The Spanish Student: Act III
Worn with speed is my good steed,And I march me hurried, worried;Onward, caballito mio,With the white star in thy forehead!Onward, for here comes the Ronda,And I hear their rifles crack!Ay, jaleo! Ay, ay, jaleo!Ay, jaleo! They cross our track.
(Song dies away. Enter PRECIOSA, on horseback, attended byVICTORIAN, HYPOLITO, DON CARLOS, and CHISPA, on foot, and armed.)
Vict. This is the highest point. Here let us rest.See, Preciosa, see how all about usKneeling, like hooded friars, the misty mountainsReceive the benediction of the sun!O glorious sight!Prec. Most beautiful indeed!
Hyp. Most wonderful!
Vict. And in the vale below,Where yonder steeples flash like lifted halberds,San Ildefonso, from its noisy belfries,Sends up a salutation to the morn,As if an army smote their brazen shields,And shouted victory!Prec. And which way lies Segovia?
Vict. At a great distance yonder.Dost thou not see it?
Prec. No. I do not see it.
Vict. The merest flaw that dents the horizon's edge.There, yonder!
Hyp. 'T is a notable old town,Boasting an ancient Roman aqueduct,And an Alcazar, builded by the Moors,Wherein, you may remember, poor Gil BlasWas fed on Pan del Rey. O, many a timeOut of its grated windows have I lookedHundreds of feet plumb down to the Eresma,That, like a serpent through the valley creeping,Glides at its foot.
Prec. O yes! I see it now,Yet rather with my heart than with mine eyes,So faint it is. And all my thoughts sail thither,Freighted with prayers and hopes, and forward urgedAgainst all stress of accident, as inThe Eastern Tale, against the wind and tideGreat ships were drawn to the Magnetic Mountains,And there were wrecked, and perished in the sea!(She weeps.)
Vict. O gentle spirit! Thou didst bear unmovedBlasts of adversity and frosts of fate!But the first ray of sunshine that falls on theeMelts thee to tears! O, let thy weary heartLean upon mine! and it shall faint no more,Nor thirst, nor hunger; but be comfortedAnd filled with my affection.
Prec. Stay no longer!My father waits. Methinks I see him there,Now looking from the window, and now watchingEach sound of wheels or footfall in the street,And saying, "Hark! she comes!" O father! father!
Bart. They passed this way! I hear their horses' hoofs!Yonder I see them! Come, sweet caramillo,This serenade shall be the Gypsy's last!
Ha! ha! Well whistled, my sweet caramillo!Well whistled!--I have missed her!--O my God!
Words in this poem 16
- steed n.
- A horse, especially a spirited horse for state of war; -- used chiefly in poetry or stately prose. [OE. stede, AS. steda a stud-horse, war horse, fr. stod a stud of breeding steeds; akin to G. stute a mare, Icel. stedda, sto, a stud. *163. See Stud of horses.]
- victorian a.
- Of or pertaining to the reign of Queen Victoria of England; as, the Victorian poets. Victorian period. See Dionysian period, under Dyonysian.
- glorious a.
- Exhibiting attributes, qualities, or acts that are worthy of or receive glory; noble; praiseworthy; excellent; splendid; illustrious; inspiring admiration; as, glorious deeds. [OF. glorios, glorious, F. glorieux, fr. L. gloriosus. See Glory, n.]
- vale n.
- A tract of low ground, or of land between hills; a valley. [OE. val, F. val, L. vallis; perhaps akin to Gr. Avalanche, Vail to lower, Valley.]
- yonder adv.
- At a distance, but within view. [OE. yonder, ýonder; cf. OD. ginder, Goth. jaindr there. Yond, adv.]
- morn n.
- The first part of the day; the morning; -- used chiefly in poetry. [OE. morwen, morgen, AS. morgen; akin to D. morgen, OS. morgan, G. morgen, Icel. morginn, morgunn, Sw. morgon, Dan. morgen, Goth. maúrgins. Cf. Morrow, Morning.]
- aqueduct n.
- A conductor, conduit, or artificial channel for conveying water, especially one for supplying large cities with water. [F. aqueduc, OF. aqueduct (Cotgr.), fr. L. aquaeductus; aquae, gen. of aqua water + ductus a leading, ducere to lead. See Aqua, Duke.]
- alcazar n.
- A fortress; also, a royal palace. Prescott. [fr. Ar. al the + qacr (in pl.) a castle.]
- grated a.
- Furnished with a grate or grating; as, grated windows. [From 2d Grate.]
- didst
- , the 2d pers. sing. imp. of Do.
- unmoved a.
- Not moved; fixed; firm; unshaken; calm; apathetic.
- adversity n.
- Opposition; contrariety. Wyclif. [OE. adversite, F. adversité, fr. L. adversitas.]
- 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.
- 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,]
- methinks v.
- It seems to me; I think. See Me. [AS. þyncan to seem, me þynceedh, me þuhte, OE. me thinketh, me thoughte; akin to G. dünken to seem, denken to think, and E. think. See Me, and Think.]
- footfall n.
