Fata Morgana
O sweet illusions of Song,That tempt me everywhere,In the lonely fields, and the throngOf the crowded thoroughfare!
I approach, and ye vanish away,I grasp you, and ye are gone;But ever by nigh an day,The melody soundeth on.
As the weary traveller seesIn desert or prairie vast,Blue lakes, overhung with trees,That a pleasant shadow cast;
Fair towns with turrets high,And shining roofs of gold,That vanish as he draws nigh,Like mists together rolled,--
So I wander and wander along,And forever before me gleamsThe shining city of song,In the beautiful land of dreams.
But when I would enter the gateOf that golden atmosphere,It is gone, and I wander and waitFor the vision to reappear.
Words in this poem
- thoroughfare n.
- A passage through; a passage from one street or opening to another; an unobstructed way open to the public; a public road; hence, a frequented street. [AS. þurhfaru.]
- overhung a.
- Covered over; ornamented with hangings. Carlyle.
- reappear v. i.
- To appear again.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Fata Morgana 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, Fata Morgana, in The Complete Poetical Works (1839–1882), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #1365, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/longfellow-poems/fata-morgana.html, id L17718.
Form and metre
Fata Morgana is 24 lines in 6 stanzas of 4 lines each. Every stanza rhymes ABAB. The metre is common measure, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 80%). 90% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.3 syllables. 21% 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.
- 1 ABAB songA · everywhereB · throngA · thoroughfareB
- 2 ABAB awayA · goneB · dayA · onB
- 3 ABAB seesA · vastB · treesA · castB
- 4 ABAB highA · goldB · nighA · rolledB
- 5 ABAB alongA · gleamsB · songA · dreamsB
- 6 ABAB gateA · atmosphereB · waitA · reappearB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| O sweet illusions of Song, | 7 | ··˘/˘·· |
| That tempt me everywhere, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| In the lonely fields, and the throng | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| Of the crowded thoroughfare! | 7 | ··/˘/˘· |
| I approach, and ye vanish away, | 9 | ·˘/··/˘˘/ |
| I grasp you, and ye are gone; | 7 | ······· |
| But ever by nigh an day, | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| The melody soundeth on. | 7 | ·/˘˘/˘· |
| As the weary traveller sees | 8 | ··/˘/˘˘· |
| In desert or prairie vast, | 7 | ·˘/·/˘· |
| Blue lakes, overhung with trees, | 7 | ··˘˘/·· |
| That a pleasant shadow cast; | 7 | ··/˘/·· |
| Fair towns with turrets high, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| And shining roofs of gold, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| That vanish as he draws nigh, | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| Like mists together rolled,-- | 6 | ··˘/˘· |
| So I wander and wander along, | 9 | ··/˘·/˘˘/ |
| And forever before me gleams | 8 | ·˘/˘···· |
| The shining city of song, | 7 | ·/˘/˘·· |
| In the beautiful land of dreams. | 8 | ··/˘˘··· |
| But when I would enter the gate | 8 | ····/˘·· |
| Of that golden atmosphere, | 7 | ··/˘/˘· |
| It is gone, and I wander and wait | 9 | ·····/˘·· |
| For the vision to reappear. | 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.