Helgakvitha Hundingsbana II: The Second Lay of Helgi Hundingsbane III
Sigrun the joyful | chieftain sought,Forthwith Helgi’s | hand she took;She greeted the hero | helmed and kissed him,The warrior’s heart | to the woman turned.
From her heart the daughter | of Hogni spake,Dear was Helgi, | she said, to her;“Long with all | my heart I lovedSigmund’s son | ere ever I saw him.
“At the meeting to Hothbrodd | mated I was,But another hero | I fain would have;Though, king, the wrath | of my kin I fear,Since I broke my father’s | fairest wish.”
“Fear not ever | Hogni’s anger,Nor yet thy kinsmen’s | cruel wrath;Maiden, thou | with me shalt live,Thy kindred, fair one, | I shall not fear.”
Words in this poem
- forthwith adv.
- Immediately; without delay; directly.
- helmed a.
- Covered with a helmet.
- fain v. t.
- To be glad ; to wish or desire.
- broke v. i.
- To transact business for another. Brome. [See Broker, and cf. Brook.]
- shalt
- 2d per. sing. of Shall.
- 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,]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Helgakvitha Hundingsbana II: The Second Lay of Helgi Hundingsbane III is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Poetic Edda, Project Gutenberg ebook #73533, the Henry Adams Bellows 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: Anonymous, Helgakvitha Hundingsbana II: The Second Lay of Helgi Hundingsbane III, in The Poetic Edda (1923), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #73533, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/poetic-edda/helgakvitha-hundingsbana-ii-the-second-lay-of-helgi-hundings-3.html, id L15732.
Form and metre
Helgakvitha Hundingsbana II: The Second Lay of Helgi Hundingsbane III is 16 lines in 4 verse paragraphs. It is unrhymed, as far as the pronouncing dictionary can tell. The metre is trochaic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 78%). 89% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.8 syllables. 1 line ends on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 6% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in trochaic 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.
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 trochaic pentameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Sigrun the joyful | chieftain sought, | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Forthwith Helgi’s | hand she took; | 7 | //····· |
| She greeted the hero | helmed and kissed him, | 10 | ·/˘·/˘···· |
| The warrior’s heart | to the woman turned. | 10 | ·/˘˘···/˘· |
| From her heart the daughter | of Hogni spake, | 10 | ····/˘···· |
| Dear was Helgi, | she said, to her; | 8 | ········ |
| “Long with all | my heart I loved | 7 | ······· |
| Sigmund’s son | ere ever I saw him. | 9 | /˘··/˘··· |
| “At the meeting to Hothbrodd | mated I was, | 11 | ··/˘···/˘·· |
| But another hero | I fain would have; | 10 | ·˘/˘/˘···· |
| Though, king, the wrath | of my kin I fear, | 9 | ········· |
| Since I broke my father’s | fairest wish.” | 9 | ····/˘/˘· |
| “Fear not ever | Hogni’s anger, | 8 | ··/˘··/˘ |
| Nor yet thy kinsmen’s | cruel wrath; | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Maiden, thou | with me shalt live, | 7 | /˘····· |
| Thy kindred, fair one, | I shall not fear.” | 9 | ·/˘······ |
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.