Poem XI
Sad! I am sad indeed: nor small mycause of woe!--Kirmor, thou hastlost no son; thou hast lost no daughterof beauty. Connar the valiant lives;and Annir the fairest of maids. Theboughs of thy family flourish, O Kirmor!but Armyn is the last of hisrace.
Rise, winds of autumn, rise; blowupon the dark heath! streams of themountains, roar! howl, ye tempests,in the trees! walk through brokenclouds, O moon! show by intervals thypale face! bring to my mind that sadnight, when all my children fell; whenArindel the mighty fell; when Daurathe lovely died.
Daura, my daughter! thou wertfair; fair as the moon on the hills ofJura; white as the driven snow; sweet asthe breathing gale. Armor renowned inwar came, and fought Daura's love; hewas not long denied; fair was the hopeof their friends.
Earch son of Odgal repined; forhis brother was slain by Armor. Hecame disguised like a son of the sea:fair was his skiff on the wave; whitehis locks of age; calm his serious brow.Fairest of women, he said, lovely daughterof Armyn! a rock not distant inthe sea, bears a tree on its side; redshines the fruit afar. There Armorwaiteth for Daura. I came to fetchhis love. Come, fair daughter of Armyn!
She went; and she called on Armor.Nought answered, but the son of therock. Armor, my love! my love!why tormentest thou me with fear?come, graceful son of Arduart, come;it is Daura who calleth thee!--Earchthe traitor fled laughing to the land.She lifted up her voice, and cried forher brother and her father. Arindel!Armyn! none to relieve your Daura?
Her voice came over the sea. Arindelmy son descended from the hill;rough in the spoils of the chace. Hisarrows rattled by his side; his bow wasin his hand; five grey dogs attendedhis steps. He saw fierce Earch on theshore; he seized and bound him to anoak. Thick fly the thongs of the hidearound his limbs; he loads the windwith his groans.
Arindel ascends the surgy deep inhis boat, to bring Daura to the land.Armor came in his wrath, and let flythe grey-feathered shaft. It sung; itsunk in thy heart, O Arindel my son!for Earch the traitor thou diedst. Whatis thy grief, O Daura, when roundthy feet is poured thy brother's blood!
The boat is broken in twain by thewaves. Armor plunges into the sea, torescue his Daura or die. Sudden a blastfrom the hill comes over the waves.He sunk, and he rose no more.
Alone, on the sea-beat rock, mydaughter was heard to complain. Frequentand loud were her cries; norcould her father relieve her. Allnight I stood on the shore. All night Iheard her cries. Loud was the wind;and the rain beat hard on the side of themountain. Before morning appeared,her voice was weak. It died away, likethe evening-breeze among the grass ofthe rocks. Spent with grief she expired.O lay me soon by her side.
When the storms of the mountaincome; when the north lifts the waveson high; I sit by the sounding shore,and look on the fatal rock. Often bythe setting moon I see the ghosts ofmy children. Indistinct, they walk inmournful conference together. Willnone of you speak to me?--But theydo not regard their father.
Words in this poem
- hast
- , 2d pers. sing. pres. of. Fave, contr. of havest.
- 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, ]
- jura n.
- 1. A range of mountains between France and Switzerland. [F. & L.]
- skiff n.
- A small, light boat. [F. esquif, fr. OHG. skif, G. schiff. See Ship.]
- afar adv.
- At, to, or from a great distance; far away; -- often used with from preceding, or off following; as, he was seen from afar; I saw him afar off. [Pref. a-.(for on or of) + far.]
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- 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]
- chace v. t.
- To pursue. See Chase v. t.
- surgy a.
- Rising in surges or billows; full of surges; resembling surges in motion or appearance; swelling.
- twain a.
- Two;- nearly obsolete in common discourse, but used in poetry and burlesque. [OE. twein, tweien, tweyne, AS. twegen, masc. See Two.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Poem XI 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 XI, in Fragments of Ancient Poetry (1760), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #8161, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/macpherson-ossian/poem-xi.html, id L09650.
Form and metre
Poem XI is 89 lines in 10 verse paragraphs. It is unrhymed, as far as the pronouncing dictionary can tell. The metre is trochaic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 72%). 92% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.3 syllables. 10 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 67% 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.
