The Clouds
Were I a bird my throne I'd buildAmong the clouds supernal,And all those flying shadows gildWith beams of light eternal.
Should we not love the heavenly hostThat grandly rolls above us?They pass, and each in each is lost,Yet lingeringly love us.
On me at least they seem to shine,Their tender glances bringing;These wanderers thro' the light divine,They listen to my singing.
I've listened to the harmoniesOf those serene evangels,Whose sounds of music filled the skiesLike anthems of the angels,
Or children's voices—children boundTo heaven—in clouds I saw them;Shadows of life and death around,And earth far, far below them.
And then I watched the pale moon's face,Whose melancholy beauty,Soft clouds—the ministers of grace,Watched in attendant duty.
And every fashion, every formWas graceful and attractive,And seemed my inmost soul to warmWith inspirations active.
With sympathies, which echoing fillThat soul with their own blisses,And new emotions throb and thrillThro' all its deep abysses.
O how those clouds resemble wellLife's darkening and life's brightening,To me of gushing tears they tell,They tell of passion's lightning.
Words in this poem
- supernal a.
- Being in a higher place or region; locally higher; as, the supernal orbs; supernal regions. [L. supernus, from super above: cf. F. supernel. See Super-.]
- grandly adv.
- In a grand manner.
- lingeringly adv.
- With delay; slowly; tediously.
- inmost a.
- Deepest within; farthest from the surface or external part; innermost. [OE. innemest, AS. innemest, a double superlative form fr. inne within, fr. in in. The modern form is due to confusion with most. See In, and cf. Aftermost, Fore]
- throb v. i.
- To beat, or pulsate, with more than usual force or rapidity; to beat in consequence of agitation; to palpitate; -- said of the heart, pulse, etc. [OE. ; of uncertain origin; cf. Russ. trepete a trembling, and E. trepidation.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Clouds 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, The Clouds, in Translations from Alexander Petofi, the Magyar Poet (1866), text of Internet Archive, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/petofi-poems-bowring/the-clouds.html, id L29819.
Form and metre
The Clouds is 36 lines in 9 stanzas of 4 lines each. Every stanza rhymes ABAB. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 90%).
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 ABAB buildA · supernalB · gildA · eternalB
- 2 ABAB hostA · usB · lostA · usB
- 3 ABAB shineA · bringingB · divineA · singingB
- 4 ABAB harmoniesA · evangelsB · skiesA · angelsB
- 5 ABAB boundA · themB · aroundA · themB
- 6 ABAB faceA · beautyB · graceA · dutyB
- 7 ABAB formA · attractiveB · warmA · activeB
- 8 ABAB fillA · blissesB · thrillA · abyssesB
- 9 ABAB wellA · brighteningB · tellA · lightningB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Were I a bird my throne I'd build | 8 | ········ |
| Among the clouds supernal, | 7 | ····˘/˘ |
| And all those flying shadows gild | 8 | ···/˘/·· |
| With beams of light eternal. | 7 | ····˘/˘ |
| Should we not love the heavenly host | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| That grandly rolls above us? | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| They pass, and each in each is lost, | 8 | ········ |
| Yet lingeringly love us. | 7 | ·/˘˘˘·· |
| On me at least they seem to shine, | 8 | ········ |
| Their tender glances bringing; | 7 | ·/˘/˘/˘ |
| These wanderers thro' the light divine, | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| They listen to my singing. | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| I've listened to the harmonies | 8 | ·/˘··/˘˘ |
| Of those serene evangels, | 7 | ··˘/··· |
| Whose sounds of music filled the skies | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Like anthems of the angels, | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| Or children's voices—children bound | 8 | ·/˘/˘/˘· |
| To heaven—in clouds I saw them; | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Shadows of life and death around, | 8 | /······· |
| And earth far, far below them. | 7 | ······· |
| And then I watched the pale moon's face, | 8 | ········ |
| Whose melancholy beauty, | 7 | ·/˘·˘/˘ |
| Soft clouds—the ministers of grace, | 8 | ···/˘˘·· |
| Watched in attendant duty. | 8 | ·˘·˘/˘/˘ |
| And every fashion, every form | 8 | ·/˘/˘/˘· |
| Was graceful and attractive, | 7 | ·/˘·˘/˘ |
| And seemed my inmost soul to warm | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| With inspirations active. | 7 | ··˘/˘/˘ |
| With sympathies, which echoing fill | 8 | ·/˘·/˘˘· |
| That soul with their own blisses, | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| And new emotions throb and thrill | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| Thro' all its deep abysses. | 7 | ····˘/˘ |
| O how those clouds resemble well | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| Life's darkening and life's brightening, | 9 | ·/˘˘··/˘˘ |
| To me of gushing tears they tell, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| They tell of passion's lightning. | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
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.