Interlude
"A pleasant and a winsome tale,"The Student said, "though somewhat paleAnd quiet in its coloring,As if it caught its tone and airFrom the gray suits that Quakers wear;Yet worthy of some German bard,Hebel, or Voss, or Eberhard,Who love of humble themes to sing,In humble verse; but no more trueThan was the tale I told to you."
The Theologian made reply,And with some warmth, "That I deny;'T is no invention of my own,But something well and widely knownTo readers of a riper age,Writ by the skilful hand that wroteThe Indian tale of Hobomok,And Philothea's classic page.I found it like a waif afloatOr dulse uprooted from its rock,On the swift tides that ebb and flowIn daily papers, and at floodBear freighted vessels to and fro,But later, when the ebb is low,Leave a long waste of sand and mud."
"It matters little," quoth the Jew;"The cloak of truth is lined with lies,Sayeth some proverb old and wise;And Love is master of all arts,And puts it into human heartsThe strangest things to say and do."
And here the controversy closedAbruptly, ere 't was well begun;For the Sicilian interposedWith, "Lordlings, listen, every oneThat listen may, unto a taleThat's merrier than the nightingale;A tale that cannot boast, forsooth,A single rag or shred of truth;That does not leave the mind in doubtAs to the with it or without;A naked falsehood and absurdAs mortal ever told or heard.Therefore I tell it; or, maybe,Simply because it pleases me."
Words in this poem
- winsome a.
- Cheerful; merry; gay; light-hearted. [AS. wynsum, fr. wynn joy; akin to OS. wunnia, OHG. wunna, wunni, G. wonne, Goth. wunan to rejoice (in unwunands sad), AS. wunian to dwell. Win, v. t., Wont, a.]
- wrote v. i.
- To root with the snout. See 1st Root. [OE. wroten. See 1st Root.]
- classic a.
- Of or relating to the first class or rank, especially in literature or art. [L. classicus relating to the classes of the Roman people, and especially to the frist class; hence, of the first rank, superior, from classis class: cf. F. clas]
- afloat adv.
- Borne on the water; floating; on board ship. [Pref. a- + float.]
- dulse n.
- A seaweed of a reddish brown color, which is sometimes eaten, as in Scotland. The true dulse is Sarcophyllis edulis; the common is Rhodymenia. [Cf. Gael. duileasg; duille leaf + uisge water. Cf. Whisky.]
- quoth v. t.
- Said; spoke; uttered; -- used only in the first and third persons in the past tenses, and always followed by its nominative, the word or words said being the object; as, quoth I. quoth he. [AS.cweedhan, imp cwæedh, pl. cwædon; akin to OS. queedhan, OHG. quethan, quedan, Icel. kveedha, Goth. qiþan. sq. root22. Cf. Bequeath.]
- sicilian a.
- Of or pertaining to Sicily or its inhabitants. Sicilian vespers, the great massacre of the French in Sicily, in the year 1282, on the evening of Easter Monday, at the hour of vespers.
- forsooth v. t.
- To address respectfully with the term forsooth.
- maybe adv.
- Perhaps; possibly; peradventure. [For it may be.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Interlude 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, Interlude, in The Complete Poetical Works (1839–1882), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #1365, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/longfellow-poems/interlude-10.html, id L17700.
Form and metre
Interlude is 45 lines in 4 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 89%). 92% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.2 syllables. 7 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 33% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
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 AA-BB---CC taleA · paleA · coloring · airB · wearB · bard · eberhard · sing · trueC · youC
- 2 AABBCD-CD-EFEEF replyA · denyA · ownB · knownB · ageC · wroteD · hobomok · pageC · afloatD · rock · flowE · floodF · froE · lowE · mudF
- 3 ABBCCA jewA · liesB · wiseB · artsC · heartsC · doA
- 4 ABABCCDDEEFF-- closedA · begunB · interposedA · oneB · taleC · nightingaleC · forsoothD · truthD · doubtE · withoutE · absurdF · heardF · maybe · me
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 |
|---|---|---|
| "A pleasant and a winsome tale," | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| The Student said, "though somewhat pale | 8 | ·/˘··//· |
| And quiet in its coloring, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘˘ |
| As if it caught its tone and air | 8 | ········ |
| From the gray suits that Quakers wear; | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Yet worthy of some German bard, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Hebel, or Voss, or Eberhard, | 8 | /˘···/˘˘ |
| Who love of humble themes to sing, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| In humble verse; but no more true | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Than was the tale I told to you." | 8 | ········ |
| The Theologian made reply, | 9 | ··˘/˘˘·˘/ |
| And with some warmth, "That I deny; | 8 | ······˘/ |
| 'T is no invention of my own, | 9 | ···˘/˘··· |
| But something well and widely known | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| To readers of a riper age, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Writ by the skilful hand that wrote | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| The Indian tale of Hobomok, | 9 | ·/˘˘····· |
| And Philothea's classic page. | 7 | ····/˘· |
| I found it like a waif afloat | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Or dulse uprooted from its rock, | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| On the swift tides that ebb and flow | 8 | ········ |
| In daily papers, and at flood | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| Bear freighted vessels to and fro, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| But later, when the ebb is low, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Leave a long waste of sand and mud." | 8 | ········ |
| "It matters little," quoth the Jew; | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| "The cloak of truth is lined with lies, | 9 | ······˘·· |
| Sayeth some proverb old and wise; | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| And Love is master of all arts, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And puts it into human hearts | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| The strangest things to say and do." | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| And here the controversy closed | 9 | ···/˘·˘·˘ |
| Abruptly, ere 't was well begun; | 9 | ˘/˘····/˘ |
| For the Sicilian interposed | 10 | ··˘/˘˘·˘/˘ |
| With, "Lordlings, listen, every one | 9 | ···/˘/˘˘· |
| That listen may, unto a tale | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| That's merrier than the nightingale; | 9 | ·/˘˘··/˘˘ |
| A tale that cannot boast, forsooth, | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| A single rag or shred of truth; | 9 | ·/˘···˘·· |
| That does not leave the mind in doubt | 8 | ········ |
| As to the with it or without; | 8 | ········ |
| A naked falsehood and absurd | 9 | ·/˘˘/··˘/ |
| As mortal ever told or heard. | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| Therefore I tell it; or, maybe, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Simply because it pleases me." | 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.