The Building of the Long Serpent
Thorberg Skafting, master-builder,In his ship-yard by the sea,Whistling, said, "It would bewilderAny man but Thorberg Skafting,Any man but me!"
Near him lay the Dragon stranded,Built of old by Raud the Strong,And King Olaf had commandedHe should build another Dragon,Twice as large and long.
Therefore whistled Thorberg Skafting,As he sat with half-closed eyes,And his head turned sideways, draftingThat new vessel for King OlafTwice the Dragon's size.
Round him busily hewed and hammeredMallet huge and heavy axe;Workmen laughed and sang and clamored;Whirred the wheels, that into riggingSpun the shining flax!
All this tumult heard the master,--It was music to his ear;Fancy whispered all the faster,"Men shall hear of Thorberg SkaftingFor a hundred year!"
Workmen sweating at the forgesFashioned iron bolt and bar,Like a warlock's midnight orgiesSmoked and bubbled the black caldronWith the boiling tar.
Did the warlocks mingle in it,Thorberg Skafting, any curse?Could you not be gone a minuteBut some mischief must be doing,Turning bad to worse?
'T was an ill wind that came wafting,From his homestead words of woeTo his farm went Thorberg Skafting,Oft repeating to his workmen,Build ye thus and so.
After long delays returningCame the master back by nightTo his ship-yard longing, yearning,Hurried he, and did not leave itTill the morning's light.
"Come and see my ship, my darling"On the morrow said the King;"Finished now from keel to carling;Never yet was seen in NorwaySuch a wondrous thing!"
In the ship-yard, idly talking,At the ship the workmen stared:Some one, all their labor balking,Down her sides had cut deep gashes,Not a plank was spared!
"Death be to the evil-doer!"With an oath King Olaf spoke;"But rewards to his pursuerAnd with wrath his face grew redderThan his scarlet cloak.
Straight the master-builder, smiling,Answered thus the angry King:"Cease blaspheming and reviling,Olaf, it was Thorberg SkaftingWho has done this thing!"
Then he chipped and smoothed the planking,Till the King, delighted, swore,With much lauding and much thanking,"Handsomer is now my DragonThan she was before!"
Seventy ells and four extendedOn the grass the vessel's keel;High above it, gilt and splendid,Rose the figure-head ferociousWith its crest of steel.
Then they launched her from the tressels,In the ship-yard by the sea;She was the grandest of all vessels,Never ship was built in NorwayHalf so fine as she!
The Long Serpent was she christened,'Mid the roar of cheer on cheer!They who to the Saga listenedHeard the name of Thorberg SkaftingFor a hundred year!
Words in this poem
- busily adv.
- In a busy manner.
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
- caldron n.
- A large kettle or boiler of copper, brass, or iron. [OE. caldron, caudron, caudroun, OF. caudron, chauderon, F. chaudron, an aug. of F. chaudière, LL. caldaria, fr. L. caldarius suitable for warming, fr. caldus, c]
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- carling n.
- A short timber running lengthwise of a ship, from one transverse desk beam to another; also, one of the cross timbers that strengthen a hath; -- usually in pl. [Cf. F. carlingur, Sp. Pg., & It. carlinga.]
- wondrous adv.
- In a wonderful or surprising manner or degree; wonderfully. [OE. wonders, adv. (later also adj.). See Wonder, n., and cf. -wards.]
- spoke n.
- The radius or ray of a wheel; one of the small bars which are inserted in the hub, or nave, and which serve to support the rim or felly. [OE. spoke, spake, AS, spaca; akin to D. speek, LG. speke, OHG. speihha, G. speiche. sq. root170. Cf. Spike a nail.]
- angry a.
- Troublesome; vexatious; rigorous. [See Anger.]
- reviling n.
- Reproach; abuse; vilification.
- planking n.
- The act of laying planks; also, planks, collectively; a series of planks in place, as the wooden covering of the frame of a vessel.
- delighted a.
- Endowed with delight.
- 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.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Building of the Long Serpent 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, The Building of the Long Serpent, in A Psalm of Life, and Other Poems (1839–1882), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #1365, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/longfellow-poems/the-building-of-the-long-serpent.html, id L17665.
