Erlau Echoes
On earth the snow, the clouds on heaven,And what upon the ice?What to expect when winter enters,But what is winterwise?I looked within—of winter's presenceI well may doubt;But doubt not if beyond the windowI look without.
Here, warm and cosy, I am sitting,Where laughing friends abound,And the red wine from Erlau's mountainIs passing gaily round:Good wine, good friends, when met together,Bring peace and joy,And in the bosom's warmth enkindledBliss rises high.
And could that bliss its seeds be bearing,I'd sow them on the snow,And, blossoming there, a grove of rosesAmidst the ice would grow;And if my glowing heart in transportTo heaven were hurled,Instead of the uncertain sunshine,'Twould warm the world.
These are the rocks where Dobó printedHis name in Moslem gore,On pages where his courage gravenShall perish never more.He was a man of men, unequalledThe fame shall be,Till in its course the Danube hurriesBack from the sea.
The early deeds of Magyar gloryAre faded, and our homeIs palsied, and the Magyar peopleWeak, stupefied, and dumb.Will then spring-dawn return awakenedSome future day;And our dark hearths again be brightened,Oh! who can say?
But for a day be all forgotten—Forgotten till to-morrow—The passing hour we will not darkenWith such a dismal sorrow.And shall our plaints reflect for everA bootless smart?The breaking lyre's last death-vibrationMay break man's heart.
Away then all this anguish wasted!Flung far from you and me,Let emptied glasses be the coffinsFor burying memory!Another glass, and yet another—Another glass—Fill—drink—re-fill—and drink, and emptyThe earlier mass!
Well! now a dream my soul possesses,Each glass a century be,The present gone, the future beaming,Beaming with liberty.O joy! O joy! the land's redemptionIs now at hand;I see arrayed in freedom's gloryThe Fatherland.
Words in this poem
- expect v. t.
- To wait for; to await. [L. expectatum, to look out for, await, expect; ex + out spectare to look at. See Spectacle.]
- gaily adv.
- Merrily; showily. See gaily. [From Gay.]
- amidst prep.
- In the midst or middle of; surrounded or encompassed by; among. [OE. amidde, amiddes, on midden, AS. on middan, in the middle, fr. midde the middle. The s is an adverbial ending, originally marking the genitive; the t is a la]
- sunshine n.
- The light of the sun, or the place where it shines; the direct rays of the sun, the place where they fall, or the warmth and light which they give.
- graven p. p.
- Carved. Graven image, an idol; an object of worship carved from wood, stone, etc.
- 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,]
- hurries n.
- A staith or framework from which coal is discharged from cars into vessels.
- magyar n.
- One of the dominant people of Hungary, allied to the Finns; a Hungarian. [Hung.]
- palsied a.
- Affected with palsy; paralyzed.
- dismal a.
- Fatal; ill-omened; unlucky. [Formerly a noun; e. g., "I trow it was in the dismalle." Chaucer. Of uncertain origin; but perh. (as suggested by Skeat) from OF. disme, F. dîme, tithe, the phr]
- bootless a.
- Unavailing; unprofitable; useless; without advantage or success. [From Boot profit.]
- fatherland n.
- One's native land; the native land of one's fathers or ancestors. [Imitated fr. D. vaderland. See Father, and Land.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Erlau Echoes is in the public domain. This text is taken from Translations from Alexander Petofi, the Magyar Poet, by Sir John Bowring (London: Trübner & Co., 1866), Internet Archive, the John Bowring translation; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Sándor Petőfi, Erlau Echoes, in Translations from Alexander Petofi, the Magyar Poet (1866), text of Internet Archive, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/petofi-poems-bowring/erlau-echoes.html, id L29797.
Form and metre
Erlau Echoes is 64 lines in 8 stanzas of 8 lines each. This poem did not settle on a metre of its own; the book it comes from is in iambic pentameter.
See other poems in iambic pentameter.
