Nuremberg
In the valley of the Pegnitz, where across broad meadow-landsRise the blue Franconian mountains, Nuremberg, the ancient, stands.
Quaint old town of toil and traffic, quaint old town of art and song,Memories haunt thy pointed gables, like the rooks that round them throng:
Memories of the Middle Ages, when the emperors, rough and bold,Had their dwelling in thy castle, time-defying, centuries old;
And thy brave and thrifty burghers boasted, in their uncouth rhyme,That their great imperial city stretched its hand through every clime.
In the court-yard of the castle, bound with many an iron hand,Stands the mighty linden planted by Queen Cunigunde's hand;
On the square the oriel window, where in old heroic daysSat the poet Melchior singing Kaiser Maximilian's praise.
Everywhere I see around me rise the wondrous world of Art:Fountains wrought with richest sculpture standing in the common mart;
And above cathedral doorways saints and bishops carved in stone,By a former age commissioned as apostles to our own.
In the church of sainted Sebald sleeps enshrined his holy dust,And in bronze the Twelve Apostles guard from age to age their trust;
In the church of sainted Lawrence stands a pix of sculpture rare,Like the foamy sheaf of fountains, rising through the painted air.
Here, when Art was still religion, with a simple, reverent heart,Lived and labored Albrecht Durer, the Evangelist of Art;
Hence in silence and in sorrow, toiling still with busy hand,Like an emigrant he wandered, seeking for the Better Land.
Emigravit is the inscription on the tombstone where he lies;Dead he is not, but departed,--for the artist never dies.
Fairer seems the ancient city, and the sunshine seems more fair,That he once has trod its pavement, that he once has breathed its air!
Through these streets so broad and stately, these obscure and dismal lanes,Walked of yore the Mastersingers, chanting rude poetic strains.
From remote and sunless suburbs came they to the friendly guild,Building nests in Fame's great temple, as in spouts the swallows build.
As the weaver plied the shuttle, wove he too the mystic rhyme,And the smith his iron measures hammered to the anvil's chime;
Thanking God, whose boundless wisdom makes the flowers of poesy bloomIn the forge's dust and cinders, in the tissues of the loom.
Here Hans Sachs, the cobbler-poet, laureate of the gentle craft,Wisest of the Twelve Wise Masters, in huge folios sang and laughed.
But his house is now an ale-house, with a nicely sanded floor,And a garland in the window, and his face above the door;
Painted by some humble artist, as in Adam Puschman's song,As the old man gray and dove-like, with his great beard white and long.
And at night the swart mechanic comes to drown his cark and care,Quaffing ale from pewter tankard; in the master's antique chair.
Vanished is the ancient splendor, and before my dreamy eyeWave these mingled shapes and figures, like a faded tapestry.
Not thy Councils, not thy Kaisers, win for thee the world's regard;But thy painter, Albrecht Durer, and Hans Sachs thy cobbler-bard.
Thus, O Nuremberg, a wanderer from a region far away,As he paced thy streets and court-yards, sang in thought his careless lay:
Gathering from the pavement's crevice, as a floweret of the soil,The nobility of labor,--the long pedigree of toil.
Dans les moments de la vie ou la reflexion devient plus calmeet plus profonde, ou l'interet et l'avarice parlent moins hautque la raison, dans les instants de chagrin domestique, demaladie, et de peril de mort, les nobles se repentirent deposseder des serfs, comme d'une chose peu agreable a Dieu, quiavait cree tous les hommes a son image.--THIERRY, Conquete del'Angleterre.
In his chamber, weak and dying,Was the Norman baron lying;Loud, without, the tempest thunderedAnd the castle-turret shook,
In this fight was Death the gainer,Spite of vassal and retainer,And the lands his sires had plundered,Written in the Doomsday Book.
By his bed a monk was seated,Who in humble voice repeatedMany a prayer and pater-noster,From the missal on his knee;
And, amid the tempest pealing,Sounds of bells came faintly stealing,Bells, that from the neighboring klosterRang for the Nativity.
