Dermid
DERMID and Oscur were one: Theyreaped the battle together. Theirfriendship was strong as their steel; anddeath walked between them to the field.They came on the foe like two rocksfalling from the brows of Ardven. Theirswords were stained with the blood ofthe valiant: warriours fainted at theirnames. Who was a match for Oscur,but Dermid? and who for Dermid, butOscur?
THEY killed mighty Dargo in thefield; Dargo before invincible. Hisdaughter was fair as the morn; mildas the beam of night. Her eyes, liketwo stars in a shower: her breath, thegale of spring: her breasts, as thenew fallen snow floating on the moving heath.The warriours saw her, and loved; theirsouls were fixed on the maid. Eachloved her, as his fame; each mustpossess her or die. But her soul was fixedon Oscur; my son was the youth ofher love. She forgot the blood of herfather; and loved the hand that slewhim.
Son of Oscian, said Dermid, I love;O Oscur, I love this maid. But hersoul cleaveth unto thee; and nothingcan heal Dermid. Here, pierce thisbosom, Oscur; relieve me, my friend,with thy sword.
Who then is worthy to slay me, OOscur son of Oscian? Let not my lifepass away unknown. Let none but Oscurslay me. Send me with honour tothe grave, and let my death be renowned.Dermid, make use of thy sword;son of Moray, wield thy steel. Wouldthat I fell with thee! that my deathcame from the hand of Dermid!
They fought by the brook of themountain; by the streams of Branno.Blood tinged the silvery stream, andcrudled round the mossy stones. Dermidthe graceful fell; fell, and smiled indeath.
And fallest thou, son of Morny;fallest, thou by Oscur's hand! Dermidinvincible in war, thus do I see thee fall!--He went, and returned to the maidwhom he loved; returned, but she perceivedhis grief.
Though once renowned for the bow,O maid, I have lost my fame. Fixed ona tree by the brook of the hill, is theshield of Gormur the brave, whom inbattle I slew. I have wasted the dayin vain, nor could my arrow pierce it.
Let me try, son Oscian, the skillof Dargo's daughter. My hands weretaught the bow: my father delighted inmy skill.
Blessed be that hand of snow; andblessed thy bow of yew! I fall resolvedon death: and who but the daughter ofDargo was worthy to slay me? Lay mein the earth, my fair-one; lay me bythe side of Dermid.
Oscur! I have the blood, the soulof the mighty Dargo. Well pleased Ican meet death. My sorrow I can endthus.--She pierced her white bosomwith steel. She fell; she trembled; anddied.
By the brook of the hill their gravesare laid; a birch's unequal shade coverstheir tomb. Often on their green earthentombs the branchy sons of the mountainfeed, when mid-day is all in flames,and silence is over all the hills.
Words in this poem
- valiant a.
- Vigorous in body; strong; powerful; as, a valiant fencer. [OE. valiant, F. vaillant, OF. vaillant, valant, originally p. pr. of OF. & F. valoir to be worth, L. valere to be strong. See Wield, and cf. Avail, Convalesce, ]
- 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.]
- relieve v. t.
- To lift up; to raise again, as one who has fallen; to cause to rise. Piers Plowman. [OE. releven, F. relever to raise again, discharge, relieve, fr. L. relevare to lift up, raise, make light, relieve; pref. re- re- + levare to raise, fr. levis l]
- honour n.
- Esteem due or paid to worth; high estimation; respect; consideration; reverence; veneration; manifestation of respect or reverence. [OE. honor, honour, onour, onur, OF. honor, onor, honur, onur, honour, onour, F. honneur, fr. L. honor, honos.]
- wield v. t.
- To govern; to rule; to keep, or have in charge; also, to possess. [OE. welden to govern, to have power over, to possess, AS. geweldan, gewyldan, from wealdan; akin to OS. waldan, OFries. walda, G. walten, OHG. waltan, Icel. val]
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- delighted a.
- Endowed with delight.
- branchy a.
- Full of branches; having wide-spreading branches; consisting of branches.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Dermid is in the public domain. This text is taken from Fragments of Ancient Poetry, Project Gutenberg ebook #8161; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: James Macpherson, Dermid, in Fragments of Ancient Poetry (1760), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #8161, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/macpherson-ossian/dermid.html, id L09646.
