Odes V
Of thee the Northman by his beached galleyDreamt, as he watched the never-setting UrsaAnd longed for summer and thy light, O sacredMediterranean.
Unseen he loved thee; for the heart within himKnew earth had gardens where he might be blessed,Putting away long dreams and aimless, barbarousHunger for battle.
The foretaste of thy languors thawed his bosom;A great need drove him to thy caverned islandsFrom the gray, endless reaches of the outerDesert of ocean.
He saw thy pillars, saw thy sudden mountainsWrinkled and stark, and in their crooked gorges,'Neath peeping pine and cypress, guessed the torrentSmothered in flowers.
Thine incense to the sun, thy gathered vapours,He saw suspended on the flanks of Taurus,Or veiling the snowed bosom of the virginSister of Atlas.
He saw the luminous top of wide Olympus,Fit for the happy gods; he saw the pilgrimRiver, with rains of Ethiopia floodingPopulous Egypt.
And having seen, he loved thee. His racked spirit,By thy breath tempered and the light that clothes thee,Forgot the monstrous gods, and made of NatureMistress and mother.
The more should I, O fatal sea, before theeOf alien words make echoes to thy music;For I was born where first the rills of TagusTurn to the westward,
And wandering long, alas! have need of drinkingDeep of the patience of thy perfect sadness,O thou that constant through the change of ages,Beautiful ever,
Never wast wholly young and void of sorrows,Nor ever canst be old, while yet the morningKindles thy ripples, or the golden eveningDyes thee in purple.
Thee, willing to be tamed but still untamable,The Roman called his own until he perished,As now the busy English hover o'er thee,Stalwart and noble;
But all is naught to thee, while no harsh winterCongeals thy fountains, and the blown SaharaChokes not with dreadful sand thy deep and placidRock-guarded havens.
Thou carest not what men may tread thy margin;Nor I, while from some heather-scented headlandI may behold thy beauty, the eternalSolace of mortals.
Words in this poem 18
- northman n.
- One of the inhabitants of the north of Europe; esp., one of the ancient Scandinavians; a Norseman. [AS. noredhman. See North, and Man, and cf. Norman.]
- beached p. p.
- Bordered by a beach.
- unseen a.
- Not seen or discovered.
- aimless a.
- Without aim or purpose; as, an aimless life.
- foretaste n.
- A taste beforehand; enjoyment in advance; anticipation.
- drove n.
- A collection of cattle driven, or cattle collected for driving; a number of animals, as oxen, sheep, or swine, driven in a body. [AS. draf, fr. drifan to drive. See Drive.]
- caverned a.
- Containing caverns.
- stark adv.
- Wholly; entirely; absolutely; quite; as, stark mind.
- veiling n.
- A veil; a thin covering; also, material for making veils.
- flooding n.
- The filling or covering with water or other fluid; overflow; inundation; the filling anything to excess.
- populous a.
- Abounding in people; full of inhabitants; containing many inhabitants in proportion to the extent of the country. [L. populosus, fr. populus people: cf. F. populeux.]
- sadness n.
- Heaviness; firmness.
- wast
- The second person singular of the verb be, in the indicative mood, imperfect tense; -- now used only in solemn or poetical style.
- hover n.
- A cover; a shelter; a protection. Carew. C. Kingsley. [Etymol. doubtful.]
- stalwart a.
- Brave; bold; strong; redoubted; daring; vehement; violent. [OE. stalworth, AS. stælwyrth serviceable, probably originally, good at stealing, or worth stealing or taking, and afterwards extended to other causes of estimat]
- dreadful a.
- Full of dread or terror; fearful.
- placid a.
- Pleased; contented; unruffied; undisturbed; serene; peaceful; tranquil; quiet; gentle. [L. placidus, originally, pleasing, mild, from placere to please: cf. F. placide. See Please.]
- solace n.
- Comfort in grief; alleviation of grief or anxiety; also, that which relieves in distress; that which cheers or consoles; relief. [OF. solas, ssoulaz, L. solacium, solatium, fr. solari to comfort, console. Cf. Console, v. t.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Odes V is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems, Project Gutenberg ebook #49721; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: George Santayana, Odes V, in Poems (1922), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #49721, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/santayana-poems/odes-v.html, id L21737.
Form and metre
Odes V is 52 lines in 13 stanzas of 4 lines each. The metre is iambic hexameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 87%).