In the hall, the serf and vassalHeld, that night their Christmas wassail;Many a carol, old and saintly,Sang the minstrels and the waits;
And so loud these Saxon gleemenSang to slaves the songs of freemen,That the storm was heard but faintly,Knocking at the castle-gates.
Till at length the lays they chantedReached the chamber terror-haunted,Where the monk, with accents holy,Whispered at the baron's ear.
Tears upon his eyelids glistened,As he paused awhile and listened,And the dying baron slowlyTurned his weary head to hear.
"Wassail for the kingly strangerBorn and cradled in a manger!King, like David, priest, like Aaron,Christ is born to set us free!"
And the lightning showed the saintedFigures on the casement painted,And exclaimed the shuddering baron,"Miserere, Domine!"
In that hour of deep contritionHe beheld, with clearer vision,Through all outward show and fashion,Justice, the Avenger, rise.
All the pomp of earth had vanished,Falsehood and deceit were banished,Reason spake more loud than passion,And the truth wore no disguise.
Every vassal of his banner,Every serf born to his manor,All those wronged and wretched creatures,By his hand were freed again.
And, as on the sacred missalHe recorded their dismissal,Death relaxed his iron features,And the monk replied, "Amen!"
Many centuries have been numberedSince in death the baron slumberedBy the convent's sculptured portal,Mingling with the common dust:
But the good deed, through the agesLiving in historic pages,Brighter grows and gleams immortal,Unconsumed by moth or rust
Words in this poem 46
- quaint a.
- Prudent; wise; hence, crafty; artful; wily. [OE. queint, queynte, coint, prudent, wise, cunning, pretty, odd, OF. cointe cultivated, amiable, agreeable, neat, fr. L. cognitus known, p. p. of cognoscere to ]
- clime n.
- A climate; a tract or region of the earth. See Climate. [L. clima. See Climate.]
- oriel n.
- A gallery for minstrels. W. Hamper. [OF. oriol gallery, corridor, LL. oriolum portico, hall, prob. fr. L. aureolus gilded, applied to an apartment decorated with gilding. See Oriole.]
- kaiser n.
- The ancient title of emperors of Germany assumed by King William of Prussia when crowned sovereign of the new German empire in 1871. [Gr., fr. L. Caesar. Cf. Kesar, and Czar.]
- wondrous adv.
- In a wonderful or surprising manner or degree; wonderfully. [OE. wonders, adv. (later also adj.). See Wonder, n., and cf. -wards.]
- mart v. t.
- To buy or sell in, or as in, a mart.
- sainted a.
- Consecrated; sacred; holy; pious.
- evangelist n.
- A bringer of the glad tidings of Church and his doctrines.
- emigrant a.
- Removing from one country to another; emigrating; as, an emigrant company or nation. [L. emigrans, -antis, p. pr. of emigrare to emigrate: cf. F. émigrant. See Emigrate, v. i.]
- tombstone n.
- A stone erected over a grave, to preserve the memory of the deceased.
- artist n.
- One who practices some mechanic art or craft; an artisan. [F. artiste, LL. artista, fr. L. ars. See Art, n., and cf. Artiste.]
- sunshine n.
- The light of the sun, or the place where it shines; the direct rays of the sun, the place where they fall, or the warmth and light which they give.
- dismal a.
- Fatal; ill-omened; unlucky. [Formerly a noun; e. g., "I trow it was in the dismalle." Chaucer. Of uncertain origin; but perh. (as suggested by Skeat) from OF. disme, F. dîme, tithe, the phr]
- yore adv.
- In time long past; in old time; long since. [OE. , yare, , AS. geára;akin to geár a year, E. year. Year.]
- sunless a.
- Destitute or deprived of the sun or its rays; shaded; shadowed.
- wove
- p. pr. & rare vb. n. of Weave.
- 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.]
- poesy n.
- The art of composing poems; poetical skill or faculty; as, the heavenly gift of poesy. [F. poésie (cf. It. poesia), L. poesis, from Gr. Posy.]
- laureate a.
- Crowned, or decked, with laurel. [L. laureatus, fr. laurea laurel tree, fr. laureus of laurel, fr. laurus laurel: cf. F. lauréat. Cf. Laurel.]
- 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]
- sanded a.
