Naenia
Even the beauteous must die! This vanquishes men and immortals;But of the Stygian god moves not the bosom of steel.Once and once only could love prevail on the ruler of shadows,And on the threshold, e'en then, sternly his gift he recalled.Venus could never heal the wounds of the beauteous stripling,That the terrible boar made in his delicate skin;Nor could his mother immortal preserve the hero so godlike,When at the west gate of Troy, falling, his fate he fulfilled.But she arose from the ocean with all the daughters of Nereus,And o'er her glorified son raised the loud accents of woe.See! where all the gods and goddesses yonder are weeping,That the beauteous must fade, and that the perfect must die.Even a woe-song to be in the mouth of the loved ones is glorious,For what is vulgar descends mutely to Orcus' dark shades.
Words in this poem
- beauteous a.
- Full of beauty; beautiful; very handsome. [Mostly poetic] -- Beau"te*ous*ly, adv. --
- stygian a.
- Of or pertaining to the river Styx; hence, hellish; infernal.
- sternly adv.
- In a stern manner.
- stripling n.
- A youth in the state of adolescence, or just passing from boyhood to manhood; a lad. [Dim. of strip; as if a small strip from the main stock or steam.]
- yonder adv.
- At a distance, but within view. [OE. yonder, ýonder; cf. OD. ginder, Goth. jaindr there. Yond, adv.]
- glorious a.
- Exhibiting attributes, qualities, or acts that are worthy of or receive glory; noble; praiseworthy; excellent; splendid; illustrious; inspiring admiration; as, glorious deeds. [OF. glorios, glorious, F. glorieux, fr. L. gloriosus. See Glory, n.]
- mutely adv.
- Without uttering words or sounds; in a mute manner; silently.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Naenia is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Poems of Schiller — Third period, Project Gutenberg ebook #6796; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Friedrich Schiller, Naenia, in The Poems of Schiller: Third Period (1805), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #6796, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/schiller-third-period/naenia.html, id L21876.
Form and metre
Naenia is 14 lines in a single stanza. The metre is dactylic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 70%).
See other poems in dactylic pentameter.
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 dactylic pentameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Even the beauteous must die! This vanquishes men and immortals; | 15 | /·/˘˘···/˘··˘/˘ |
| But of the Stygian god moves not the bosom of steel. | 14 | ···/˘˘····/˘·· |
| Once and once only could love prevail on the ruler of shadows, | 16 | ···/˘··˘/··/˘·/· |
| And on the threshold, e'en then, sternly his gift he recalled. | 14 | ···/···/˘···˘/ |
| Venus could never heal the wounds of the beauteous stripling, | 15 | /˘·/˘·····/˘˘/˘ |
| That the terrible boar made in his delicate skin; | 13 | ··/˘˘····/˘˘· |
| Nor could his mother immortal preserve the hero so godlike, | 16 | ···/˘˘/˘˘/·/˘·/˘ |
| When at the west gate of Troy, falling, his fate he fulfilled. | 14 | ·······/˘···˘/ |
| But she arose from the ocean with all the daughters of Nereus, | 15 | ··˘/··/···/˘··· |
| And o'er her glorified son raised the loud accents of woe. | 14 | ···/˘·····/˘·· |
| See! where all the gods and goddesses yonder are weeping, | 14 | ······/˘˘/˘·/˘ |
| That the beauteous must fade, and that the perfect must die. | 14 | ··/˘˘·····/··· |
| Even a woe-song to be in the mouth of the loved ones is glorious, | 16 | /·············/˘ |
| For what is vulgar descends mutely to Orcus' dark shades. | 14 | ···/˘˘//˘····· |
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.