Form and metre
Dermid is 81 lines in 11 stanzas. The metre is trochaic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 74%). 94% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.9 syllables. 5 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 72% 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 -A---A-AB-B they · theirA · and · field · rocks · theirA · of · theirA · oscurB · but · oscurB
- 2 A---AA--------- theA · his · mild · like · theA · theA · heath · their · each · must · fixed · of · her · slew · him
- 7 -A-A-- bow · onA · the · inA · day · it
- 8 A--A skillA · were · in · skillA
- 9 ---AA- and · resolved · of · meA · byA · dermid
- 10 --A-A- soul · i · endA · bosom · andA · died
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 |
|---|---|---|
| DERMID and Oscur were one: They | 8 | ········ |
| reaped the battle together. Their | 8 | ··/˘˘/˘· |
| friendship was strong as their steel; and | 8 | /˘······ |
| death walked between them to the field. | 8 | ········ |
| They came on the foe like two rocks | 8 | ········ |
| falling from the brows of Ardven. Their | 9 | /˘······· |
| swords were stained with the blood of | 7 | ······· |
| the valiant: warriours fainted at their | 10 | ·/˘/˘˘/˘·· |
| names. Who was a match for Oscur, | 8 | ········ |
| but Dermid? and who for Dermid, but | 9 | ········· |
| Oscur? | 2 | ·· |
| THEY killed mighty Dargo in the | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| field; Dargo before invincible. His | 10 | ·····˘/˘˘· |
| daughter was fair as the morn; mild | 8 | /˘······ |
| as the beam of night. Her eyes, like | 8 | ········ |
| two stars in a shower: her breath, the | 9 | ····/˘··· |
| gale of spring: her breasts, as the | 7 | ······· |
| new fallen snow floating on the moving heath. | 11 | ·/˘·/˘··/˘· |
| The warriours saw her, and loved; their | 9 | ·/˘˘····· |
| souls were fixed on the maid. Each | 7 | ······· |
| loved her, as his fame; each must | 7 | ······· |
| possess her or die. But her soul was fixed | 10 | ˘/········ |
| on Oscur; my son was the youth of | 9 | ········· |
| her love. She forgot the blood of her | 9 | ···˘/···· |
| father; and loved the hand that slew | 8 | /˘······ |
| him. | 1 | · |
| Son of Oscian, said Dermid, I love; | 9 | ········· |
| O Oscur, I love this maid. But her | 9 | ········· |
| soul cleaveth unto thee; and nothing | 9 | ·/˘····/˘ |
| can heal Dermid. Here, pierce this | 7 | ······· |
| bosom, Oscur; relieve me, my friend, | 9 | /˘··˘/··· |
| with thy sword. | 3 | ··· |
| Who then is worthy to slay me, O | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| Oscur son of Oscian? Let not my life | 10 | ·········· |
| pass away unknown. Let none but Oscur | 10 | ·˘/˘/····· |
| slay me. Send me with honour to | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| the grave, and let my death be renowned. | 9 | ·······˘/ |
| Dermid, make use of thy sword; | 7 | ······· |
| son of Moray, wield thy steel. Would | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| that I fell with thee! that my death | 8 | ········ |
| came from the hand of Dermid! | 7 | ······· |
| They fought by the brook of the | 7 | ······· |
| mountain; by the streams of Branno. | 8 | /˘······ |
| Blood tinged the silvery stream, and | 8 | ···/˘˘·· |
| crudled round the mossy stones. Dermid | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| the graceful fell; fell, and smiled in | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| death. | 1 | · |
| And fallest thou, son of Morny; | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| fallest, thou by Oscur's hand! Dermid | 9 | /˘······· |
| invincible in war, thus do I see thee fall! | 12 | ˘/˘˘········ |
| --He went, and returned to the maid | 8 | ···˘/··· |
| whom he loved; returned, but she perceived | 9 | ···˘/··˘/ |
| his grief. | 2 | ·· |
| Though once renowned for the bow, | 7 | ··˘/··· |
| O maid, I have lost my fame. Fixed on | 9 | ········· |
| a tree by the brook of the hill, is the | 10 | ·········· |
| shield of Gormur the brave, whom in | 8 | ········ |
| battle I slew. I have wasted the day | 10 | /˘····/˘·· |
| in vain, nor could my arrow pierce it. | 9 | ·····/˘·· |
| Let me try, son Oscian, the skill | 8 | ········ |
| of Dargo's daughter. My hands were | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| taught the bow: my father delighted in | 10 | ····/˘˘/˘· |
| my skill. | 2 | ·· |
| Blessed be that hand of snow; and | 7 | ······· |
| blessed thy bow of yew! I fall resolved | 9 | ·······˘/ |
| on death: and who but the daughter of | 9 | ······/˘· |
| Dargo was worthy to slay me? Lay me | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| in the earth, my fair-one; lay me by | 9 | ········· |
| the side of Dermid. | 5 | ····· |
| Oscur! I have the blood, the soul | 8 | ········ |
| of the mighty Dargo. Well pleased I | 9 | ··/˘····· |
| can meet death. My sorrow I can end | 9 | ····/˘··· |
| thus.--She pierced her white bosom | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| with steel. She fell; she trembled; and | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| died. | 1 | · |
| By the brook of the hill their graves | 8 | ········ |
| are laid; a birch's unequal shade covers | 11 | ···/˘˘/˘·/˘ |
| their tomb. Often on their green earthen | 9 | ··/˘···/˘ |
| tombs the branchy sons of the mountain | 9 | ··/˘···/˘ |
| feed, when mid-day is all in flames, | 8 | ········ |
| and silence is over all the hills. | 9 | ·/˘······ |
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.