- Covered or sprinkled with sand; sandy; barren. Thomson.
- cark n.
- A noxious or corroding care; solicitude; worry. [OE. cark, fr. a dialectic form of F. charge; cf. W. carc anxiety, care, Arm karg charge, burden. See Charge, and cf. Cargo.]
- pewter n.
- A hard, tough, but easily fusible, alloy, originally consisting of tin with a little lead, but afterwards modified by the addition of copper, antimony, or bismuth. [OE. pewtyr, OF. peutre, peautre, piautre: cf. D. peauter, piauter, It. peltro, Sp. & Pg. peltre, LL. peutreum, pestrum. Cf. Spelter.]
- tankard n.
- A large drinking vessel, especially one with a cover. [OF. tanquart; cf. OD. tanckaert; of uncertain origin.]
- dreamy a.
- Abounding in dreams or given to dreaming; appropriate to, or like, dreams; visionary.
- floweret n.
- A small flower; a floret.
- pedigree n.
- A line of ancestors; descent; lineage; genealogy; a register or record of a line of ancestors. [Of unknown origin; possibly fr. F. par degrés by degrees, -- for a pedigree is properly a genealogical table which records the relationship of families by degre]
- chagrin n.
- Vexation; mortification. [F., fr. chagrin shagreen, a particular kind of rough and grained leather; also a rough fishskin used for graters and files; hence (Fig.), a gnawing, corroding g]
- mort n.
- A great quantity or number. [Cf. Icel. margt, neut. of margr many.]
- shook v. t.
- To pack, as staves, in a shook.
- doomsday n.
- A day of sentence or condemnation; day of death. [AS. d. See Doom, and Day.]
- missal n.
- The book containing the service of the Mass for the entire year; a Mass book. [LL. missale, liber missalis, from missa mass: cf. F. missel. See 1st Mass.]
- 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]
- carol v. t.
- To praise or celebrate in song.
- saintly a.
- Like a saint; becoming a holy person.
- haunted a.
- Inhabited by, or subject to the visits of, apparitions; frequented by a ghost.
- awhile adv.
- For a while; for some time; for a short time. [Adj. a + while time, interval.]
- manger n.
- A trough or open box in which fodder is placed for horses or cattle to eat. [F. mangeoire, fr. manger to eat, fr. L. manducare, fr. mandere to chew. Cf. Mandible, Manducate.]
- casement n.
- A window sash opening on hinges affixed to the upright side of the frame into which it is fitted. (Poetically) A window. [Shortened fr. encasement. See Incase 1st Case, and cf. Incasement.]
- miserere n.
- The psalm usually appointed for penitential acts, being the 50th psalm in the Latin version. It commences with the word miserere. [L., have mercy, fr. misereri to have mercy, fr. miser. See Miser.]
- domine n.
- A name given to a pastor of the Reformed Church. The word is also applied locally in the United States, in colloquial speech, to any clergyman. [See Dominie.]
- contrition n.
- The act of grinding or ribbing to powder; attrition; friction; rubbing. [F. contrition, L. contritio.]
- clearer n.
- One who, or that which, clears.
- dismissal n.
- Dismission; discharge.
- amen interj.
- An expression used at the end of prayers, and meaning, So be it. At the end of a creed, it is a solemn asseveration of belief. [L. amen, Gr. am certainly, truly.]
- historic a.
- Of or pertaining to history, or the record of past events; as, an historical poem; the historic page. [L. historicus, Gr. historique. See History.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Nuremberg 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, Nuremberg, in The Complete Poetical Works (1839–1882), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #1365, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/longfellow-poems/nuremberg.html, id L17528.
