Interlude
And then the blue-eyed Norseman toldA Saga of the days of old.“There is,” said he, “a wondrous bookOf Legends in the old Norse tongue,Of the dead kings of Norroway,—Legends that once were told or sungIn many a smoky fireside nookOf Iceland, in the ancient day,By wandering Saga-man or Scald;Heimskringla is the volume called;And he who looks may find thereinThe story that I now begin.”
And in each pause the story madeUpon his violin he played,As an appropriate interlude,Fragments of old Norwegian tunesThat bound in one the separate runes,And held the mind in perfect mood,Entwining and encircling allThe strange and antiquated rhymeswith melodies of olden times;As over some half-ruined wall,Disjointed and about to fall,Fresh woodbines climb and interlace,And keep the loosened stones in place.
Words in this poem
- norseman n.
- One of the ancient Scandinavians; a Northman.
- saga n.
- A Scandinavian legend, or heroic or mythic tradition, among the Norsemen and kindred people; a northern European popular historical or religious tale of olden time. [Icel., akin to E. saw a saying. See Say, and cf. Saw.]
- wondrous adv.
- In a wonderful or surprising manner or degree; wonderfully. [OE. wonders, adv. (later also adj.). See Wonder, n., and cf. -wards.]
- norse a.
- Of or pertaining to ancient Scandinavia, or to the language spoken by its inhabitants. [Dan. Norsk, fr. nord north. See North.]
- fireside n.
- A place near the fire or hearth; home; domestic life or retirement.
- nook n.
- A narrow place formed by an angle in bodies or between bodies; a corner; a recess; a secluded retreat. [OE. nok; cf. Gael. & Ir. niuc.]
- scald v. t.
- To burn with hot liquid or steam; to pain or injure by contact with, or imersion in, any hot fluid; as, to scald the hand. [OF. eschalder, eschauder, escauder, F. échauder, fr. L. excaldare; ex + caldus, calidus, warm, hot. See Ex, and Calderon.]
- norwegian a.
- Of or pertaining to Norway, its inhabitants, or its language. [Cf. Icel. Noregr, Norvegr, Norway. See North, and Way.]
- olden a.
- Old; ancient; as, the olden time.
- disjointed a.
- Separated at the joints; disconnected; incoherent.
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-4.html, id L17652.
Form and metre
Interlude is 25 lines in 2 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 86%). 88% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.4 syllables. 2 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 36% 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 AABCDCBDEEFF toldA · oldA · bookB · tongueC · norrowayD · sungC · nookB · dayD · scaldE · calledE · thereinF · beginF
- 2 AABCCBDEEDDFF madeA · playedA · interludeB · tunesC · runesC · moodB · allD · rhymesE · timesE · wallD · fallD · interlaceF · placeF
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 |
|---|---|---|
| And then the blue-eyed Norseman told | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| A Saga of the days of old. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| “There is,” said he, “a wondrous book | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Of Legends in the old Norse tongue, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Of the dead kings of Norroway,— | 8 | ········ |
| Legends that once were told or sung | 8 | /˘······ |
| In many a smoky fireside nook | 10 | ·/˘·/˘/˘·· |
| Of Iceland, in the ancient day, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| By wandering Saga-man or Scald; | 9 | ·/˘˘/˘··· |
| Heimskringla is the volume called; | 9 | ·····/˘·˘ |
| And he who looks may find therein | 8 | ········ |
| The story that I now begin.” | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| And in each pause the story made | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Upon his violin he played, | 9 | ···˘˘/··˘ |
| As an appropriate interlude, | 9 | ··˘/˘·/˘· |
| Fragments of old Norwegian tunes | 8 | /˘···/˘· |
| That bound in one the separate runes, | 9 | ·····/˘·· |
| And held the mind in perfect mood, | 8 | ·····˘/· |
| Entwining and encircling all | 9 | ˘/˘·˘/˘˘· |
| The strange and antiquated rhymes | 8 | ···/˘·˘· |
| with melodies of olden times; | 8 | ·/˘˘·/˘· |
| As over some half-ruined wall, | 9 | ·····/˘˘· |
| Disjointed and about to fall, | 8 | ˘/˘····· |
| Fresh woodbines climb and interlace, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| And keep the loosened stones in place. | 9 | ···/˘˘··· |
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.