- 2 ---A--A-- blow · the · tempests · brokenA · thy · sad · whenA · daura · died
- 4 -AA-------- for · heA · seaA · white · brow · daughter · in · red · armor · fetch · armyn
- 6 ----A--A-- arindel · hill · his · was · attendedA · the · an · hideA · wind · groans
- 7 A---A--- inA · land · fly · it · sonA · what · round · blood
- 8 AA--- theA · toA · blast · waves · more
- 9 A---A------- myA · frequent · nor · all · iA · wind · the · appeared · like · of · expired · side
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Sad! I am sad indeed: nor small my | 9 | ····˘/··· |
| cause of woe!--Kirmor, thou hast | 7 | ······· |
| lost no son; thou hast lost no daughter | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| of beauty. Connar the valiant lives; | 9 | ·/˘···/˘· |
| and Annir the fairest of maids. The | 9 | ····/˘··· |
| boughs of thy family flourish, O Kirmor! | 11 | ···/˘˘/˘··· |
| but Armyn is the last of his | 8 | ········ |
| race. | 1 | · |
| Rise, winds of autumn, rise; blow | 7 | ···/˘·· |
| upon the dark heath! streams of the | 8 | ········ |
| mountains, roar! howl, ye tempests, | 7 | /˘···/˘ |
| in the trees! walk through broken | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| clouds, O moon! show by intervals thy | 9 | ·····/˘˘· |
| pale face! bring to my mind that sad | 8 | ········ |
| night, when all my children fell; when | 8 | ····/˘·· |
| Arindel the mighty fell; when Daura | 10 | ····/˘···· |
| the lovely died. | 4 | ·/˘· |
| Daura, my daughter! thou wert | 7 | ···/˘·· |
| fair; fair as the moon on the hills of | 9 | ········· |
| Jura; white as the driven snow; sweet as | 10 | /˘···/˘··· |
| the breathing gale. Armor renowned in | 9 | ·/˘·/˘˘/· |
| war came, and fought Daura's love; he | 8 | ········ |
| was not long denied; fair was the hope | 9 | ···˘/···· |
| of their friends. | 3 | ··· |
| Earch son of Odgal repined; for | 8 | ········ |
| his brother was slain by Armor. He | 9 | ·/˘···/˘· |
| came disguised like a son of the sea: | 9 | ·˘/······ |
| fair was his skiff on the wave; white | 8 | ········ |
| his locks of age; calm his serious brow. | 10 | ······/˘˘· |
| Fairest of women, he said, lovely daughter | 11 | /˘·/˘··/˘/˘ |
| of Armyn! a rock not distant in | 9 | ······/˘· |
| the sea, bears a tree on its side; red | 9 | ········· |
| shines the fruit afar. There Armor | 8 | ···˘/·/˘ |
| waiteth for Daura. I came to fetch | 9 | /˘······· |
| his love. Come, fair daughter of Armyn! | 9 | ····/˘··· |
| She went; and she called on Armor. | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Nought answered, but the son of the | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| rock. Armor, my love! my love! | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| why tormentest thou me with fear? | 8 | ·/·˘···· |
| come, graceful son of Arduart, come; | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| it is Daura who calleth thee!--Earch | 9 | ·····/˘·· |
| the traitor fled laughing to the land. | 9 | ·/˘·/˘··· |
| She lifted up her voice, and cried for | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| her brother and her father. Arindel! | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| Armyn! none to relieve your Daura? | 9 | ····˘/··· |
| Her voice came over the sea. Arindel | 10 | ·········· |
| my son descended from the hill; | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| rough in the spoils of the chace. His | 8 | ········ |
| arrows rattled by his side; his bow was | 10 | /˘/˘······ |
| in his hand; five grey dogs attended | 9 | ······˘/˘ |
| his steps. He saw fierce Earch on the | 8 | ········ |
| shore; he seized and bound him to an | 8 | ········ |
| oak. Thick fly the thongs of the hide | 8 | ········ |
| around his limbs; he loads the wind | 8 | ········ |
| with his groans. | 3 | ··· |
| Arindel ascends the surgy deep in | 10 | ···˘/·/˘·· |
| his boat, to bring Daura to the land. | 9 | ········· |
| Armor came in his wrath, and let fly | 9 | /˘······· |
| the grey-feathered shaft. It sung; it | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| sunk in thy heart, O Arindel my son! | 10 | ·········· |
| for Earch the traitor thou diedst. What | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| is thy grief, O Daura, when round | 8 | ········ |
| thy feet is poured thy brother's blood! | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| The boat is broken in twain by the | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| waves. Armor plunges into the sea, to | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| rescue his Daura or die. Sudden a blast | 11 | /˘·····/˘·· |
| from the hill comes over the waves. | 8 | ········ |
| He sunk, and he rose no more. | 7 | ······· |
| Alone, on the sea-beat rock, my | 8 | ˘/······ |
| daughter was heard to complain. Frequent | 9 | /˘···˘//˘ |
| and loud were her cries; nor | 6 | ······ |
| could her father relieve her. All | 8 | ··/˘˘/·· |
| night I stood on the shore. All night I | 9 | ········· |
| heard her cries. Loud was the wind; | 7 | ······· |
| and the rain beat hard on the side of the | 10 | ·········· |
| mountain. Before morning appeared, | 8 | /˘··/˘˘/ |
| her voice was weak. It died away, like | 9 | ······˘/· |
| the evening-breeze among the grass of | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| the rocks. Spent with grief she expired. | 8 | ······˘/ |
| O lay me soon by her side. | 7 | ······· |
| When the storms of the mountain | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| come; when the north lifts the waves | 7 | ······· |
| on high; I sit by the sounding shore, | 9 | ······/˘· |
| and look on the fatal rock. Often by | 10 | ····/˘·/˘· |
| the setting moon I see the ghosts of | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| my children. Indistinct, they walk in | 9 | ·/˘˘˘/··· |
| mournful conference together. Will | 9 | /˘/˘˘˘/˘· |
| none of you speak to me?--But they | 8 | ········ |
| do not regard their father. | 7 | ··˘/·/˘ |
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