Form and metre
Nuremberg is 123 lines in 43 verse paragraphs. It is in rhyming couplets, 60% of the lines. The metre is trochaic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 88%). 90% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 11.3 syllables. 49 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 20% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in rhyming couplets, other poems in trochaic 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 landsA · standsA
- 2 BB songB · throngB
- 3 CC boldC · oldC
- 4 DD rhymeD · climeD
- 6 EE daysE · praiseE
- 7 FF artF · martF
- 8 GG stoneG · ownG
- 9 HH dustH · trustH
- 10 II rareI · airI
- 11 JJ heartJ · artJ
- 12 KK handK · landK
- 13 LL liesL · diesL
- 14 MM fairM · airM
- 15 NN lanesN · strainsN
- 16 OO guildO · buildO
- 17 PP rhymeP · chimeP
- 18 QQ bloomQ · loomQ
- 19 RR craftR · laughedR
- 20 SS floorS · doorS
- 21 TT songT · longT
- 22 UU careU · chairU
- 24 VV regardV · bardV
- 25 WW awayW · layW
- 26 XX soilX · toilX
- 27 --YYYY- calme · haut · deY · deY · quiY · deY · l'angleterre
- 28 ZZab dyingZ · lyingZ · thundereda · shookb
- 29 ccab gainerc · retainerc · plundereda · bookb
- 31 dd-- pealingd · stealingd · kloster · nativity
- 32 --ef vassal · wassail · saintlye · waitsf
- 33 ggef gleemeng · freemeng · faintlye · gatesf
- 34 --hi chanted · haunted · holyh · eari
- 35 jjhi glistenedj · listenedj · slowlyh · heari
- 36 kk-- strangerk · mangerk · aaron · free
- 38 --lm contrition · vision · fashionl · risem
- 39 nnlm vanishedn · banishedn · passionl · disguisem
- 40 oopq bannero · manoro · creaturesp · againq
- 41 rrpq missalr · dismissalr · featuresp · amenq
- 42 sstu numbereds · slumbereds · portalt · dustu
- 43 vvtu agesv · pagesv · immortalt · rustu
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 trochaic tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| In the valley of the Pegnitz, where across broad meadow-lands | 15 | ··/˘·····˘/·/·· |
| Rise the blue Franconian mountains, Nuremberg, the ancient, stands. | 14 | ······/˘/˘·/˘· |
| Quaint old town of toil and traffic, quaint old town of art and song, | 15 | ······/˘······· |
| Memories haunt thy pointed gables, like the rooks that round them throng: | 15 | /˘··/˘/˘······· |
| Memories of the Middle Ages, when the emperors, rough and bold, | 15 | /˘··/˘/˘··/˘··· |
| Had their dwelling in thy castle, time-defying, centuries old; | 15 | ··/˘··/˘·˘/˘/˘· |
| And thy brave and thrifty burghers boasted, in their uncouth rhyme, | 15 | ····/˘/˘/˘··//· |
| That their great imperial city stretched its hand through every clime. | 15 | ···˘/˘/˘····/˘· |
| In the court-yard of the castle, bound with many an iron hand, | 14 | ······/˘··/·/· |
| Stands the mighty linden planted by Queen Cunigunde's hand; | 14 | ··/˘/˘/˘······ |
| On the square the oriel window, where in old heroic days | 16 | ····/˘˘/˘···˘/˘· |
| Sat the poet Melchior singing Kaiser Maximilian's praise. | 15 | ··/˘˘/˘/˘/·˘/˘· |
| Everywhere I see around me rise the wondrous world of Art: | 15 | /˘········/˘··· |
| Fountains wrought with richest sculpture standing in the common mart; | 15 | /˘··/˘/˘/˘··/˘· |
| And above cathedral doorways saints and bishops carved in stone, | 15 | ···˘/˘/···/˘··· |
| By a former age commissioned as apostles to our own. | 15 | ··/˘·˘/˘·˘/˘·/· |
| In the church of sainted Sebald sleeps enshrined his holy dust, | 15 | ····/˘/˘·˘/·/˘· |
| And in bronze the Twelve Apostles guard from age to age their trust; | 15 | ·····˘/˘······· |
| In the church of sainted Lawrence stands a pix of sculpture rare, | 15 | ····/˘/˘····/˘· |
| Like the foamy sheaf of fountains, rising through the painted air. | 15 | ··/˘··/˘/˘··/˘· |
