Songs from the Troubadour (From Canto I.) (From Canto Ii.) IV
Fare thee well, fare thee well,Most beautiful of earthly things!I will not bid thy spirit stay,Nor link to earth those glittering wings,That burst like light away!I know that thou art gone to dwellIn the sunny home of the fresh day-beam,Before decay’s unpitying treadHath crept upon the dearest dreamThat ever came and fled;Fare thee well, fare thee well;And go thy way, all pure and fair,Into the starry firmament;And wander there with the spirits of air,As bright and innocent!
Fare thee well, fare thee well!Strange feet will be upon thy clay,And never stop to sigh or sorrow;Yet many wept for thee to-day,And one will weep to-morrow:Alas! that melancholy knellShall often wake my wondering ear,And thou shalt greet me for awhile,Too beautiful to make me fear,Too sad to let me smile!Fare thee well, fare thee well!I know that heaven for thee is won!And yet I feel I would resignWhole ages of my life, for one--One little hour, of thine!
Fare thee well, fare thee well!See, I have been to the sweetest bowers,And culled from garden and from heathThe tenderest of all tender flowers,And blended in my wreathThe violet and the blue harebell,And one frail rose in its earliest bloom;Alas! I meant it for thy hair,And now I fling it on thy tomb,To weep and wither there!Fare ye well, fare ye well!Sleep, sleep, my love, in fragrant shade,Droop, droop, to-night, thou blushing token;A fairer flower shall never fade,Nor a fonder heart be broken!
Words in this poem
- 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]
- sunny a.
- Of or pertaining to the sun; proceeding from, or resembling the sun; hence, shining; bright; brilliant; radiant.
- starry a.
- Abounding with stars; adorned with stars.
- firmament n.
- Fixed foundation; established basis. [L. firmamentum, fr. firmare to make firm: cf. F. firmament. See Firm, v. & a.]
- 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,]
- shalt
- 2d per. sing. of Shall.
- awhile adv.
- For a while; for some time; for a short time. [Adj. a + while time, interval.]
- harebell n.
- A small, slender, branching plant (Campanula rotundifolia), having blue bell-shaped flowers; also, Scilla nutans, which has similar flowers; -- called also bluebell.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Songs from the Troubadour (From Canto I.) (From Canto Ii.) IV 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.) IV, 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-iv.html, id L10184.
Form and metre
Songs from the Troubadour (From Canto I.) (From Canto Ii.) IV is 45 lines in 3 stanzas of 15 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABCBCADEDEAFGFG, complete in 2 of its 3 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 85%). 96% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.6 syllables. 7 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 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 ABCBCADEDEAFGFG wellA · thingsB · stayC · wingsB · awayC · dwellA · beamD · treadE · dreamD · fledE · wellA · fairF · firmamentG · airF · innocentG
- 2 ABCBCADEDEAFGFG wellA · clayB · sorrowC · dayB · morrowC · knellA · earD · awhileE · fearD · smileE · wellA · wonF · resignG · oneF · thineG
- 3 ABCBC-DEDEAFGFG wellA · bowersB · heathC · flowersB · wreathC · harebell · bloomD · hairE · tombD · thereE · wellA · shadeF · tokenG · fadeF · brokenG
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Fare thee well, fare thee well, | 6 | ······ |
| Most beautiful of earthly things! | 8 | ·/˘˘·/˘· |
| I will not bid thy spirit stay, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Nor link to earth those glittering wings, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| That burst like light away! | 6 | ····˘/ |
| I know that thou art gone to dwell | 8 | ········ |
| In the sunny home of the fresh day-beam, | 10 | ··/˘······ |
| Before decay’s unpitying tread | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| Hath crept upon the dearest dream | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| That ever came and fled; | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Fare thee well, fare thee well; | 6 | ······ |
| And go thy way, all pure and fair, | 8 | ········ |
| Into the starry firmament; | 8 | ···/˘/˘˘ |
| And wander there with the spirits of air, | 10 | ·/˘···/˘·· |
| As bright and innocent! | 6 | ···/˘˘ |
| Fare thee well, fare thee well! | 6 | ······ |
| Strange feet will be upon thy clay, | 8 | ········ |
| And never stop to sigh or sorrow; | 9 | ·/˘····/˘ |
| Yet many wept for thee to-day, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| And one will weep to-morrow: | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Alas! that melancholy knell | 8 | ˘/·/˘·˘· |
| Shall often wake my wondering ear, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| And thou shalt greet me for awhile, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Too beautiful to make me fear, | 8 | ·/˘˘···· |
| Too sad to let me smile! | 6 | ······ |
| Fare thee well, fare thee well! | 6 | ······ |
| I know that heaven for thee is won! | 8 | ···/···· |
| And yet I feel I would resign | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Whole ages of my life, for one-- | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| One little hour, of thine! | 7 | ·/˘/˘·· |
| Fare thee well, fare thee well! | 6 | ······ |
| See, I have been to the sweetest bowers, | 9 | ······/˘/ |
| And culled from garden and from heath | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| The tenderest of all tender flowers, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘/ |
| And blended in my wreath | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| The violet and the blue harebell, | 9 | ·/˘˘···/˘ |
| And one frail rose in its earliest bloom; | 9 | ······/˘· |
| Alas! I meant it for thy hair, | 8 | ˘/······ |
| And now I fling it on thy tomb, | 8 | ········ |
| To weep and wither there! | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Fare ye well, fare ye well! | 6 | ······ |
| Sleep, sleep, my love, in fragrant shade, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Droop, droop, to-night, thou blushing token; | 9 | ·····/˘/˘ |
| A fairer flower shall never fade, | 8 | ·/˘/·/˘· |
| Nor a fonder heart be broken! | 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.