The Castle by the Sea
"Hast thou seen that lordly castle,That Castle by the Sea?Golden and red above itThe clouds float gorgeously.
"And fain it would stoop downwardTo the mirrored wave below;And fain it would soar upwardIn the evening's crimson glow."
"Well have I seen that castle,That Castle by the Sea,And the moon above it standing,And the mist rise solemnly."
"The winds and the waves of ocean,Had they a merry chime?Didst thou hear, from those lofty chambers,The harp and the minstrel's rhyme?"
"The winds and the waves of ocean,They rested quietly,But I heard on the gale a sound of wail,And tears came to mine eye."
"And sawest thou on the turretsThe King and his royal bride?And the wave of their crimson mantles?And the golden crown of pride?
"Led they not forth, in rapture,A beauteous maiden there?Resplendent as the morning sun,Beaming with golden hair?"
"Well saw I the ancient parents,Without the crown of pride;They were moving slow, in weeds of woe,No maiden was by their side!"
Words in this poem
- hast
- , 2d pers. sing. pres. of. Fave, contr. of havest.
- fain v. t.
- To be glad ; to wish or desire.
- chime n.
- The harmonious sound of bells, or of musical instruments. [OE. chimbe, prop., cymbal, OF. cymbe, cymble, in a dialectic form, chymble, F. cymbale, L. cymbalum, fr. Gr. Cymbal.]
- didst
- , the 2d pers. sing. imp. of Do.
- beauteous a.
- Full of beauty; beautiful; very handsome. [Mostly poetic] -- Beau"te*ous*ly, adv. --
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Castle by the Sea 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, The Castle by the Sea, in A Psalm of Life, and Other Poems (1839–1882), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #1365, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/longfellow-poems/by-johann-ludwig-uhland.html, id L18056.
Form and metre
The Castle by the Sea is 32 lines in 8 stanzas of 4 lines each. The metre is common measure, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 84%). 96% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.0 syllables. 25 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 15% 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.
- 2 -A-A downward · belowA · upward · glowA
- 4 -A-A ocean · chimeA · chambers · rhymeA
- 6 -A-A turrets · brideA · mantles · prideA
- 7 -A-A rapture · thereA · sun · hairA
- 8 -A-A parents · prideA · woe · sideA
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 |
|---|---|---|
| "Hast thou seen that lordly castle, | 8 | ····/˘/˘ |
| That Castle by the Sea? | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Golden and red above it | 7 | /˘····· |
| The clouds float gorgeously. | 6 | ······ |
| "And fain it would stoop downward | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| To the mirrored wave below; | 8 | ··/˘˘··· |
| And fain it would soar upward | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| In the evening's crimson glow." | 7 | ··/˘/˘· |
| "Well have I seen that castle, | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| That Castle by the Sea, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| And the moon above it standing, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| And the mist rise solemnly." | 7 | ····/˘˘ |
| "The winds and the waves of ocean, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Had they a merry chime? | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Didst thou hear, from those lofty chambers, | 9 | ·····/˘/˘ |
| The harp and the minstrel's rhyme?" | 7 | ····/˘· |
| "The winds and the waves of ocean, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| They rested quietly, | 6 | ·/˘/˘˘ |
| But I heard on the gale a sound of wail, | 10 | ·········· |
| And tears came to mine eye." | 6 | ······ |
| "And sawest thou on the turrets | 8 | ······/˘ |
| The King and his royal bride? | 7 | ····/˘· |
| And the wave of their crimson mantles? | 9 | ·····/˘/˘ |
| And the golden crown of pride? | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| "Led they not forth, in rapture, | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| A beauteous maiden there? | 7 | ·/˘˘/˘· |
| Resplendent as the morning sun, | 8 | ˘/˘··/˘· |
| Beaming with golden hair?" | 6 | /˘·/˘· |
| "Well saw I the ancient parents, | 8 | ····/˘/˘ |
| Without the crown of pride; | 6 | ······ |
| They were moving slow, in weeds of woe, | 9 | ··/˘····· |
| No maiden was by their side!" | 7 | ·/˘···· |
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