The Assignation
Hear I the creaking gate unclose?The gleaming latch uplifted?No--'twas the wind that, whirring, rose,Amidst the poplars drifted!Adorn thyself, thou green leaf-bowering roof,Destined the bright one's presence to receive,For her, a shadowy palace-hall aloofWith holy night, thy boughs familiar weave.And ye sweet flatteries of the delicate air,Awake and sport her rosy cheek around,When their light weight the tender feet shall bear,When beauty comes to passion's trysting-ground.
Hush! what amidst the copses crept--So swiftly by me now?No-'twas the startled bird that sweptThe light leaves of the bough!Day, quench thy torch! come, ghostlike, from on high,With thy loved silence, come, thou haunting Eve,Broaden below thy web of purple dye,Which lulled boughs mysterious round us weave.For love's delight, enduring listeners none,The froward witness of the light will flee;Hesper alone, the rosy silent one,Down-glancing may our sweet familiar be!
What murmur in the distance spoke,And like a whisper died?No--'twas the swan that gently brokeIn rings the silver tide!Soft to my ear there comes a music-flow;In gleesome murmur glides the waterfall;To zephyr's kiss the flowers are bending low;Through life goes joy, exchanging joy with all.Tempt to the touch the grapes--the blushing fruit,Voluptuous swelling from the leaves that bide;And, drinking fever from my cheek, the muteAir sleeps all liquid in the odor-tide!
Hark! through the alley hear I nowA footfall? Comes the maiden?No,--'twas the fruit slid from the bough,With its own richness laden!
Day's lustrous eyes grow heavy in sweet death,And pale and paler wane his jocund hues,The flowers too gentle for his glowing breath,Ope their frank beauty to the twilight dews.The bright face of the moon is still and lone,Melts in vast masses the world silently;Slides from each charm the slowly-loosening zone;And round all beauty, veilless, roves the eye.
What yonder seems to glimmer?Her white robe's glancing hues?No,--'twas the column's shimmerAthwart the darksome yews!
O, longing heart, no more delight-upbuoyedLet the sweet airy image thee befool!The arms that would embrace her clasp the voidThis feverish breast no phantom-bliss can cool,O, waft her here, the true, the living one!Let but my hand her hand, the tender, feel--The very shadow of her robe alone!--So into life the idle dream shall steal!
As glide from heaven, when least we ween,The rosy hours of bliss,All gently came the maid, unseen:--He waked beneath her kiss!
Words in this poem 22
- latch v. t.
- To smear; to anoint. [Cf. F. lécher to lick (of German origin). Cf. Lick.]
- amidst prep.
- In the midst or middle of; surrounded or encompassed by; among. [OE. amidde, amiddes, on midden, AS. on middan, in the middle, fr. midde the middle. The s is an adverbial ending, originally marking the genitive; the t is a la]
- 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,]
- ghostlike a.
- Like a ghost; ghastly.
- broaden v. t.
- To grow broad; to become broader or wider. [From Broad, a.]
- hesper n.
- The evening; Hesperus. [See Hesperian.]
- glancing a.
- Shooting, as light.
- 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.]
- broke v. i.
- To transact business for another. Brome. [See Broker, and cf. Brook.]
- gleesome a.
- Merry; joyous; gleeful.
- bide v. i.
- To dwell; to inhabit; to abide; to stay. [OE. biden, AS. bidan; akin to OHG. bitan, Goth. beidan, Icel. bi; perh. orig., to wait with trust, and akin to bid. See Bid, v. t., and cf. Abide.]
- footfall n.
- A setting down of the foot; a footstep; the sound of a footstep.
- jocund
- Merry; cheerful; gay; airy; lively; sportive. [L. jocundus, jucundus, orig., helpful, fr. juvare to help. See Aid.]
- lone n.
- A lane. See Loanin.
- veilless a.
- Having no veil.
- yonder adv.
- At a distance, but within view. [OE. yonder, ýonder; cf. OD. ginder, Goth. jaindr there. Yond, adv.]
- shimmer v. i.
- To shine with a tremulous or intermittent light; to shine faintly; to gleam; to glisten; to glimmer. [OE. schimeren, AS. scimerian; akin to scimian, sciman, to glitter, D. schemeren, G. schimmern, Dan. skimre, Sw. skimra, AS. scima a light, brightness, Icel. ski]
- darksome a.
- Dark; gloomy; obscure; shaded; cheerless.
- befool v. t.
- To fool; to delude or lead into error; to infatuate; to deceive. [OE. befolen; pref. be- + fol fool.]
- waft v. t.
- To give notice to by waving something; to wave the hand to; to beckon. [Prob. originally imp. & p. p. of wave, v. t. See Wave to waver.]
- ween v. i.
- To think; to imagine; to fancy. [OE. wenen, AS. w, fr. w hope, expectation, opinion; akin to D. waan, OFries. w, OS. & OHG. wan, G. wahn delusion, Icel. van hope, expectation, Goth. w, and D. w]
- unseen a.
