Poem II
I sit by the mossy fountain; on thetop of the hill of winds. One tree isrustling above me. Dark waves rollover the heath. The lake is troubledbelow. The deer descend from thehill. No hunter at a distance is seen;no whistling cow-herd is nigh. It ismid-day: but all is silent. Sad are mythoughts as I sit alone. Didst thoubut appear, O my love, a wanderer onthe heath! thy hair floating on thewind behind thee; thy bosom heavingon the sight; thine eyes full of tearsfor thy friends, whom the mist of thehill had concealed! Thee I would comfort,my love, and bring thee to thyfather's house.
But is it she that there appears, likea beam of light on the heath? brightas the moon in autumn, as the sun ina summer-storm?--She speaks: buthow weak her voice! like the breezein the reeds of the pool. Hark!
Returnest thou safe from the war?"Where are thy friends, my love? Iheard of thy death on the hill; I heardand mourned thee, Shilric!"
Yes, my fair, I return; but I aloneof my race. Thou shalt see them nomore: their graves I raised on the plain.But why art thou on the desert hill?why on the heath, alone?
She fleets, she sails away; as greymist before the wind!--and, wilt thounot stay, my love? Stay and beholdmy tears? fair thou appearest, my love!fair thou wast, when alive!
By the mossy fountain I will sit; onthe top of the hill of winds. Whenmid-day is silent around, converse, Omy love, with me! come on the wingsof the gale! on the blast of the mountain,come! Let me hear thy voice, asthou passest, when mid-day is silent around.
Words in this poem
- didst
- , the 2d pers. sing. imp. of Do.
- shalt
- 2d per. sing. of Shall.
- wast
- The second person singular of the verb be, in the indicative mood, imperfect tense; -- now used only in solemn or poetical style.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Poem II 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, Poem II, in Fragments of Ancient Poetry (1760), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #8161, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/macpherson-ossian/poem-ii.html, id L09637.
Form and metre
Poem II is 44 lines in 6 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 80%). 99% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.3 syllables. 4 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 70% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in iambic 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 AB--A-BC--A--A-C- theA · isB · roll · troubled · theA · seen · isB · myC · thou · on · theA · heaving · tears · theA · comfort · thyC · house
- 4 A---A aloneA · no · plain · hill · aloneA
- 6 AA--A-- onA · whenA · o · wings · mountainA · as · around
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 tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| I sit by the mossy fountain; on the | 10 | ····/˘/˘·· |
| top of the hill of winds. One tree is | 9 | ········· |
| rustling above me. Dark waves roll | 8 | /˘······ |
| over the heath. The lake is troubled | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| below. The deer descend from the | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| hill. No hunter at a distance is seen; | 10 | ··/˘··/˘·· |
| no whistling cow-herd is nigh. It is | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| mid-day: but all is silent. Sad are my | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| thoughts as I sit alone. Didst thou | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| but appear, O my love, a wanderer on | 11 | ·˘/····/˘˘· |
| the heath! thy hair floating on the | 8 | ····/˘·· |
| wind behind thee; thy bosom heaving | 9 | ·····/˘/˘ |
| on the sight; thine eyes full of tears | 8 | ········ |
| for thy friends, whom the mist of the | 8 | ········ |
| hill had concealed! Thee I would comfort, | 9 | ··˘/···/˘ |
| my love, and bring thee to thy | 7 | ······· |
| father's house. | 3 | /˘· |
| But is it she that there appears, like | 9 | ······˘/· |
| a beam of light on the heath? bright | 8 | ········ |
| as the moon in autumn, as the sun in | 10 | ····/˘···· |
| a summer-storm?--She speaks: but | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| how weak her voice! like the breeze | 7 | ······· |
| in the reeds of the pool. Hark! | 7 | ······· |
| Returnest thou safe from the war? | 8 | ˘/˘····· |
| "Where are thy friends, my love? I | 7 | ······· |
| heard of thy death on the hill; I heard | 9 | ········· |
| and mourned thee, Shilric!" | 5 | ····· |
| Yes, my fair, I return; but I alone | 10 | ····˘/··˘/ |
| of my race. Thou shalt see them no | 8 | ········ |
| more: their graves I raised on the plain. | 8 | ········ |
| But why art thou on the desert hill? | 9 | ······/˘· |
| why on the heath, alone? | 6 | ····˘/ |
| She fleets, she sails away; as grey | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| mist before the wind!--and, wilt thou | 8 | ········ |
| not stay, my love? Stay and behold | 8 | ······˘/ |
| my tears? fair thou appearest, my love! | 9 | ····˘/˘·· |
| fair thou wast, when alive! | 6 | ····˘/ |
| By the mossy fountain I will sit; on | 10 | ··/˘/˘···· |
| the top of the hill of winds. When | 8 | ········ |
| mid-day is silent around, converse, O | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| my love, with me! come on the wings | 8 | ········ |
| of the gale! on the blast of the mountain, | 10 | ········/˘ |
| come! Let me hear thy voice, as | 7 | ······· |
| thou passest, when mid-day is silent around. | 11 | ·/˘····/˘·· |
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.