- A setting down of the foot; a footstep; the sound of a footstep.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Spanish Student: Act III 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 Spanish Student: Act III, in A Psalm of Life, and Other Poems (1839–1882), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #1365, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/longfellow-poems/the-spanish-student-act-iii.html, id L25665.
Form and metre
The Spanish Student: Act III is 64 lines in 14 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 84%).
See other poems in iambic pentameter.
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-A-B-B steedA · worriedA · mio · foreheadA · ronda · crackB · jaleo · trackB
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 pentameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Worn with speed is my good steed, | 7 | ······· |
| And I march me hurried, worried; | 8 | ····/˘/˘ |
| Onward, caballito mio, | 7 | /˘····· |
| With the white star in thy forehead! | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Onward, for here comes the Ronda, | 8 | /˘····/˘ |
| And I hear their rifles crack! | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Ay, jaleo! Ay, ay, jaleo! | 7 | ······· |
| Ay, jaleo! They cross our track. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| (Song dies away. Enter PRECIOSA, on horseback, attended by | 16 | ··˘//˘····/·˘/˘· |
| VICTORIAN, HYPOLITO, DON CARLOS, and CHISPA, on foot, and armed.) | 17 | ˘/˘·····/˘······· |
| Vict. This is the highest point. Here let us rest. | 11 | ····/˘····· |
| See, Preciosa, see how all about us | 10 | ·········· |
| Kneeling, like hooded friars, the misty mountains | 11 | /˘·/˘/·/˘/˘ |
| Receive the benediction of the sun! | 10 | ˘/··˘/˘··· |
| O glorious sight! | 5 | ·/˘˘· |
| Prec. Most beautiful indeed! | 7 | ··/˘˘˘/ |
| Hyp. Most wonderful! | 5 | ··/˘˘ |
| Vict. And in the vale below, | 7 | ······· |
| Where yonder steeples flash like lifted halberds, | 11 | ·/˘/˘··/˘·· |
| San Ildefonso, from its noisy belfries, | 11 | ·······/˘/˘ |
| Sends up a salutation to the morn, | 10 | ·········· |
| As if an army smote their brazen shields, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| And shouted victory! | 6 | ·/˘/˘˘ |
| Prec. And which way lies Segovia? | 9 | ·····˘/˘˘ |
| Vict. At a great distance yonder. | 8 | ····/˘/˘ |
| Dost thou not see it? | 5 | ····· |
| Prec. No. I do not see it. | 7 | ······· |
| Vict. The merest flaw that dents the horizon's edge. | 12 | ··/˘····˘/˘· |
| There, yonder! | 3 | ·/˘ |
| Hyp. 'T is a notable old town, | 8 | ····/˘·· |
| Boasting an ancient Roman aqueduct, | 10 | /˘·/˘/˘/˘· |
| And an Alcazar, builded by the Moors, | 10 | ··/˘·/˘··· |
| Wherein, you may remember, poor Gil Blas | 10 | ····˘/˘··· |
| Was fed on Pan del Rey. O, many a time | 10 | ·······/·· |
| Out of its grated windows have I looked | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| Hundreds of feet plumb down to the Eresma, | 11 | /˘········· |
| That, like a serpent through the valley creeping, | 11 | ···/˘··/˘/˘ |
| Glides at its foot. | 4 | ···· |
| Prec. O yes! I see it now, | 7 | ······· |
| Yet rather with my heart than with mine eyes, | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| So faint it is. And all my thoughts sail thither, | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| Freighted with prayers and hopes, and forward urged | 10 | /˘·····/˘· |
| Against all stress of accident, as in | 9 | ·····/˘·· |
| The Eastern Tale, against the wind and tide | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Great ships were drawn to the Magnetic Mountains, | 11 | ······˘/˘/˘ |
| And there were wrecked, and perished in the sea! | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| (She weeps.) | 2 | ·· |
| Vict. O gentle spirit! Thou didst bear unmoved | 10 | ··/˘/···˘/ |
| Blasts of adversity and frosts of fate! | 9 | ··˘/˘···· |
| But the first ray of sunshine that falls on thee | 11 | ·····/····· |
| Melts thee to tears! O, let thy weary heart | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Lean upon mine! and it shall faint no more, | 10 | ·········· |
| Nor thirst, nor hunger; but be comforted | 9 | ···/˘··/˘ |
| And filled with my affection. | 8 | ··˘··˘/˘ |
| Prec. Stay no longer! | 5 | ···/˘ |
| My father waits. Methinks I see him there, | 10 | ·/˘·˘/···· |
| Now looking from the window, and now watching | 11 | ·/˘··/˘··/˘ |
| Each sound of wheels or footfall in the street, | 10 | ·····/···· |
| And saying, "Hark! she comes!" O father! father! | 11 | ·/˘····/˘/˘ |
| Bart. They passed this way! I hear their horses' hoofs! | 11 | ········/˘· |
| Yonder I see them! Come, sweet caramillo, | 11 | /˘········· |
| This serenade shall be the Gypsy's last! | 10 | ··˘/···/˘· |
| Ha! ha! Well whistled, my sweet caramillo! | 11 | ···/˘······ |
| Well whistled!--I have missed her!--O my God! | 10 | ·/˘······· |
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