| Here, when Art was still religion, with a simple, reverent heart, | 15 | ·····˘/˘··/˘/˘· |
| Lived and labored Albrecht Durer, the Evangelist of Art; | 14 | ··/˘/·/˘·˘/˘·· |
| Hence in silence and in sorrow, toiling still with busy hand, | 15 | ··/˘··/˘/˘··/˘· |
| Like an emigrant he wandered, seeking for the Better Land. | 14 | ··/˘·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| Emigravit is the inscription on the tombstone where he lies; | 16 | ······˘/˘··/···· |
| Dead he is not, but departed,--for the artist never dies. | 14 | ·····˘/˘··/˘/· |
| Fairer seems the ancient city, and the sunshine seems more fair, | 15 | /˘··/˘/˘··/···· |
| That he once has trod its pavement, that he once has breathed its air! | 15 | ······/˘······· |
| Through these streets so broad and stately, these obscure and dismal lanes, | 15 | ······/˘·˘/·/˘· |
| Walked of yore the Mastersingers, chanting rude poetic strains. | 15 | ········/˘·˘/˘· |
| From remote and sunless suburbs came they to the friendly guild, | 15 | ·˘/·/˘/˘····/˘· |
| Building nests in Fame's great temple, as in spouts the swallows build. | 15 | /˘····/˘····/˘· |
| As the weaver plied the shuttle, wove he too the mystic rhyme, | 15 | ··/˘··/˘····/˘· |
| And the smith his iron measures hammered to the anvil's chime; | 14 | ····//˘/˘··/˘· |
| Thanking God, whose boundless wisdom makes the flowers of poesy bloom | 16 | /˘··/˘/˘··/·/˘˘· |
| In the forge's dust and cinders, in the tissues of the loom. | 15 | ··/˘··/˘··/···· |
| Here Hans Sachs, the cobbler-poet, laureate of the gentle craft, | 15 | ····/˘/˘/˘··/˘· |
| Wisest of the Twelve Wise Masters, in huge folios sang and laughed. | 15 | /˘····/˘······· |
| But his house is now an ale-house, with a nicely sanded floor, | 15 | ··········/˘/˘· |
| And a garland in the window, and his face above the door; | 15 | ··/˘··/˘······· |
| Painted by some humble artist, as in Adam Puschman's song, | 15 | /˘··/˘/˘··/˘··· |
| As the old man gray and dove-like, with his great beard white and long. | 15 | ··············· |
| And at night the swart mechanic comes to drown his cark and care, | 15 | ·····˘/˘······· |
| Quaffing ale from pewter tankard; in the master's antique chair. | 15 | ····/˘/˘··/˘˘/· |
| Vanished is the ancient splendor, and before my dreamy eye | 15 | /˘··/˘/˘····/˘· |
| Wave these mingled shapes and figures, like a faded tapestry. | 14 | ··/˘··/˘··/˘/˘ |
| Not thy Councils, not thy Kaisers, win for thee the world's regard; | 14 | ··/˘··/·····˘/ |
| But thy painter, Albrecht Durer, and Hans Sachs thy cobbler-bard. | 15 | ··/˘/·/˘····/˘· |
| Thus, O Nuremberg, a wanderer from a region far away, | 14 | ··/˘·/˘··/˘·˘/ |
| As he paced thy streets and court-yards, sang in thought his careless lay: | 15 | ············/˘· |
| Gathering from the pavement's crevice, as a floweret of the soil, | 16 | /˘··/˘/˘··/˘˘··· |
| The nobility of labor,--the long pedigree of toil. | 13 | ·˘/˘·/˘··/˘·· |
| Dans les moments de la vie ou la reflexion devient plus calme | 16 | ··/˘·····˘/˘···· |
| et plus profonde, ou l'interet et l'avarice parlent moins haut | 16 | ················ |
| que la raison, dans les instants de chagrin domestique, de | 15 | ··/˘··/˘·˘/···· |
| maladie, et de peril de mort, les nobles se repentirent de | 19 | ·····/˘···/˘·/····· |
| posseder des serfs, comme d'une chose peu agreable a Dieu, qui | 15 | ··············· |
| avait cree tous les hommes a son image.--THIERRY, Conquete de | 15 | ········/˘˘/··· |
| l'Angleterre. | 3 | ··· |
| In his chamber, weak and dying, | 8 | ··/˘··/˘ |
| Was the Norman baron lying; | 8 | ··/˘/˘/˘ |
| Loud, without, the tempest thundered | 8 | ····/˘/˘ |
