Poem I
My love is a son of the hill.He pursues the flying deer.His grey dogs are pantingaround him; his bow-string sounds inthe wind. Whether by the fount ofthe rock, or by the stream of themountain thou liest; when the rushes arenodding with the wind, and the mistis flying over thee, let me approachmy love unperceived, and see himfrom the rock. Lovely I saw theefirst by the aged oak; thou wert returningtall from the chace; the fairestamong thy friends.
What voice is that I hear? thatvoice like the summer-wind.--I sitnot by the nodding rushes; I hear notthe fount of the rock. Afar, Vinvela,afar I go to the wars of Fingal. Mydogs attend me no more. No moreI tread the hill. No more from onhigh I see thee, fair-moving by thestream of the plain; bright as thebow of heaven; as the moon on thewestern wave.
Then thou art gone, O Shilric!and I am alone on the hill. Thedeer are seen on the brow; void offear they graze along. No more theydread the wind; no more the rustlingtree. The hunter is far removed;he is in the field of graves. Strangers!sons of the waves! spare mylovely Shilric.
If fall I must in the field, raise highmy grave, Vinvela. Grey stones, andheaped-up earth, shall mark me to futuretimes. When the hunter shall sit bythe mound, and produce his food atnoon, "some warrior rests here," hewill say; and my fame shall live in hispraise. Remember me, Vinvela, whenlow on earth I lie!
Yes!--I will remember thee--indeedmy Shilric will fall. What shall I do,my love! when thou art gone for ever?Through these hills I will go at noon: Owill go through the silent heath. ThereI will see where often thou sattest returningfrom the chace. Indeed, my Shilricwill fall; but I will rememberhim.
Words in this poem
- chace v. t.
- To pursue. See Chase v. t.
- 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.]
- 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,]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Poem I 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 I, in Fragments of Ancient Poetry (1760), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #8161, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/macpherson-ossian/vinvela.html, id L20676.
Form and metre
Poem I is 52 lines in 5 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 78%). 96% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.7 syllables. 3 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 79% 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--- hill · deer · panting · in · of · theA · are · mist · approach · him · theeA · returning · fairest · friends
- 2 -------AAA- that · sit · not · vinvela · my · more · on · theA · theA · theA · wave
- 3 A-------A shilricA · the · of · they · rustling · removed · strangers · my · shilricA
- 4 A--A-A--A highA · and · future · byA · at · heA · his · when · lieA
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 |
|---|---|---|
| My love is a son of the hill. | 8 | ········ |
| He pursues the flying deer. | 7 | ·˘/·/˘· |
| His grey dogs are panting | 6 | ····/˘ |
| around him; his bow-string sounds in | 8 | ········ |
| the wind. Whether by the fount of | 8 | ········ |
| the rock, or by the stream of the | 8 | ········ |
| mountain thou liest; when the rushes are | 9 | /˘····/˘· |
| nodding with the wind, and the mist | 8 | /˘······ |
| is flying over thee, let me approach | 9 | ·/˘····˘/ |
| my love unperceived, and see him | 8 | ········ |
| from the rock. Lovely I saw thee | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| first by the aged oak; thou wert returning | 10 | ·······˘/˘ |
| tall from the chace; the fairest | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| among thy friends. | 4 | ···· |
| What voice is that I hear? that | 7 | ······· |
| voice like the summer-wind.--I sit | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| not by the nodding rushes; I hear not | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| the fount of the rock. Afar, Vinvela, | 10 | ·····˘/··· |
| afar I go to the wars of Fingal. My | 11 | ˘/········· |
| dogs attend me no more. No more | 8 | ·˘/····· |
| I tread the hill. No more from on | 8 | ········ |
| high I see thee, fair-moving by the | 9 | ·····/˘·· |
| stream of the plain; bright as the | 7 | ······· |
| bow of heaven; as the moon on the | 8 | ··/····· |
| western wave. | 3 | /˘· |
| Then thou art gone, O Shilric! | 7 | ······· |
| and I am alone on the hill. The | 9 | ···˘/···· |
| deer are seen on the brow; void of | 8 | ········ |
| fear they graze along. No more they | 8 | ···˘/··· |
| dread the wind; no more the rustling | 8 | ······/˘ |
| tree. The hunter is far removed; | 8 | ··/˘··˘/ |
| he is in the field of graves. Strangers! | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| sons of the waves! spare my | 6 | ······ |
| lovely Shilric. | 4 | /˘·· |
| If fall I must in the field, raise high | 9 | ········· |
| my grave, Vinvela. Grey stones, and | 8 | ········ |
| heaped-up earth, shall mark me to future | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| times. When the hunter shall sit by | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| the mound, and produce his food at | 8 | ···˘/··· |
| noon, "some warrior rests here," he | 8 | ··/˘˘··· |
| will say; and my fame shall live in his | 9 | ········· |
| praise. Remember me, Vinvela, when | 9 | ·˘/˘····· |
| low on earth I lie! | 5 | ····· |
| Yes!--I will remember thee--indeed | 9 | ···˘/˘·˘/ |
| my Shilric will fall. What shall I do, | 9 | ········· |
| my love! when thou art gone for ever? | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| Through these hills I will go at noon: O | 9 | ········· |
| will go through the silent heath. There | 8 | ····/˘·· |
| I will see where often thou sattest returning | 12 | ····/˘·/˘˘/˘ |
| from the chace. Indeed, my Shilric | 8 | ···˘/··· |
| will fall; but I will remember | 8 | ·····˘/˘ |
| him. | 1 | · |
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