The Harp That Once Through Tara’s Halls
The harp that once through Tara’s hallsThe soul of music shed,Now hangs as mute on Tara’s wallsAs if that soul were fled.So sleeps the pride of former days,So glory’s thrill is o’er,And hearts, that once beat high for praise,Now feel that pulse no more.
No more to chiefs and ladies brightThe harp of Tara swells;The chord alone, that breaks at night,Its tale of ruin tells.Thus Freedom now so seldom wakes,The only throb she givesIs when some heart indignant breaks,To show that still she lives.
Words in this poem
- 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.]
- indignant a.
- Affected with indignation; wrathful; passionate; irate; feeling wrath, as when a person is exasperated by unworthy or unjust treatment, by a mean action, or by a degrading accusation. [L. indignans, -antis, p. pr. of indignari to be indignant, disdain. See Indign.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Harp That Once Through Tara’s Halls is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems Every Child Should Know The What-Every-Child-Should-Know-Library, Project Gutenberg ebook #16436; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Mary E. Burt, The Harp That Once Through Tara’s Halls, in Poems Every Child Should Know (1904), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #16436, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/poems-every-child/the-harp-that-once-through-tara-s-halls.html, id L25313.
Form and metre
The Harp That Once Through Tara’s Halls is 16 lines in 2 stanzas of 8 lines each. Every stanza rhymes ABABCDCD. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 98%).
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 ABABCDCD hallsA · shedB · wallsA · fledB · daysC · o'erD · praiseC · moreD
- 2 ABABCDCD brightA · swellsB · nightA · tellsB · wakesC · givesD · breaksC · livesD
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 |
|---|---|---|
| The harp that once through Tara’s halls | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| The soul of music shed, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Now hangs as mute on Tara’s walls | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| As if that soul were fled. | 6 | ······ |
| So sleeps the pride of former days, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| So glory’s thrill is o’er, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| And hearts, that once beat high for praise, | 8 | ········ |
| Now feel that pulse no more. | 6 | ······ |
| No more to chiefs and ladies bright | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| The harp of Tara swells; | 6 | ···/˘· |
| The chord alone, that breaks at night, | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| Its tale of ruin tells. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Thus Freedom now so seldom wakes, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| The only throb she gives | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Is when some heart indignant breaks, | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| To show that still she lives. | 6 | ······ |
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.