The Poetic Edda: Of Hjorvarth and Sigrlin I
“Sawest thou Sigrlin, | Svafnir’s daughter,The fairest maid | in her home-land found?Though Hjorvarth’s wives | by men are heldGoodly to see | in Glasir’s wood.”
“I may if the prince | an offering makes,And I have what I will | from the house of the king.”
“Choose not Hjorvarth, | nor sons of his,Nor the wives so fair | of the famous chief;Ask not the brides | that the prince’s are;Fair let us deal | in friendly wise.”
“A fane will I ask, | and altars many,Gold-horned cattle | the prince shall give me,If Sigrlin yet | shall sleep in his arms,Or free of will | the hero shall follow.”
“Trouble we had, | but tidings none,Our horses failed | in the mountains high,The waters of Sæmorn | we needs must wade;Svafnir’s daughter, | with rings bedecked,She whom we sought, | was still denied us.”
Words in this poem
- goodly a.
- Pleasant; agreeable; desirable. [OE. godlich, AS. g. See Good, and Like.]
- fane n.
- A temple; a place consecrated to religion; a church. [L. fanum a place dedicated to some deity, a sanctuary, fr. fari to speak. See Fame.]
- 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,]
- morn n.
- The first part of the day; the morning; -- used chiefly in poetry. [OE. morwen, morgen, AS. morgen; akin to D. morgen, OS. morgan, G. morgen, Icel. morginn, morgunn, Sw. morgon, Dan. morgen, Goth. maúrgins. Cf. Morrow, Morning.]
- needs adv.
- Of necessity; necessarily; indispensably; -- often with must, and equivalent to of need. [Orig. gen. of need, used as an adverb. Cf. - wards.]
- wade n.
- Woad. Mortimer.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Poetic Edda: Of Hjorvarth and Sigrlin I 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, The Poetic Edda: Of Hjorvarth and Sigrlin I, in The Poetic Edda (1923), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #73533, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/poetic-edda/the-poetic-edda-of-hjorvarth-and-sigrlin-i.html, id L15725.
Form and metre
The Poetic Edda: Of Hjorvarth and Sigrlin I is 19 lines in 5 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 73%). 89% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 9.2 syllables. 3 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 5% 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 |
|---|---|---|
| “Sawest thou Sigrlin, | Svafnir’s daughter, | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| The fairest maid | in her home-land found? | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| Though Hjorvarth’s wives | by men are held | 8 | ········ |
| Goodly to see | in Glasir’s wood.” | 8 | /˘······ |
| “I may if the prince | an offering makes, | 10 | ······/˘˘· |
| And I have what I will | from the house of the king.” | 12 | ············ |
| “Choose not Hjorvarth, | nor sons of his, | 8 | ········ |
| Nor the wives so fair | of the famous chief; | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Ask not the brides | that the prince’s are; | 9 | ······/˘· |
| Fair let us deal | in friendly wise.” | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| “A fane will I ask, | and altars many, | 10 | ······/˘/˘ |
| Gold-horned cattle | the prince shall give me, | 9 | ··/˘····· |
| If Sigrlin yet | shall sleep in his arms, | 9 | ········· |
| Or free of will | the hero shall follow.” | 10 | ·····/˘·/˘ |
| “Trouble we had, | but tidings none, | 8 | /˘···/˘· |
| Our horses failed | in the mountains high, | 10 | /˘/˘···/˘· |
| The waters of Sæmorn | we needs must wade; | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Svafnir’s daughter, | with rings bedecked, | 8 | ··/˘··˘/ |
| She whom we sought, | was still denied us.” | 9 | ······˘/· |
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