Seaweed
When descends on the AtlanticThe giganticStorm-wind of the equinox,Landward in his wrath he scourgesThe toiling surges,Laden with seaweed from the rocks:
From Bermuda's reefs; from edgesOf sunken ledges,In some far-off, bright Azore;From Bahama, and the dashing,Silver-flashingSurges of San Salvador;
From the tumbling surf, that buriesThe Orkneyan skerries,Answering the hoarse Hebrides;And from wrecks of ships, and driftingSpars, upliftingOn the desolate, rainy seas;--
Ever drifting, drifting, driftingOn the shiftingCurrents of the restless main;Till in sheltered coves, and reachesOf sandy beaches,All have found repose again.
So when storms of wild emotionStrike the oceanOf the poet's soul, erelongFrom each cave and rocky fastness,In its vastness,Floats some fragment of a song:
Front the far-off isles enchanted,Heaven has plantedWith the golden fruit of Truth;From the flashing surf, whose visionGleams ElysianIn the tropic clime of Youth;
From the strong Will, and the EndeavorThat foreverWrestle with the tides of FateFrom the wreck of Hopes far-scattered,Tempest-shattered,Floating waste and desolate;--
Ever drifting, drifting, driftingOn the shiftingCurrents of the restless heart;Till at length in books recorded,They, like hoardedHousehold words, no more depart.
Words in this poem
- landward adv.
- Toward the land.
- orkneyan a.
- Of or pertaining to the Orkney islands.
- erelong adv.
- Before the ere long.
- fastness n.
- The state of being fast and firm; firmness; fixedness; security; faithfulness. [AS. fæstnes, fr. fæst fast. See Fast, a.]
- enchanted a.
- Under the power of enchantment; possessed or exercised by enchanters; as, an enchanted castle.
- elysian a.
- Pertaining, or the abode of the blessed after death; hence, yielding the highest pleasures; exceedingly delightful; beatific. [L. Elysius, fr. Elysium.]
- clime n.
- A climate; a tract or region of the earth. See Climate. [L. clima. See Climate.]
- wrestle v. i.
- To contend, by grappling with, and striving to trip or throw down, an opponent; as, they wrestled skillfully. [OE. wrestlen, wrastlen, AS. wr, freq. of wr to wrest; akin to OD. wrastelen to wrestle. See Wrest, v. t.]
- depart v. i.
- To part; to divide; to separate. [OE. departen to divide, part, depart, F. départir to divide, distribute, se départir to separate one's self, depart; pref. dé- (L. de) + partir to part, depart,]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Seaweed 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, Seaweed, in The Complete Poetical Works (1839–1882), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #1365, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/longfellow-poems/seaweed.html, id L17559.
Form and metre
Seaweed is 48 lines in 8 stanzas of 6 lines each. The rhyme scheme is AABCCB, complete in 6 of its 8 stanzas. The metre is trochaic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 90%). 92% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 6.6 syllables. 33 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 48% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See 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 AABCCB atlanticA · giganticA · equinoxB · scourgesC · surgesC · rocksB
- 2 AABCCB edgesA · ledgesA · azoreB · dashingC · flashingC · salvadorB
- 3 AA-BBA buriesA · skerriesA · hebrides · driftingB · upliftingB · seasA
- 4 AABCCB driftingA · shiftingA · mainB · reachesC · beachesC · againB
- 5 AABCCB emotionA · oceanA · erelongB · fastnessC · vastnessC · songB
- 6 AAB--B enchantedA · plantedA · truthB · vision · elysian · youthB
- 7 AABCCB endeavorA · foreverA · fateB · scatteredC · shatteredC · desolateB
- 8 AABCCB driftingA · shiftingA · heartB · recordedC · hoardedC · departB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| When descends on the Atlantic | 8 | ·˘/··˘/˘ |
| The gigantic | 4 | ·˘/˘ |
| Storm-wind of the equinox, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Landward in his wrath he scourges | 8 | /˘····/˘ |
| The toiling surges, | 5 | ·/˘/˘ |
| Laden with seaweed from the rocks: | 8 | /˘·/···· |
| From Bermuda's reefs; from edges | 8 | ·˘/˘··/˘ |
| Of sunken ledges, | 5 | ·/˘/˘ |
| In some far-off, bright Azore; | 7 | ······· |
| From Bahama, and the dashing, | 8 | ·˘/˘··/˘ |
| Silver-flashing | 4 | /˘/˘ |
| Surges of San Salvador; | 7 | /˘··/˘· |
| From the tumbling surf, that buries | 9 | ··/˘˘··/˘ |
| The Orkneyan skerries, | 6 | ·/˘˘/˘ |
| Answering the hoarse Hebrides; | 8 | /˘˘··/˘˘ |
| And from wrecks of ships, and drifting | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Spars, uplifting | 4 | ·/·˘ |
| On the desolate, rainy seas;-- | 8 | ··/˘˘/˘· |
| Ever drifting, drifting, drifting | 8 | /˘/˘/˘/˘ |
| On the shifting | 4 | ··/˘ |
| Currents of the restless main; | 7 | /˘··/˘· |
| Till in sheltered coves, and reaches | 9 | ··/˘˘··/˘ |
| Of sandy beaches, | 5 | ·/˘/˘ |
| All have found repose again. | 7 | ···˘/˘/ |
| So when storms of wild emotion | 8 | ·····˘/˘ |
| Strike the ocean | 4 | ··/˘ |
| Of the poet's soul, erelong | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| From each cave and rocky fastness, | 8 | ····/˘/˘ |
| In its vastness, | 4 | ··/˘ |
| Floats some fragment of a song: | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Front the far-off isles enchanted, | 8 | ·····˘/˘ |
| Heaven has planted | 5 | /˘·/˘ |
| With the golden fruit of Truth; | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| From the flashing surf, whose vision | 8 | ··/˘··/˘ |
| Gleams Elysian | 4 | ·˘/˘ |
| In the tropic clime of Youth; | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| From the strong Will, and the Endeavor | 9 | ······˘/˘ |
| That forever | 4 | ·˘/˘ |
| Wrestle with the tides of Fate | 7 | /˘····· |
| From the wreck of Hopes far-scattered, | 9 | ······/˘˘ |
| Tempest-shattered, | 4 | /˘/˘ |
| Floating waste and desolate;-- | 7 | /˘··/˘· |
| Ever drifting, drifting, drifting | 8 | /˘/˘/˘/˘ |
| On the shifting | 4 | ··/˘ |
| Currents of the restless heart; | 7 | /˘··/˘· |
| Till at length in books recorded, | 8 | ·····˘/˘ |
| They, like hoarded | 4 | ··/˘ |
| Household words, no more depart. | 7 | /····˘/ |
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