Form and metre
The Building of the Long Serpent is 85 lines in 17 stanzas of 5 lines each. The metre is trochaic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 92%). 96% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.4 syllables. 40 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 29% 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 ABA-B builderA · seaB · bewilderA · skafting · meB
- 2 ABA-B strandedA · strongB · commandedA · dragon · longB
- 3 ABA-B skaftingA · eyesB · draftingA · olaf · sizeB
- 4 ABA-B hammeredA · axeB · clamoredA · rigging · flaxB
- 5 ABA-B masterA · earB · fasterA · skafting · yearB
- 6 -A--A forges · barA · orgies · caldron · tarA
- 7 ABA-B itA · curseB · minuteA · doing · worseB
- 8 ABA-B waftingA · woeB · skaftingA · workmen · soB
- 9 ABA-B returningA · nightB · yearningA · it · lightB
- 10 ABA-B darlingA · kingB · carlingA · norway · thingB
- 11 ABA-B talkingA · staredB · balkingA · gashes · sparedB
- 12 -A--A doer · spokeA · pursuer · redder · cloakA
- 13 ABAAB smilingA · kingB · revilingA · skaftingA · thingB
- 14 ABA-B plankingA · sworeB · thankingA · dragon · beforeB
- 15 ABA-B extendedA · keelB · splendidA · ferocious · steelB
- 16 ABA-B tresselsA · seaB · vesselsA · norway · sheB
- 17 ABA-B christenedA · cheerB · listenedA · skafting · yearB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Thorberg Skafting, master-builder, | 8 | ····/˘/˘ |
| In his ship-yard by the sea, | 7 | ······· |
| Whistling, said, "It would bewilder | 8 | /˘···˘/˘ |
| Any man but Thorberg Skafting, | 8 | /˘······ |
| Any man but me!" | 5 | /˘··· |
| Near him lay the Dragon stranded, | 8 | ····/˘/˘ |
| Built of old by Raud the Strong, | 7 | ······· |
| And King Olaf had commanded | 8 | ··/˘·˘/˘ |
| He should build another Dragon, | 8 | ···˘/˘/˘ |
| Twice as large and long. | 5 | ····· |
| Therefore whistled Thorberg Skafting, | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| As he sat with half-closed eyes, | 8 | ······˘· |
| And his head turned sideways, drafting | 8 | ····/·/˘ |
| That new vessel for King Olaf | 8 | ··/˘··/˘ |
| Twice the Dragon's size. | 5 | ··/˘· |
| Round him busily hewed and hammered | 9 | ··/˘˘··/˘ |
| Mallet huge and heavy axe; | 7 | /˘··/˘· |
| Workmen laughed and sang and clamored; | 8 | /˘····/˘ |
| Whirred the wheels, that into rigging | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Spun the shining flax! | 5 | ··/˘· |
| All this tumult heard the master,-- | 8 | ··/˘··/˘ |
| It was music to his ear; | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Fancy whispered all the faster, | 8 | /˘/˘··/˘ |
| "Men shall hear of Thorberg Skafting | 8 | ········ |
| For a hundred year!" | 5 | ··/˘· |
| Workmen sweating at the forges | 8 | /˘/˘··/˘ |
| Fashioned iron bolt and bar, | 8 | /˘˘/˘··· |
| Like a warlock's midnight orgies | 8 | ····/·/˘ |
| Smoked and bubbled the black caldron | 8 | ··/˘··/˘ |
| With the boiling tar. | 5 | ··/˘· |
| Did the warlocks mingle in it, | 8 | ····/˘·· |
| Thorberg Skafting, any curse? | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Could you not be gone a minute | 8 | ······/˘ |
| But some mischief must be doing, | 8 | ··/˘··/˘ |
| Turning bad to worse? | 5 | /˘··· |
| 'T was an ill wind that came wafting, | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| From his homestead words of woe | 7 | ··/···· |
| To his farm went Thorberg Skafting, | 8 | ········ |
| Oft repeating to his workmen, | 8 | ·˘/˘··/˘ |
| Build ye thus and so. | 5 | ····· |
| After long delays returning | 8 | ···˘/˘/˘ |
| Came the master back by night | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| To his ship-yard longing, yearning, | 8 | ····/˘/˘ |
| Hurried he, and did not leave it | 8 | /˘······ |
| Till the morning's light. | 5 | ··/˘· |
| "Come and see my ship, my darling" | 8 | ······/˘ |
| On the morrow said the King; | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| "Finished now from keel to carling; | 8 | /˘····/˘ |
| Never yet was seen in Norway | 8 | /˘····/· |
| Such a wondrous thing!" | 5 | ··/˘· |
| In the ship-yard, idly talking, | 8 | ····/˘/˘ |
| At the ship the workmen stared: | 8 | ····/˘·˘ |
| Some one, all their labor balking, | 8 | ····/˘/˘ |
| Down her sides had cut deep gashes, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Not a plank was spared! | 5 | ····· |
| "Death be to the evil-doer!" | 7 | ····/˘· |
| With an oath King Olaf spoke; | 7 | ····/˘· |
| "But rewards to his pursuer | 8 | ·˘/··˘/˘ |
| And with wrath his face grew redder | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Than his scarlet cloak. | 5 | ··/˘· |
| Straight the master-builder, smiling, | 8 | ··/˘/˘/˘ |
| Answered thus the angry King: | 8 | /˘˘··/˘· |
| "Cease blaspheming and reviling, | 8 | ·····˘/˘ |
| Olaf, it was Thorberg Skafting | 8 | /˘······ |
| Who has done this thing!" | 5 | ····· |
| Then he chipped and smoothed the planking, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Till the King, delighted, swore, | 7 | ···˘/˘· |
| With much lauding and much thanking, | 8 | ··/˘··/˘ |
| "Handsomer is now my Dragon | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Than she was before!" | 5 | ····· |
| Seventy ells and four extended | 9 | /˘˘···˘/˘ |
| On the grass the vessel's keel; | 7 | ····/˘· |
| High above it, gilt and splendid, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Rose the figure-head ferocious | 8 | ··/˘·˘/˘ |
| With its crest of steel. | 5 | ····· |
| Then they launched her from the tressels, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| In the ship-yard by the sea; | 7 | ······· |
| She was the grandest of all vessels, | 9 | ···/˘··/˘ |
| Never ship was built in Norway | 8 | /˘····/· |
| Half so fine as she! | 5 | ····· |
| The Long Serpent was she christened, | 8 | ··/˘··/˘ |
| 'Mid the roar of cheer on cheer! | 7 | ······· |
| They who to the Saga listened | 8 | ····/˘/˘ |
| Heard the name of Thorberg Skafting | 8 | ········ |
| For a hundred year! | 5 | ··/˘· |
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.