Helgakvitha Hundingsbana II: The Second Lay of Helgi Hundingsbane V
“What hero great | is guiding the ships?A golden flag | on the stem he flies;I find not peace | in the van of your faring,And round the fighters | is battle-light red.”
“Here may Hothbrodd | Helgi find,The hater of flight, | in the midst of the fleet;The home of all | thy race he has,And over the realm | of the fishes he rules.”
“First shall swords | at FrekasteinProve our worth | in place of words;Time is it, Hothbrodd, | vengeance to have,If in battle worsted | once we were.”
“Better, Gothmund, | to tend the goats,And climb the rocks | of the mountain cliffs;A hazel switch | to hold in thy handMore seemly were | than the hilt of a sword.”
“Better, Sinfjotli, | thee ’twould beseemBattles to give, | and eagles to gladden,Than vain and empty | speech to utter,Though warriors oft | with words do strive.
“Good I find not | the sons of Granmar,But for heroes ’tis seemly | the truth to speak;At Moinsheimar | proved the menThat hearts for the wielding | of swords they had,(And ever brave | the warriors are.)”
Words in this poem
- 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,]
- beseem v. i.
- To seem; to appear; to be fitting.
- gladden v. t.
- To make glad; to cheer; to please; to gratify; to rejoice; to exhilarate. [See Glad, v. t.]
- wielding n.
- Power; authority; rule.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Helgakvitha Hundingsbana II: The Second Lay of Helgi Hundingsbane V 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 V, 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-5.html, id L15734.
Form and metre
Helgakvitha Hundingsbana II: The Second Lay of Helgi Hundingsbane V is 25 lines in 6 verse paragraphs. It is unrhymed, as far as the pronouncing dictionary can tell. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 80%). 95% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 9.1 syllables. 3 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 16% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in iambic pentameter, other poems in blank verse.
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.
- 6 A---A granmarA · speak · men · had · areA
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 |
|---|---|---|
| “What hero great | is guiding the ships? | 9 | ·/˘··/˘·· |
| A golden flag | on the stem he flies; | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| I find not peace | in the van of your faring, | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| And round the fighters | is battle-light red.” | 9 | ···/·/˘·· |
| “Here may Hothbrodd | Helgi find, | 7 | ······· |
| The hater of flight, | in the midst of the fleet; | 11 | ·/˘········ |
| The home of all | thy race he has, | 8 | ········ |
| And over the realm | of the fishes he rules.” | 10 | ······/˘·· |
| “First shall swords | at Frekastein | 7 | ······· |
| Prove our worth | in place of words; | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Time is it, Hothbrodd, | vengeance to have, | 9 | ·····/˘·· |
| If in battle worsted | once we were.” | 9 | ··/˘/˘··· |
| “Better, Gothmund, | to tend the goats, | 8 | /˘······ |
| And climb the rocks | of the mountain cliffs; | 9 | ······/˘· |
| A hazel switch | to hold in thy hand | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| More seemly were | than the hilt of a sword.” | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| “Better, Sinfjotli, | thee ’twould beseem | 9 | /˘·····˘/ |
| Battles to give, | and eagles to gladden, | 10 | /˘···/˘·/˘ |
| Than vain and empty | speech to utter, | 9 | ···/˘··/˘ |
| Though warriors oft | with words do strive. | 9 | ·/˘˘····· |
| “Good I find not | the sons of Granmar, | 9 | ········· |
| But for heroes ’tis seemly | the truth to speak; | 11 | ··/˘·/˘···· |
| At Moinsheimar | proved the men | 8 | ·····˘·· |
| That hearts for the wielding | of swords they had, | 10 | ····/˘···· |
| (And ever brave | the warriors are.)” | 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.