See other poems in iambic hexameter.
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 iambic hexameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Of thee the Northman by his beached galley | 10 | ···/˘···/˘ |
| Dreamt, as he watched the never-setting Ursa | 11 | ·····/˘/˘/˘ |
| And longed for summer and thy light, O sacred | 11 | ···/˘····/˘ |
| Mediterranean. | 6 | ·˘˘/˘˘ |
| Unseen he loved thee; for the heart within him | 11 | ˘/········· |
| Knew earth had gardens where he might be blessed, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Putting away long dreams and aimless, barbarous | 11 | /˘˘/···/˘/˘ |
| Hunger for battle. | 5 | /˘·/˘ |
| The foretaste of thy languors thawed his bosom; | 11 | ·/˘······/˘ |
| A great need drove him to thy caverned islands | 11 | ·······/˘/˘ |
| From the gray, endless reaches of the outer | 11 | ···/˘/˘··/˘ |
| Desert of ocean. | 5 | ˘/·/˘ |
| He saw thy pillars, saw thy sudden mountains | 11 | ···/˘··/˘/˘ |
| Wrinkled and stark, and in their crooked gorges, | 11 | /˘·····/˘/˘ |
| 'Neath peeping pine and cypress, guessed the torrent | 11 | ·/˘··/˘··/˘ |
| Smothered in flowers. | 5 | /˘·/˘ |
| Thine incense to the sun, thy gathered vapours, | 11 | ·/·····/˘/˘ |
| He saw suspended on the flanks of Taurus, | 11 | ··˘/˘····/˘ |
| Or veiling the snowed bosom of the virgin | 11 | ·/˘··/˘··/˘ |
| Sister of Atlas. | 5 | /˘·/˘ |
| He saw the luminous top of wide Olympus, | 11 | ···/˘···˘/˘ |
| Fit for the happy gods; he saw the pilgrim | 11 | ···/˘····/˘ |
| River, with rains of Ethiopia flooding | 11 | /˘····˘/˘/˘ |
| Populous Egypt. | 5 | /˘˘/˘ |
| And having seen, he loved thee. His racked spirit, | 11 | ·/˘······/˘ |
| By thy breath tempered and the light that clothes thee, | 11 | ···/˘······ |
| Forgot the monstrous gods, and made of Nature | 11 | ˘/·/˘····/˘ |
| Mistress and mother. | 5 | /˘·/˘ |
| The more should I, O fatal sea, before thee | 11 | ·····/˘···· |
| Of alien words make echoes to thy music; | 11 | ·/˘··/˘··/˘ |
| For I was born where first the rills of Tagus | 11 | ··········· |
| Turn to the westward, | 5 | ···/˘ |
| And wandering long, alas! have need of drinking | 11 | ·/˘·˘/···/˘ |
| Deep of the patience of thy perfect sadness, | 11 | ···/˘··/·/˘ |
| O thou that constant through the change of ages, | 11 | ···/˘····/˘ |
| Beautiful ever, | 5 | /˘˘/˘ |
| Never wast wholly young and void of sorrows, | 11 | /˘·/˘····/˘ |
| Nor ever canst be old, while yet the morning | 11 | ·/˘······/˘ |
| Kindles thy ripples, or the golden evening | 11 | /˘·/˘··/˘/˘ |
| Dyes thee in purple. | 5 | ···/˘ |
| Thee, willing to be tamed but still untamable, | 12 | ·/˘········· |
| The Roman called his own until he perished, | 11 | ·/˘······/˘ |
| As now the busy English hover o'er thee, | 11 | ···/˘/˘/˘·· |
| Stalwart and noble; | 5 | /˘·/˘ |
| But all is naught to thee, while no harsh winter | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| Congeals thy fountains, and the blown Sahara | 11 | ˘/·/˘···˘/˘ |
| Chokes not with dreadful sand thy deep and placid | 11 | ···/˘····/˘ |
| Rock-guarded havens. | 5 | ·/˘/˘ |
| Thou carest not what men may tread thy margin; | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| Nor I, while from some heather-scented headland | 11 | ·····/˘/˘/˘ |
| I may behold thy beauty, the eternal | 11 | ··˘/·/˘·˘/˘ |
| Solace of mortals. | 5 | /˘·/˘ |
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