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 heaven · ice · enters · winterwise · presence · doubtA · window · withoutA
- 2 -A-A---- sitting · aboundA · mountain · roundA · together · joy · enkindled · high
- 3 -A-A-B-B bearing · snowA · roses · growA · transport · hurledB · sunshine · worldB
- 4 -A-A-B-B printed · goreA · graven · moreA · unequalled · beB · hurries · seaB
- 5 -A-A-B-B glory · homeA · people · dumbA · awakened · dayB · brightened · sayB
- 6 -A-A-B-B forgotten · morrowA · darken · sorrowA · ever · smartB · vibration · heartB
- 7 -----A-A wasted · me · coffins · memory · another · glassA · empty · massA
- 8 -----A-A possesses · be · beaming · liberty · redemption · handA · glory · fatherlandA
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 pentameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| On earth the snow, the clouds on heaven, | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| And what upon the ice? | 6 | ······ |
| What to expect when winter enters, | 9 | ··˘/·/˘/˘ |
| But what is winterwise? | 6 | ······ |
| I looked within—of winter's presence | 9 | ·····/˘/˘ |
| I well may doubt; | 4 | ···· |
| But doubt not if beyond the window | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| I look without. | 4 | ···· |
| Here, warm and cosy, I am sitting, | 9 | ···/˘··/˘ |
| Where laughing friends abound, | 6 | ·/˘·˘/ |
| And the red wine from Erlau's mountain | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| Is passing gaily round: | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| Good wine, good friends, when met together, | 9 | ······˘/˘ |
| Bring peace and joy, | 4 | ···· |
| And in the bosom's warmth enkindled | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Bliss rises high. | 4 | ·/˘· |
| And could that bliss its seeds be bearing, | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| I'd sow them on the snow, | 6 | ······ |
| And, blossoming there, a grove of roses | 9 | ·/˘····/˘ |
| Amidst the ice would grow; | 6 | ˘/···· |
| And if my glowing heart in transport | 9 | ···/˘··/˘ |
| To heaven were hurled, | 5 | ·/˘·· |
| Instead of the uncertain sunshine, | 9 | ˘/··˘/˘/· |
| 'Twould warm the world. | 4 | ···· |
| These are the rocks where Dobó printed | 8 | ······/˘ |
| His name in Moslem gore, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| On pages where his courage graven | 9 | ·/˘··/˘/˘ |
| Shall perish never more. | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| He was a man of men, unequalled | 9 | ······˘/˘ |
| The fame shall be, | 4 | ···· |
| Till in its course the Danube hurries | 9 | ·····/˘/˘ |
| Back from the sea. | 4 | ···· |
| The early deeds of Magyar glory | 9 | ·/˘··/·/˘ |
| Are faded, and our home | 7 | ·/˘·/˘· |
| Is palsied, and the Magyar people | 9 | ·/˘··/·/˘ |
| Weak, stupefied, and dumb. | 6 | ·/˘˘·· |
| Will then spring-dawn return awakened | 9 | ····˘/˘/˘ |
| Some future day; | 4 | ·/˘· |
| And our dark hearths again be brightened, | 9 | ·/··˘/·/˘ |
| Oh! who can say? | 4 | ···· |
| But for a day be all forgotten— | 9 | ······˘/˘ |
| Forgotten till to-morrow— | 7 | ˘/˘··/˘ |
| The passing hour we will not darken | 9 | ·/˘/···/˘ |
| With such a dismal sorrow. | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| And shall our plaints reflect for ever | 9 | ··/·˘/·/˘ |
| A bootless smart? | 4 | ·/˘· |
| The breaking lyre's last death-vibration | 9 | ·/˘···˘/˘ |
| May break man's heart. | 4 | ···· |
| Away then all this anguish wasted! | 9 | ˘/···/˘/˘ |
| Flung far from you and me, | 6 | ······ |
| Let emptied glasses be the coffins | 9 | ·/˘/˘··/˘ |
| For burying memory! | 7 | ·/˘˘/˘˘ |
| Another glass, and yet another— | 9 | ˘/˘···˘/˘ |
| Another glass— | 4 | ˘/˘· |
| Fill—drink—re-fill—and drink, and empty | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| The earlier mass! | 5 | ·/˘˘· |
| Well! now a dream my soul possesses, | 9 | ······˘/˘ |
| Each glass a century be, | 7 | ···/˘˘· |
| The present gone, the future beaming, | 9 | ·/˘··/˘/˘ |
| Beaming with liberty. | 6 | /˘·/˘˘ |
| O joy! O joy! the land's redemption | 9 | ······˘/˘ |
| Is now at hand; | 4 | ···· |
| I see arrayed in freedom's glory | 9 | ··˘/·/˘/˘ |
| The Fatherland. | 4 | ·/˘· |
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.