Songs from the Troubadour (From Canto I.) (From Canto Ii.) III
Oh fly with me! ’tis Passion’s hour;The world is gone to sleep;And nothing wakes in brake or bower,But those who love and weep:This is the golden time and weather,When songs and sighs go out together,And minstrels pledge the rosy wineTo lutes like this, and lips like thine!
Oh fly with me! my courser’s flightIs like the rushing breeze,And the kind moon has said “Good night!”The lover’s voice--the loved one’s ear--There’s nothing else to speak or hear;And we will say, as on we glide,That nothing lives on earth beside!
Oh fly with me! and we will wingOur white skiff o’er the waves,And hear the Tritons revellingAmong their coral caves;The envious Mermaid, when we pass,Shall cease her song, and drop her glass;For it will break her very heart,To see how fair and dear thou art.
Oh fly with me! and we will dwellFar over the green seas,Where sadness rings no parting knellFor moments such as these!Where Italy’s unclouded skiesLook brightly down on brighter eyes,Or where the wave-wed City smiles,Enthroned upon her hundred isles.
Oh fly with me! by these sweet stringsSwept o’er by Passion’s fingers,By all the rocks, and vales, and springsWhere Memory lives and lingers,By all the tongue can never tell,By all the heart has told so well,By all that has been or may be,And by Love’s self--Oh fly with me!
Words in this poem
- courser n.
- One who courses or hunts. [F. coursier.]
- skiff n.
- A small, light boat. [F. esquif, fr. OHG. skif, G. schiff. See Ship.]
- envious a.
- Malignant; mischievous; spiteful. [OF. envios, F. envieux, fr. L. invidiosus, fr. invidia envy. See Envy, and cf. Invidious.]
- mermaid n.
- A fabled marine creature, typically represented as having the upper part like that of a woman, and the lower like a fish; a sea nymph, sea woman, or woman fish. [AS. mere lake, sea. See Mere lake, and maid.]
- 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,]
- dwell v. i.
- To delay; to linger. [OE. dwellen, dwelien, to err, linger, AS. dwellan to deceive, hinder, delay, dwelian to err; akin to Icel. dvelja to delay, tarry, Sw. dväljas to dwell, Dan. dv]
- sadness n.
- Heaviness; firmness.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Songs from the Troubadour (From Canto I.) (From Canto Ii.) III is in the public domain. This text is taken from The poems of Winthrop Mackworth Praed. [selected], Project Gutenberg ebook #71008; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Winthrop Mackworth Praed, Songs from the Troubadour (From Canto I.) (From Canto Ii.) III, in Poems (1820–1839), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #71008, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/praed-poems/songs-from-the-troubadour-from-canto-i-from-canto-ii-iii.html, id L10183.
Form and metre
Songs from the Troubadour (From Canto I.) (From Canto Ii.) III is 39 lines in 5 stanzas. The rhyme scheme is ABABCCDD, complete in 4 of its 5 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 92%). 97% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.7 syllables. 7 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 23% 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.
- 1 ABABCCDD hourA · sleepB · bowerA · weepB · weatherC · togetherC · wineD · thineD
- 2 A-ABBCC flightA · breeze · nightA · earB · hearB · glideC · besideC
- 3 ABABCCDD wingA · wavesB · revellingA · cavesB · passC · glassC · heartD · artD
- 4 ABABCCDD dwellA · seasB · knellA · theseB · skiesC · eyesC · smilesD · islesD
- 5 ABABCCDD stringsA · fingersB · springsA · lingersB · tellC · wellC · beD · meD
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Oh fly with me! ’tis Passion’s hour; | 9 | ·····/˘/˘ |
| The world is gone to sleep; | 6 | ······ |
| And nothing wakes in brake or bower, | 9 | ·/˘····/˘ |
| But those who love and weep: | 6 | ······ |
| This is the golden time and weather, | 9 | ···/˘··/˘ |
| When songs and sighs go out together, | 9 | ······˘/˘ |
| And minstrels pledge the rosy wine | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| To lutes like this, and lips like thine! | 8 | ········ |
| Oh fly with me! my courser’s flight | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Is like the rushing breeze, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| And the kind moon has said “Good night!” | 8 | ········ |
| The lover’s voice--the loved one’s ear-- | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| There’s nothing else to speak or hear; | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| And we will say, as on we glide, | 8 | ········ |
| That nothing lives on earth beside! | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| Oh fly with me! and we will wing | 8 | ········ |
| Our white skiff o’er the waves, | 7 | /˘····· |
| And hear the Tritons revelling | 8 | ···/˘˘/˘ |
| Among their coral caves; | 6 | ···/˘· |
| The envious Mermaid, when we pass, | 8 | ·/˘/···· |
| Shall cease her song, and drop her glass; | 8 | ········ |
| For it will break her very heart, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| To see how fair and dear thou art. | 8 | ········ |
| Oh fly with me! and we will dwell | 8 | ········ |
| Far over the green seas, | 6 | ······ |
| Where sadness rings no parting knell | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| For moments such as these! | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Where Italy’s unclouded skies | 8 | ·/˘˘···· |
| Look brightly down on brighter eyes, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Or where the wave-wed City smiles, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Enthroned upon her hundred isles. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Oh fly with me! by these sweet strings | 8 | ········ |
| Swept o’er by Passion’s fingers, | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| By all the rocks, and vales, and springs | 8 | ········ |
| Where Memory lives and lingers, | 8 | ·/˘˘··/˘ |
| By all the tongue can never tell, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| By all the heart has told so well, | 8 | ········ |
| By all that has been or may be, | 8 | ········ |
| And by Love’s self--Oh fly with me! | 8 | ········ |
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.