| And the castle-turret shook, | 7 | ··/˘/˘· |
| In this fight was Death the gainer, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Spite of vassal and retainer, | 8 | ··/˘·˘/˘ |
| And the lands his sires had plundered, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Written in the Doomsday Book. | 7 | /˘··/·· |
| By his bed a monk was seated, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Who in humble voice repeated | 8 | ··/˘·˘/˘ |
| Many a prayer and pater-noster, | 8 | /···/˘·· |
| From the missal on his knee; | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| And, amid the tempest pealing, | 8 | ·˘/·/˘/˘ |
| Sounds of bells came faintly stealing, | 8 | ····/˘/˘ |
| Bells, that from the neighboring kloster | 9 | ····/˘˘/˘ |
| Rang for the Nativity. | 7 | ···˘/˘˘ |
| In the hall, the serf and vassal | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Held, that night their Christmas wassail; | 8 | ····/˘/˘ |
| Many a carol, old and saintly, | 9 | /˘·/˘··/˘ |
| Sang the minstrels and the waits; | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| And so loud these Saxon gleemen | 8 | ····/˘·· |
| Sang to slaves the songs of freemen, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| That the storm was heard but faintly, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Knocking at the castle-gates. | 7 | /˘··/˘· |
| Till at length the lays they chanted | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Reached the chamber terror-haunted, | 8 | ··/˘/˘/˘ |
| Where the monk, with accents holy, | 8 | ····/˘/˘ |
| Whispered at the baron's ear. | 8 | /˘˘··/˘· |
| Tears upon his eyelids glistened, | 8 | ····/·/˘ |
| As he paused awhile and listened, | 8 | ···˘/·/˘ |
| And the dying baron slowly | 8 | ··/˘/˘/˘ |
| Turned his weary head to hear. | 8 | ·˘·/˘··· |
| "Wassail for the kingly stranger | 8 | /˘··/˘/˘ |
| Born and cradled in a manger! | 8 | ··/˘··/˘ |
| King, like David, priest, like Aaron, | 8 | ··/˘··/˘ |
| Christ is born to set us free!" | 7 | ······· |
| And the lightning showed the sainted | 8 | ··/˘··/˘ |
| Figures on the casement painted, | 8 | /˘··/˘/˘ |
| And exclaimed the shuddering baron, | 9 | ·˘/·/˘˘/˘ |
| "Miserere, Domine!" | 6 | ···˘/˘ |
| In that hour of deep contrition | 9 | ··/˘··˘/˘ |
| He beheld, with clearer vision, | 8 | ·˘/·/˘/˘ |
| Through all outward show and fashion, | 8 | ··/˘··/˘ |
| Justice, the Avenger, rise. | 7 | /˘·˘/˘· |
| All the pomp of earth had vanished, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Falsehood and deceit were banished, | 8 | /··˘/·/˘ |
| Reason spake more loud than passion, | 8 | /˘····/˘ |
| And the truth wore no disguise. | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| Every vassal of his banner, | 9 | /˘˘/˘··/˘ |
| Every serf born to his manor, | 9 | /˘˘····/˘ |
| All those wronged and wretched creatures, | 8 | ····/˘/˘ |
| By his hand were freed again. | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| And, as on the sacred missal | 8 | ····/˘/˘ |
| He recorded their dismissal, | 8 | ·˘/˘·˘/˘ |
| Death relaxed his iron features, | 8 | ·˘/·/˘/˘ |
| And the monk replied, "Amen!" | 7 | ···˘/˘/ |
| Many centuries have been numbered | 9 | /˘/˘˘··/˘ |
| Since in death the baron slumbered | 8 | ····/˘/˘ |
| By the convent's sculptured portal, | 8 | ··/˘/˘/˘ |
| Mingling with the common dust: | 8 | /˘˘··/˘· |
| But the good deed, through the ages | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Living in historic pages, | 8 | /˘·˘/˘/˘ |
| Brighter grows and gleams immortal, | 8 | /˘···˘/˘ |
| Unconsumed by moth or rust | 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.