The Spire of Strasburg Cathedral
Hasten! hasten!O ye spirits!From its station drag the ponderousCross of iron, that to mock usIs uplifted high in air!
Oh, we cannot!For around itAll the Saints and Guardian AngelsThrong in legions to protect it;They defeat us everywhere!
Laudo Deum verum!Plebem voco!Congrego clerum!
Lower! lower!Hover downward!Seize the loud, vociferous bells, andClashing, clanging to the pavement,Hurl them from their windy tower.
All thy thundersHere are harmless!For these bells have been anointed,And baptized with holy water!They defy our utmost power.
Defunctos ploro!Pestem fugo!Festa decoro!
Shake the casements!Break the paintedPanes, that flame with gold and crimson;Scatter them like leaves of Autumn,Swept away before the blast!
Oh, we cannot!The ArchangelMichael flames from every window,With the sword of fire that drove usHeadlong, out of heaven, aghast!
Funera plango!Fulgura frango!Sabbata pango!
Aim your lightningsAt the oaken,Massive, iron-studded portals!Sack the house of God, and scatterWide the ashes of the dead!
Oh, we cannot!The ApostlesAnd the Martyrs, wrapped in mantles,Stand as warders at the entrance,Stand as sentinels o'erhead!
Excito lentos!Dissipo ventos!Paco cruentos!
Baffled! baffled!Inefficient,Craven spirits! leave this laborUnto time, the great Destroyer!Come away, ere night is gone!
Onward! onward!With the night-wind,Over field and farm and forest,Lonely homestead, darksome hamlet,Blighting all we breathe upon!
Nocte surgentesVigilemus omnes!
Words in this poem
- defeat v. t.
- To undo; to disfigure; to destroy. [From F. défait, OF. desfait, p. p. ofe défaire, OF. desfaire, to undo; L. dis- + facere to do. See Feat, Fact, and cf. Disfashion.]
- hover n.
- A cover; a shelter; a protection. Carew. C. Kingsley. [Etymol. doubtful.]
- defy v. t.
- To renounce or dissolve all bonds of affiance, faith, or obligation with; to reject, refuse, or renounce. [F. défier, OF. deffier, desfier, LL. disfidare to disown faith or fidelity, to dissolve the bond of allegiance, as between the vassal and his lord; hence, to ch]
- archangel n.
- A chief angel; one high in the celestial hierarchy. [L. archangelus, Gr. archangel, F. archange. See Arch-, pref., and Angel.]
- drove n.
- A collection of cattle driven, or cattle collected for driving; a number of animals, as oxen, sheep, or swine, driven in a body. [AS. draf, fr. drifan to drive. See Drive.]
- oaken a.
- Made or consisting of oaks or of the wood of oaks. [AS. acen.]
- craven v. t.
- To make recreant, weak, spiritless, or cowardly.
- darksome a.
- Dark; gloomy; obscure; shaded; cheerless.
- blighting a.
- Causing blight.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Spire of Strasburg Cathedral 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 Spire of Strasburg Cathedral, in The Complete Poetical Works (1839–1882), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #1365, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/longfellow-poems/the-spire-of-strasburg-cathedral.html, id L17897.
Form and metre
The Spire of Strasburg Cathedral is 64 lines in 15 stanzas. 94% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 6.0 syllables. 37 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 22% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
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- hasten · spirits · ponderousA · usA · air
- 2 AA-A- cannotA · itA · angels · itA · everywhere
- 3 A-A verumA · voco · clerumA
- 6 A-A ploroA · fugo · decoroA
- 9 A-A plangoA · frango · pangoA
- 12 AA- lentosA · ventosA · cruentos
- 15 AA surgentesA · omnesA
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. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Hasten! hasten! | 4 | /˘/˘ |
| O ye spirits! | 4 | ··/˘ |
| From its station drag the ponderous | 9 | ··/˘··/˘˘ |
| Cross of iron, that to mock us | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| Is uplifted high in air! | 7 | ·/˘˘··· |
| Oh, we cannot! | 4 | ··/˘ |
| For around it | 4 | ···· |
| All the Saints and Guardian Angels | 9 | ····/˘˘/˘ |
| Throng in legions to protect it; | 8 | ··/˘·˘/· |
| They defeat us everywhere! | 7 | ·˘/·/˘· |
| Laudo Deum verum! | 5 | ····· |
| Plebem voco! | 4 | ···· |
| Congrego clerum! | 5 | ····· |
| Lower! lower! | 4 | /˘/˘ |
| Hover downward! | 4 | /˘/˘ |
| Seize the loud, vociferous bells, and | 9 | ···˘/˘˘·· |
| Clashing, clanging to the pavement, | 8 | /˘/˘··/˘ |
| Hurl them from their windy tower. | 8 | ····/˘/˘ |
| All thy thunders | 4 | ··/˘ |
| Here are harmless! | 4 | ··/˘ |
| For these bells have been anointed, | 8 | ·····˘/˘ |
| And baptized with holy water! | 9 | ·˘/˘·/˘/˘ |
| They defy our utmost power. | 9 | ·˘//˘/·/˘ |
| Defunctos ploro! | 5 | ····· |
| Pestem fugo! | 4 | ···· |
| Festa decoro! | 5 | /˘··· |
| Shake the casements! | 5 | ····· |
| Break the painted | 4 | ··/˘ |
| Panes, that flame with gold and crimson; | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Scatter them like leaves of Autumn, | 8 | /˘····/˘ |
| Swept away before the blast! | 7 | ·˘/···· |
| Oh, we cannot! | 4 | ··/˘ |
| The Archangel | 4 | ··/˘ |
| Michael flames from every window, | 9 | /˘··/˘˘/˘ |
| With the sword of fire that drove us | 9 | ····/˘··· |
| Headlong, out of heaven, aghast! | 8 | /···/˘˘/ |
| Funera plango! | 5 | ····· |
| Fulgura frango! | 5 | ····· |
| Sabbata pango! | 5 | ····· |
| Aim your lightnings | 4 | ··/˘ |
| At the oaken, | 4 | ··/˘ |
| Massive, iron-studded portals! | 8 | /˘/˘/˘/˘ |
| Sack the house of God, and scatter | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Wide the ashes of the dead! | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Oh, we cannot! | 4 | ··/˘ |
| The Apostles | 4 | ·˘/˘ |
| And the Martyrs, wrapped in mantles, | 9 | ··/˘·˘·/˘ |
| Stand as warders at the entrance, | 8 | ··/˘··/˘ |
| Stand as sentinels o'erhead! | 7 | ··/˘˘·· |
| Excito lentos! | 5 | ···/˘ |
| Dissipo ventos! | 5 | ···/˘ |
| Paco cruentos! | 4 | /˘·· |
| Baffled! baffled! | 4 | /˘/˘ |
| Inefficient, | 4 | ˘˘/˘ |
| Craven spirits! leave this labor | 8 | /˘/˘··/˘ |
| Unto time, the great Destroyer! | 8 | ·····˘/˘ |
| Come away, ere night is gone! | 7 | ·˘/···· |
| Onward! onward! | 4 | /˘/˘ |
| With the night-wind, | 4 | ···· |
| Over field and farm and forest, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Lonely homestead, darksome hamlet, | 8 | /˘/·/˘/˘ |
| Blighting all we breathe upon! | 7 | /˘····· |
| Nocte surgentes | 3 | ··· |
| Vigilemus omnes! | 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.