Israfel
In heaven a spirit doth dwell“Whose heart-strings are a lute;”None sing so wildly wellAs the angel Israfel,And the giddy stars (so legends tell)Ceasing their hymns, attend the spellOf his voice, all mute.
Tottering aboveIn her highest noon,The enamoured moonBlushes with love,While, to listen, the red levin(With the rapid Pleiads, even,Which were seven)Pauses in heaven.
And they say (the starry choirAnd the other listening things)That Israfeli’s fireIs owing to that lyreBy which he sits and sings—The trembling living wireOf those unusual strings.
But the skies that angel trod,Where deep thoughts are a duty—Where Love’s a grown-up God—Where the Houri glances areImbued with all the beautyWhich we worship in a star.
Therefore, thou art not wrong,Israfeli, who despisestAn unimpassioned song;To thee the laurels belong,Best bard, because the wisest!Merrily live, and long!
The ecstasies aboveWith thy burning measures suit—Thy grief, thy joy, thy hate, thy love,With the fervour of thy lute—Well may the stars be mute!
Yes, heaven is thine; but thisIs a world of sweets and sours;Our flowers are merely—flowers,And the shadow of thy perfect blissIs the sunshine of ours.
If I could dwellWhere IsrafelHath dwelt, and he where I,He might not sing so wildly wellA mortal melody,While a bolder note than this might swellFrom my lyre within the sky.
Words in this poem
- dwell v. i.
- To delay; to linger. [OE. dwellen, dwelien, to err, linger, AS. dwellan to deceive, hinder, delay, dwelian to err; akin to Icel. dvelja to delay, tarry, Sw. dväljas to dwell, Dan. dv]
- levin n.
- Lightning. Spenser. Levin brand, a thunderbolt. [Etymol. uncertain. Cf. Leven.]
- starry a.
- Abounding with stars; adorned with stars.
- houri n.
- A nymph of paradise; -- so called by the Mohammedans. [Per. huri, hura, hur; akin to Ar. hur, pl. of ahwar beautiful-eyed, black-eyed.]
- fervour n.
- Heat; excessive warmth. [OF. fervor, fervour, F. ferveur, L. fervor, fr. fervere. See Fervent.]
- sours n.
- Source. See Source.
- 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.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Israfel is in the public domain. This text is taken from The poetical works of Edgar Allan Poe, Project Gutenberg ebook #79019; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Edgar Allan Poe, Israfel, in The Complete Poetical Works (1827–1849), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #79019, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/poe-poems/israfel.html, id L04160.
Form and metre
Israfel is 51 lines in 8 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 84%). 90% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 6.8 syllables. 15 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 39% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
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 ABA-AAB dwellA · luteB · wellA · israfel · tellA · spellA · muteB
- 2 ABBABBCC aboveA · noonB · moonB · loveA · levinB · evenB · sevenC · heavenC
- 3 ABA-BAB choirA · thingsB · fireA · lyre · singsB · wireA · stringsB
- 4 ABACBC trodA · dutyB · godA · areC · beautyB · starC
- 5 A-AA-A wrongA · despisest · songA · belongA · wisest · longA
- 6 ABABB aboveA · suitB · loveA · luteB · muteB
- 7 ABBAB thisA · soursB · flowersB · blissA · oursB
- 8 A-BA-AB dwellA · israfel · iB · wellA · melody · swellA · skyB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| In heaven a spirit doth dwell | 8 | ·/˘·/˘·· |
| “Whose heart-strings are a lute;” | 6 | ······ |
| None sing so wildly well | 6 | ···/˘· |
| As the angel Israfel, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| And the giddy stars (so legends tell) | 9 | ··/˘··/˘· |
| Ceasing their hymns, attend the spell | 8 | /˘··˘/·· |
| Of his voice, all mute. | 5 | ····· |
| Tottering above | 5 | /˘˘·· |
| In her highest noon, | 5 | ··/˘· |
| The enamoured moon | 5 | ·˘/˘· |
| Blushes with love, | 4 | /˘·· |
| While, to listen, the red levin | 8 | ··/˘··/˘ |
| (With the rapid Pleiads, even, | 8 | ··/˘/˘/˘ |
| Which were seven) | 4 | ··/˘ |
| Pauses in heaven. | 5 | /˘·/˘ |
| And they say (the starry choir | 8 | ····/˘/˘ |
| And the other listening things) | 8 | ··/˘/˘˘· |
| That Israfeli’s fire | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Is owing to that lyre | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| By which he sits and sings— | 6 | ······ |
| The trembling living wire | 8 | ·/˘˘/˘/˘ |
| Of those unusual strings. | 7 | ··˘/˘˘· |
| But the skies that angel trod, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Where deep thoughts are a duty— | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Where Love’s a grown-up God— | 6 | ······ |
| Where the Houri glances are | 7 | ··/˘/˘· |
| Imbued with all the beauty | 8 | ˘/˘···/˘ |
| Which we worship in a star. | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Therefore, thou art not wrong, | 6 | ······ |
| Israfeli, who despisest | 8 | ·····˘/˘ |
| An unimpassioned song; | 7 | ·····˘· |
| To thee the laurels belong, | 7 | ···/˘˘/ |
| Best bard, because the wisest! | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Merrily live, and long! | 6 | /˘˘··· |
| The ecstasies above | 6 | ·/˘˘·· |
| With thy burning measures suit— | 7 | ··/˘/˘· |
| Thy grief, thy joy, thy hate, thy love, | 8 | ········ |
| With the fervour of thy lute— | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Well may the stars be mute! | 6 | ······ |
| Yes, heaven is thine; but this | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| Is a world of sweets and sours; | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Our flowers are merely—flowers, | 9 | /˘/˘·/˘/˘ |
| And the shadow of thy perfect bliss | 9 | ··/···/·· |
| Is the sunshine of ours. | 7 | ··/··/˘ |
| If I could dwell | 4 | ···· |
| Where Israfel | 4 | ···· |
| Hath dwelt, and he where I, | 6 | ······ |
| He might not sing so wildly well | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| A mortal melody, | 6 | ·/˘/˘˘ |
| While a bolder note than this might swell | 9 | ··/˘····· |
| From my lyre within the sky. | 7 | ······· |
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