The Tyrant and the Captive
It was midnight when I listened,And I heard two Voices speak;One was harsh, and stern, and cruel,And the other soft and weak:Yet I saw no Vision enter,And I heard no steps depart,Of this Tyrant and his Captive, . . .Fate it might be and a Heart.
Thus the stern Voice spake in triumph:-"I have shut your life awayFrom the radiant world of nature,And the perfumed light of day.You, who loved to steep your spiritIn the charm of Earth's delight,See no glory of the daytime,And no sweetness of the night."
But the soft Voice answered calmly:"Nay, for when the March winds bringJust a whisper to my window,I can dream the rest of Spring;And to-day I saw a SwallowFlitting past my prison bars,And my cell has just one cornerWhence at night I see the stars."
But its bitter taunt repeating,Cried the harsh Voice:--"Where are they--All the friends of former hours,Who forget your name to-day?All the links of love are shattered,Which you thought so strong before;And your very heart is lonely,And alone since loved no more."
But the low Voice spoke still lower:--"Nay, I know the golden chainOf my love is purer, stronger,For the cruel fire of pain:They remember me no longer,But I, grieving here alone,Bind their souls to me for everBy the love within their own."
But the Voice cried:- "Once rememberYou devoted soul and mindTo the welfare of your brethren,And the service of your kind.Now, what sorrow can you comfort?You, who lie in helpless pain,With an impotent compassionFretting out your life in vain."
"Nay;" and then the gentle answerRose more loud, and full, and clear:"For the sake of all my brethrenI thank God that I am here!Poor had been my Life's best efforts,Now I waste no thought or breath--For the prayer of those who sufferHas the strength of Love and Death."
Words in this poem
- depart v. i.
- To part; to divide; to separate. [OE. departen to divide, part, depart, F. départir to divide, distribute, se départir to separate one's self, depart; pref. dé- (L. de) + partir to part, depart,]
- flitting n.
- A flying with lightness and celerity; a fluttering.
- spoke n.
- The radius or ray of a wheel; one of the small bars which are inserted in the hub, or nave, and which serve to support the rim or felly. [OE. spoke, spake, AS, spaca; akin to D. speek, LG. speke, OHG. speihha, G. speiche. sq. root170. Cf. Spike a nail.]
- thank n.
- A expression of gratitude; an acknowledgment expressive of a sense of favor or kindness received; obligation, claim, or desert, or gratitude; -- now generally used in the plural. [AS. Þanc, Þonc, thanks, favor, thought; akin to OS. thank favor, pleasure, thanks, D. & G. dank thanks, Icel. Þ\'94kk, Dan. tak, Sw. tack, Goth. Þagks thanks; -]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Tyrant and the Captive is in the public domain. This text is taken from Legends and Lyrics. Part 2, Project Gutenberg ebook #2304; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Adelaide Anne Procter, The Tyrant and the Captive, in Legends and Lyrics: Second Series (1861), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #2304, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/procter-legends-lyrics/the-tyrant-and-the-captive.html, id L21776.
Form and metre
The Tyrant and the Captive is 56 lines in 7 stanzas of 8 lines each. The metre is trochaic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 90%).
See other poems in trochaic 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 -A-A-B-B listened · speakA · cruel · weakA · enter · departB · captive · heartB
- 2 -A-ABB-B triumph · awayA · nature · dayA · spiritB · delightB · daytime · nightB
- 3 -A-A-B-B calmly · bringA · window · springA · swallow · barsB · corner · starsB
- 4 -A-A-B-B repeating · theyA · hours · dayA · shattered · beforeB · lonely · moreB
- 5 -ABABC-C lower · chainA · strongerB · painA · longerB · aloneC · ever · ownC
- 6 -ABA-BBB remember · mindA · brethrenB · kindA · comfort · painB · compassionB · vainB
- 7 -A-A-B-B answer · clearA · brethren · hereA · efforts · breathB · suffer · deathB
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 tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| It was midnight when I listened, | 8 | ··/···/˘ |
| And I heard two Voices speak; | 7 | ····/˘· |
| One was harsh, and stern, and cruel, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| And the other soft and weak: | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Yet I saw no Vision enter, | 8 | ····/˘/˘ |
| And I heard no steps depart, | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| Of this Tyrant and his Captive, . . . | 8 | ··/˘··/˘ |
| Fate it might be and a Heart. | 7 | ······· |
| Thus the stern Voice spake in triumph:- | 8 | ······/˘ |
| "I have shut your life away | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| From the radiant world of nature, | 9 | ··/˘˘··/˘ |
| And the perfumed light of day. | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| You, who loved to steep your spirit | 8 | ······/˘ |
| In the charm of Earth's delight, | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| See no glory of the daytime, | 8 | ··/˘··/· |
| And no sweetness of the night." | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| But the soft Voice answered calmly: | 8 | ····/˘/˘ |
| "Nay, for when the March winds bring | 7 | ······· |
| Just a whisper to my window, | 8 | ··/˘··/˘ |
| I can dream the rest of Spring; | 7 | ······· |
| And to-day I saw a Swallow | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Flitting past my prison bars, | 7 | /˘··/˘· |
| And my cell has just one corner | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Whence at night I see the stars." | 7 | ······· |
| But its bitter taunt repeating, | 8 | ··/˘·˘/˘ |
| Cried the harsh Voice:--"Where are they-- | 7 | ······· |
| All the friends of former hours, | 8 | ····/˘/˘ |
| Who forget your name to-day? | 7 | ·˘/···· |
| All the links of love are shattered, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Which you thought so strong before; | 7 | ······· |
| And your very heart is lonely, | 8 | ··/˘··/˘ |
| And alone since loved no more." | 8 | ·˘/··˘·· |
| But the low Voice spoke still lower:-- | 8 | ······/˘ |
| "Nay, I know the golden chain | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Of my love is purer, stronger, | 8 | ····/˘/˘ |
| For the cruel fire of pain: | 8 | ··/˘/˘·· |
| They remember me no longer, | 8 | ·˘/˘··/˘ |
| But I, grieving here alone, | 7 | ··/˘·˘/ |
| Bind their souls to me for ever | 8 | ······/˘ |
| By the love within their own." | 7 | ······· |
| But the Voice cried:- "Once remember | 8 | ·····˘/˘ |
| You devoted soul and mind | 7 | ·˘/˘··· |
| To the welfare of your brethren, | 8 | ··/···/˘ |
| And the service of your kind. | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Now, what sorrow can you comfort? | 8 | ··/˘··/˘ |
| You, who lie in helpless pain, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| With an impotent compassion | 8 | ··/˘˘˘/˘ |
| Fretting out your life in vain." | 7 | /˘····· |
| "Nay;" and then the gentle answer | 8 | ····/˘/˘ |
| Rose more loud, and full, and clear: | 7 | ······· |
| "For the sake of all my brethren | 8 | ······/˘ |
| I thank God that I am here! | 7 | ······· |
| Poor had been my Life's best efforts, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Now I waste no thought or breath-- | 7 | ······· |
| For the prayer of those who suffer | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Has the strength of Love and Death." | 7 | ······· |
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