘··/·· |
| Gazing intent, as one who with surprise | 10 | /˘˘/····˘/ |
| His form and features seemed to recognize; | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| And in a whisper to the king he said: | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| "What is yon shape, that, pallid as the dead, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Is watching me, as if he sought to trace | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| In the dim light the features of my face?" | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| The king looked, and replied: "I know him well; | 10 | ····˘/···· |
| It is the Angel men call Azrael, | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| 'T is the Death Angel; what hast thou to fear?" | 11 | ····/˘····· |
| And the guest answered: "Lest he should come near, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| And speak to me, and take away my breath! | 10 | ······˘/·· |
| Save me from Azrael, save me from death! | 9 | ········· |
| O king, that hast dominion o'er the wind, | 10 | ····˘/˘··· |
| Bid it arise and bear me hence to Ind." | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| The king gazed upward at the cloudless sky, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Whispered a word, and raised his hand on high, | 10 | /˘········ |
| And lo! the signet-ring of chrysoprase | 10 | ···/˘··/˘˘ |
| On his uplifted finger seemed to blaze | 10 | ··/˘˘/˘··· |
| With hidden fire, and rushing from the west | 10 | ·/˘/·/˘··· |
| There came a mighty wind, and seized the guest | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| And lifted him from earth, and on they passed, | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| His shining garments streaming in the blast, | 10 | ·/˘/˘/˘··· |
| A silken banner o'er the walls upreared, | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| A purple cloud, that gleamed and disappeared. | 10 | ·/˘·····˘/ |
| Then said the Angel, smiling: "If this man | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| Be Rajah Runjeet-Sing of Hindostan, | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Thou hast done well in listening to his prayer; | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| I was upon my way to seek him there." | 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.