The Poetic Edda: Of Hjorvarth and Sigrlin IV
“Welcome, Hethin! | what hast thou to tellOf tidings new | that from Norway come?Wherefore didst leave | thy land, O prince,And fared alone | to find us here?”
“A deed more evil | I have doneThan, brother mine, | thou e’er canst mend;For I have chosen | the child of the king,Thy bride, for mine | at the monarch’s toast.”
“Grieve not, Hethin, | for true shall holdThe words we both | by the beer have sworn;To the isle a warrior | wills that I go,(There shall I come | the third night hence;)And doubtful must be | my coming back,(So may all be well, | if fate so wills.)”
“Thou saidst once, Helgi, | that Hethin wasA friend full good, | and gifts didst give him;More seemly it were | thy sword to redden,Than friendship thus | to thy foe to give.”
“On a wolf there rode, | when dusk it was,A woman who fain | would have him follow;Well she knew | that now would fallSigrlin’s son | at Sigarsvoll.”
Sigar riding | did Helgi sendTo seek out Eylimi’s | only daughter:“Bid her swiftly | ready to be,If her lover | alive she would find.”
“Hither now | has Helgi sent me,With thee, Svava, | thyself to speak;The hero said | he fain would see theeEre life the nobly | born should leave.”
“What chanced with Helgi, | Hjorvarth’s son?Hard to me | is harm now come;If the sea smote him, | or sword bit him,Ill shall I bring | to all his foes.”
“In the morn he fell | at Frekastein,The king who was noblest | beneath the sun;Alf has the joy | of victory all,Though need therefor | is never his.”
“Hail to thee, Svava! | thy sorrow rule,Our meeting last | in life is this;Hard the wounds | of the hero bleed,And close to my heart | the sword has come.
“I bid thee, Svava,— | weep not, bride,—If thou wilt hearken | to these my words,The bed for Hethin | have thou ready,And yield thy love | to the hero young.”
“A vow I had | in my dear-loved home,When Helgi sought | with rings to have me,That not of my will, | if the warrior died,Would I fold in my arms | a man unfamed.”
“Kiss me, Svava, | I come not back,Rogheim to see, | or Rothulsfjoll,Till vengeance I have | for the son of Hjorvarth,The king who was noblest | beneath the sun.”
Words in this poem
- hast
- , 2d pers. sing. pres. of. Fave, contr. of havest.
- wherefore adv.
- For which reason; so; -- used relatively. [Where + for.]
- didst
- , the 2d pers. sing. imp. of Do.
- 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,]
- isle v. t.
- To cause to become an island, or like an island; to surround or encompass; to island.
- rode n.
- Redness; complexion. [See Rud.]
- fain v. t.
- To be glad ; to wish or desire.
- nobly adv.
- Of noble extraction; as, nobly born or descended.
- 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.]
- therefor adv.
- For that, or this; for it. [There + for. Cf. Therefore.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Poetic Edda: Of Hjorvarth and Sigrlin IV 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 IV, 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-iv.html, id L15728.
Form and metre
The Poetic Edda: Of Hjorvarth and Sigrlin IV is 54 lines in 13 verse paragraphs. It is unrhymed, as far as the pronouncing dictionary can tell. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 81%). 94% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.8 syllables. 4 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 13% 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.
- 7 A-A- meA · speak · theeA · leave
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 |
|---|---|---|
| “Welcome, Hethin! | what hast thou to tell | 9 | /˘······· |
| Of tidings new | that from Norway come? | 9 | ·/˘···/·· |
| Wherefore didst leave | thy land, O prince, | 8 | /˘······ |
| And fared alone | to find us here?” | 9 | ··˘˘/···· |
| “A deed more evil | I have done | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Than, brother mine, | thou e’er canst mend; | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| For I have chosen | the child of the king, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Thy bride, for mine | at the monarch’s toast.” | 9 | ······/·· |
| “Grieve not, Hethin, | for true shall hold | 8 | ········ |
| The words we both | by the beer have sworn; | 9 | ········· |
| To the isle a warrior | wills that I go, | 10 | ····/˘···· |
| (There shall I come | the third night hence;) | 8 | ········ |
| And doubtful must be | my coming back, | 9 | ·/˘···/˘· |
| (So may all be well, | if fate so wills.)” | 9 | ········· |
| “Thou saidst once, Helgi, | that Hethin was | 9 | ········· |
| A friend full good, | and gifts didst give him; | 9 | ········· |
| More seemly it were | thy sword to redden, | 10 | ·/˘·····/˘ |
| Than friendship thus | to thy foe to give.” | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| “On a wolf there rode, | when dusk it was, | 9 | ········· |
| A woman who fain | would have him follow; | 10 | ·/˘·····/˘ |
| Well she knew | that now would fall | 7 | ······· |
| Sigrlin’s son | at Sigarsvoll.” | 7 | ······· |
| Sigar riding | did Helgi send | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| To seek out Eylimi’s | only daughter: | 10 | ······/˘/˘ |
| “Bid her swiftly | ready to be, | 8 | ··/˘/˘·· |
| If her lover | alive she would find.” | 9 | ··/˘˘/··· |
| “Hither now | has Helgi sent me, | 8 | /˘······ |
| With thee, Svava, | thyself to speak; | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| The hero said | he fain would see thee | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| Ere life the nobly | born should leave.” | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| “What chanced with Helgi, | Hjorvarth’s son? | 9 | ··˘······ |
| Hard to me | is harm now come; | 7 | ······· |
| If the sea smote him, | or sword bit him, | 9 | ········· |
| Ill shall I bring | to all his foes.” | 8 | ········ |
| “In the morn he fell | at Frekastein, | 9 | ········· |
| The king who was noblest | beneath the sun; | 10 | ····/˘···· |
| Alf has the joy | of victory all, | 9 | ·····/˘˘· |
| Though need therefor | is never his.” | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
| “Hail to thee, Svava! | thy sorrow rule, | 9 | ······/˘· |
| Our meeting last | in life is this; | 9 | /˘/˘····· |
| Hard the wounds | of the hero bleed, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And close to my heart | the sword has come. | 9 | ········· |
| “I bid thee, Svava,— | weep not, bride,— | 8 | ········ |
| If thou wilt hearken | to these my words, | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| The bed for Hethin | have thou ready, | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| And yield thy love | to the hero young.” | 9 | ······/˘· |
| “A vow I had | in my dear-loved home, | 9 | ········· |
| When Helgi sought | with rings to have me, | 9 | ········· |
| That not of my will, | if the warrior died, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Would I fold in my arms | a man unfamed.” | 10 | ·········· |
| “Kiss me, Svava, | I come not back, | 8 | ········ |
| Rogheim to see, | or Rothulsfjoll, | 8 | ········ |
| Till vengeance I have | for the son of Hjorvarth, | 11 | ·/˘········ |
| The king who was noblest | beneath the sun.” | 10 | ····/˘···· |
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