Interlude
"What was the end? I am ashamedNot to remember Reynard's fate;I have not read the book of late;Was he not hanged?" the Poet said.The Student gravely shook his head,And answered: "You exaggerate.There was a tournament proclaimed,And Reynard fought with IsegrimThe Wolf, and having vanquished him,Rose to high honor in the State,And Keeper of the Seals was named!"
At this the gay Sicilian laughed:"Fight fire with fire, and craft with craft;Successful cunning seems to beThe moral of your tale," said he."Mine had a better, and the Jew'sHad none at all, that I could see;His aim was only to amuse."
Meanwhile from out its ebon caseHis violin the Minstrel drew,And having tuned its strings anew,Now held it close in his embrace,And poising in his outstretched handThe bow, like a magician's wand,He paused, and said, with beaming face:"Last night my story was too long;To-day I give you but a song,An old tradition of the North;But first, to put you in the mood,I will a little while prelude,And from this instrument draw forthSomething by way of overture."
He played; at first the tones were pureAnd tender as a summer night,The full moon climbing to her height,The sob and ripple of the seas,The flapping of an idle sail;And then by sudden and sharp degreesThe multiplied, wild harmoniesFreshened and burst into a gale;A tempest howling through the dark,A crash as of some shipwrecked bark.A loud and melancholy wail.
Such was the prelude to the taleTold by the Minstrel; and at timesHe paused amid its varying rhymes,And at each pause again broke inThe music of his violin,With tones of sweetness or of fear,Movements of trouble or of calm,Creating their own atmosphere;As sitting in a church we hearBetween the verses of the psalmThe organ playing soft and clear,Or thundering on the startled ear.
Words in this poem
- gravely adv.
- In a grave manner.
- shook v. t.
- To pack, as staves, in a shook.
- exaggerate v. t.
- To heap up; to accumulate. [L. exaggeratus , p. p. of exaggerare to heap up; ex out + aggerare to heap up, fr. agger heap, aggerere to bring to; ad to + gerere to bear. See Jest.]
- tournament n.
- A mock fight, or warlike game, formerly in great favor, in which a number of combatants were engaged, as an exhibition of their address and bravery; hence, figuratively, a real battle. [OE. turnement, tornement, OF. torneiement, tornoiement, F. tournoiement a turning or wheeling round. See Tourney.]
- reynard n.
- An appelation applied after the manner of a proper name to the fox. Same as Renard.
- 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.
- craft n.
- Strength; might; secret power. [AS. cr strength, skill, art, cunning; akin to OS., G., Sw., & Dan. kraft strength, D. kracht, Icel. kraptr; perh. originally, a drawing together, stretching, fr]
- amuse v. t.
- To occupy or engage the attention of; to lose in deep thought; to absorb; also, to distract; to bewilder. [F. amuser to make stay, to detain, to amuse, ad) + OF. muser. See Muse, v.]
- meanwhile n.
- The intervening time; as, in the meantime (or mean time).
- ebon a.
- Consisting of ebony.
- overture
- An opening or aperture; a recess; a recess; a chamber. [OF. overture, F. ouverture, fr. OF. ovrir, F. ouvrir. See Overt.]
- amid prep.
- In the midst or middle of; surrounded or encompassed by; among. [OE. amidde, amiddes, on midden, AS. on middan, in the middle, fr. midde the middle. The s is an adverbial ending, originally marking the genitive; the t is a la]
- broke v. i.
- To transact business for another. Brome. [See Broker, and cf. Brook.]
- thundering a.
- Emitting thunder.
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-5.html, id L17680.
Form and metre
Interlude is 55 lines in 5 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 88%). 86% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.4 syllables. 6 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 27% 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 ABBCCBA--BA ashamedA · fateB · lateB · saidC · headC · exaggerateB · proclaimedA · isegrim · him · stateB · namedA
- 2 AABBCBC laughedA · craftA · beB · heB · jew'sC · seeB · amuseC
- 3 ABBA--ACCDEED- caseA · drewB · anewB · embraceA · hand · wand · faceA · longC · songC · northD · moodE · preludeE · forthD · overture
- 4 -AABCBBCDDC pure · nightA · heightA · seasB · sailC · degreesB · harmoniesB · galeC · darkD · barkD · wailC
- 5 -AABBCDCCDCC tale · timesA · rhymesA · inB · violinB · fearC · calmD · atmosphereC · hearC · psalmD · clearC · earC
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 |
|---|---|---|
| "What was the end? I am ashamed | 9 | ······˘/˘ |
| Not to remember Reynard's fate; | 8 | ··˘/˘/˘· |
| I have not read the book of late; | 8 | ········ |
| Was he not hanged?" the Poet said. | 9 | ····˘·/˘· |
| The Student gravely shook his head, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| And answered: "You exaggerate. | 9 | ·/˘˘·˘/˘· |
| There was a tournament proclaimed, | 9 | ···/˘˘˘/˘ |
| And Reynard fought with Isegrim | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| The Wolf, and having vanquished him, | 9 | ···/˘/˘˘· |
| Rose to high honor in the State, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And Keeper of the Seals was named!" | 9 | ·/˘·····˘ |
| At this the gay Sicilian laughed: | 10 | ····˘/˘˘·˘ |
| "Fight fire with fire, and craft with craft; | 10 | ·/˘·/˘···· |
| Successful cunning seems to be | 8 | ˘/˘/˘··· |
| The moral of your tale," said he. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| "Mine had a better, and the Jew's | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Had none at all, that I could see; | 8 | ········ |
| His aim was only to amuse." | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| Meanwhile from out its ebon case | 8 | /····/˘· |
| His violin the Minstrel drew, | 8 | ·˘˘/·/˘· |
| And having tuned its strings anew, | 9 | ·/˘·˘··˘/ |
| Now held it close in his embrace, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| And poising in his outstretched hand | 9 | ·/˘··˘/˘· |
| The bow, like a magician's wand, | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| He paused, and said, with beaming face: | 9 | ··˘···/˘· |
| "Last night my story was too long; | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| To-day I give you but a song, | 8 | ········ |
| An old tradition of the North; | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| But first, to put you in the mood, | 8 | ········ |
| I will a little while prelude, | 8 | ···/˘·/· |
| And from this instrument draw forth | 8 | ···/˘˘·· |
| Something by way of overture." | 8 | /˘···/˘˘ |
| He played; at first the tones were pure | 9 | ··˘······ |
| And tender as a summer night, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| The full moon climbing to her height, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| The sob and ripple of the seas, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| The flapping of an idle sail; | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| And then by sudden and sharp degrees | 9 | ···/˘··˘/ |
| The multiplied, wild harmonies | 8 | ·/˘··/˘˘ |
| Freshened and burst into a gale; | 9 | /˘˘······ |
| A tempest howling through the dark, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| A crash as of some shipwrecked bark. | 9 | ·····/˘˘· |
| A loud and melancholy wail. | 8 | ···/˘·˘· |
| Such was the prelude to the tale | 8 | ···/···· |
| Told by the Minstrel; and at times | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| He paused amid its varying rhymes, | 10 | ··˘˘/·/˘˘· |
| And at each pause again broke in | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| The music of his violin, | 8 | ·/˘··˘˘/ |
| With tones of sweetness or of fear, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Movements of trouble or of calm, | 8 | /˘·/˘··· |
| Creating their own atmosphere; | 8 | ˘/˘··/˘· |
| As sitting in a church we hear | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Between the verses of the psalm | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| The organ playing soft and clear, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| Or thundering on the startled ear. | 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.