One Only Thought
One thought torments me sorely—'tis that I,Pillowed on a soft bed of down, may die—Fade slowly, like a flower, and pass awayUnder the gentle pressure of decay.Paling as pales a fading, flickering lightIn the dark, lonesome solitude of night.O God! let not my Magyar nameBe linked with such a death of shame;No! rather let it beA lightning-struck, uprooted tree—A rock, which torn from mountain-brow,Comes rattling, thundering down below.Where every fettered race tired with their chains,Muster their ranks and seek the battle plains;And with red flushes the red flag unfold,The sacred signal there inscribed in gold—"For the world's liberty!"And, far and wide, the summons to be freeFills east and west,—and to the glorious fightHeroes press forward, battling for the right:There will I die!There, drowned in mine own heart's-blood, lie,—Poured out so willingly; th' expiring voice,Even in its own extinction shall rejoice.While the sword's clashing, and the trumpet's sound,And rifles and artillery thunder round;Then may the trampling horseGallop upon my corse,When o'er the battle-field the warriors fly.There let me rest till glorious victoryShall crown the right—my bones upgathered beAt the sublime interment of the free!When million voices shout their elegyUnder the unfurled banners waving high;On the gigantic grave which covers allThe heroes, who for freedom fall,And welcome death because they die for thee—All holy! world-delivering liberty!
Words in this poem 16
- sorely adv.
- In a sore manner; grievously; painfully; as, to be sorely afflicted.
- pillowed a.
- Provided with a pillow or pillows; having the head resting on, or as on, a pillow.
- paling n.
- Pales, in general; a fence formed with pales or pickets; a limit; an inclosure.
- fading n.
- An Irish dance; also, the burden of a song.
- lonesome a.
- Secluded from society; not frequented by human beings; solitary.
- magyar n.
- One of the dominant people of Hungary, allied to the Finns; a Hungarian. [Hung.]
- thundering a.
- Emitting thunder.
- fettered a.
- Seeming as if fettered, as the feet pf certain animals which bend backward, and appear unfit for walking.
- muster n.
- Something shown for imitation; a pattern. [OE. moustre, OF. mostre, moustre, F. montre, LL. monstra. See Muster, v. t.]
- glorious a.
- Exhibiting attributes, qualities, or acts that are worthy of or receive glory; noble; praiseworthy; excellent; splendid; illustrious; inspiring admiration; as, glorious deeds. [OF. glorios, glorious, F. glorieux, fr. L. gloriosus. See Glory, n.]
- willingly adv.
- In a willing manner; with free will; without reluctance; cheerfully.
- expiring a.
- Breathing out air from the lungs; emitting fluid or volatile matter; exhaling; breathing the last breath; dying; ending; terminating.
- 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,]
- artillery n.
- Munitions of war; implements for warfare, as slings, bows, and arrows. [OE. artilrie, OF. artillerie, arteillerie, fr. LL. artillaria, artilleria, machines and apparatus of all kinds used in war, vans laden with arms of any kind whi]
- corse n.
- A living body or its bulk. [OF. cors, F. corps. See Corpse.]
- elegy n.
- A mournful or plaintive poem; a funereal song; a poem of lamentation.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
One Only Thought 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, One Only Thought, in Translations from Alexander Petofi, the Magyar Poet (1866), text of Internet Archive, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/petofi-poems-bowring/one-only-thought.html, id L29836.
Form and metre
One Only Thought is 38 lines in a single stanza. It is in rhyming couplets, 74% of the lines: heroic couplets. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 84%).
See other poems in heroic couplets, 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 AABBCCDDEE--FFGG-HIIHHJJKKLLM-MM-MNNM- iA · dieA · awayB · decayB · lightC · nightC · nameD · shameD · beE · treeE · brow · below · chainsF · plainsF · unfoldG · goldG · liberty · freeH · fightI · rightI · dieH · lieH · voiceJ · rejoiceJ · soundK · roundK · horseL · corseL · flyM · victory · beM · freeM · elegy · highM · allN · fallN · theeM · liberty
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 |
|---|---|---|
| One thought torments me sorely—'tis that I, | 10 | ··/··/˘··· |
| Pillowed on a soft bed of down, may die— | 10 | /˘········ |
| Fade slowly, like a flower, and pass away | 10 | ·/˘··/··˘/ |
| Under the gentle pressure of decay. | 10 | ···/˘/˘·˘/ |
| Paling as pales a fading, flickering light | 10 | /˘···/˘/˘· |
| In the dark, lonesome solitude of night. | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| O God! let not my Magyar name | 8 | ·····/·· |
| Be linked with such a death of shame; | 9 | ··˘······ |
| No! rather let it be | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| A lightning-struck, uprooted tree— | 8 | ·/˘·˘/˘· |
| A rock, which torn from mountain-brow, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Comes rattling, thundering down below. | 9 | ·/˘/˘˘··· |
| Where every fettered race tired with their chains, | 10 | ·/˘/˘·/··· |
| Muster their ranks and seek the battle plains; | 10 | /˘·····/˘· |
| And with red flushes the red flag unfold, | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| The sacred signal there inscribed in gold— | 10 | ·/˘/˘·˘/·· |
| "For the world's liberty!" | 6 | ···/˘˘ |
| And, far and wide, the summons to be free | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Fills east and west,—and to the glorious fight | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Heroes press forward, battling for the right: | 10 | /˘·/˘/˘··· |
| There will I die! | 4 | ···· |
| There, drowned in mine own heart's-blood, lie,— | 9 | ··˘······ |
| Poured out so willingly; th' expiring voice, | 10 | ···/˘˘˘/˘· |
| Even in its own extinction shall rejoice. | 10 | /···˘/˘·˘/ |
| While the sword's clashing, and the trumpet's sound, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| And rifles and artillery thunder round; | 10 | ·/˘·˘/˘/˘· |
| Then may the trampling horse | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Gallop upon my corse, | 6 | /˘···· |
| When o'er the battle-field the warriors fly. | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| There let me rest till glorious victory | 11 | ·····/˘˘/˘˘ |
| Shall crown the right—my bones upgathered be | 10 | ·········· |
| At the sublime interment of the free! | 10 | ··˘/˘/˘··· |
| When million voices shout their elegy | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘˘ |
| Under the unfurled banners waving high; | 10 | ···˘//˘/˘· |
| On the gigantic grave which covers all | 10 | ··˘/˘··/˘· |
| The heroes, who for freedom fall, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| And welcome death because they die for thee— | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| All holy! world-delivering liberty! | 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.