- Not seen or discovered.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Assignation 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, The Assignation, in The Poems of Schiller: Third Period (1805), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #6796, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/schiller-third-period/the-assignation.html, id L21817.
Form and metre
The Assignation is 64 lines in 8 stanzas. The commonest rhyme scheme is ABAB, in 3 of the 8 stanzas; the rest vary or could not be confirmed. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 88%).
See other poems in iambic 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.
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-BCBCDEDE uncloseA · uplifted · roseA · drifted · roofB · receiveC · aloofB · weaveC · airD · aroundE · bearD · groundE
- 2 ABABCDCDEFEF creptA · nowB · sweptA · boughB · highC · eveD · dyeC · weaveD · noneE · fleeF · oneE · beF
- 3 ABABCDCDEBEB spokeA · diedB · brokeA · tideB · flowC · waterfallD · lowC · allD · fruitE · bideB · muteE · tideB
- 4 ABAB nowA · maidenB · boughA · ladenB
- 5 ABABC-C- deathA · huesB · breathA · dewsB · loneC · silently · zoneC · eye
- 6 ABAB glimmerA · huesB · shimmerA · yewsB
- 7 -A-A-B-B upbuoyed · befoolA · void · coolA · one · feelB · alone · stealB
- 8 ABAB weenA · blissB · unseenA · kissB
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 pentameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Hear I the creaking gate unclose? | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| The gleaming latch uplifted? | 7 | ·/˘·/˘˘ |
| No--'twas the wind that, whirring, rose, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Amidst the poplars drifted! | 7 | ˘/·/˘/˘ |
| Adorn thyself, thou green leaf-bowering roof, | 10 | ˘/˘/···/˘· |
| Destined the bright one's presence to receive, | 10 | /˘···/˘·˘/ |
| For her, a shadowy palace-hall aloof | 10 | ···/˘/˘·˘/ |
| With holy night, thy boughs familiar weave. | 10 | ·/˘···˘/˘· |
| And ye sweet flatteries of the delicate air, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Awake and sport her rosy cheek around, | 10 | ˘/···/˘··· |
| When their light weight the tender feet shall bear, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| When beauty comes to passion's trysting-ground. | 10 | ·/˘··/˘/˘· |
| Hush! what amidst the copses crept-- | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
| So swiftly by me now? | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| No-'twas the startled bird that swept | 9 | ···/˘˘··· |
| The light leaves of the bough! | 6 | ······ |
| Day, quench thy torch! come, ghostlike, from on high, | 10 | ·····/···· |
| With thy loved silence, come, thou haunting Eve, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Broaden below thy web of purple dye, | 10 | /˘·····/˘· |
| Which lulled boughs mysterious round us weave. | 10 | ···˘/˘˘··· |
| For love's delight, enduring listeners none, | 10 | ··˘/˘/˘/˘· |
| The froward witness of the light will flee; | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| Hesper alone, the rosy silent one, | 10 | /˘˘/·/˘/˘· |
| Down-glancing may our sweet familiar be! | 10 | ·/˘·/·˘/˘· |
| What murmur in the distance spoke, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| And like a whisper died? | 6 | ···/˘· |
| No--'twas the swan that gently broke | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| In rings the silver tide! | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Soft to my ear there comes a music-flow; | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| In gleesome murmur glides the waterfall; | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| To zephyr's kiss the flowers are bending low; | 10 | ·/˘··/·/˘· |
| Through life goes joy, exchanging joy with all. | 10 | ····˘/˘··· |
| Tempt to the touch the grapes--the blushing fruit, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Voluptuous swelling from the leaves that bide; | 10 | ˘/˘/˘····· |
| And, drinking fever from my cheek, the mute | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| Air sleeps all liquid in the odor-tide! | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Hark! through the alley hear I now | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| A footfall? Comes the maiden? | 7 | ·/···/˘ |
| No,--'twas the fruit slid from the bough, | 8 | ········ |
| With its own richness laden! | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| Day's lustrous eyes grow heavy in sweet death, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| And pale and paler wane his jocund hues, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| The flowers too gentle for his glowing breath, | 10 | ·/·/˘··/˘· |
| Ope their frank beauty to the twilight dews. | 10 | ···/˘··/·· |
| The bright face of the moon is still and lone, | 10 | ·········· |
| Melts in vast masses the world silently; | 10 | ···/˘··/˘˘ |
| Slides from each charm the slowly-loosening zone; | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| And round all beauty, veilless, roves the eye. | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| What yonder seems to glimmer? | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| Her white robe's glancing hues? | 6 | ···/˘· |
| No,--'twas the column's shimmer | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| Athwart the darksome yews! | 6 | ˘/·/˘· |
| O, longing heart, no more delight-upbuoyed | 10 | ·/˘···˘/·˘ |
| Let the sweet airy image thee befool! | 10 | ···/˘/˘·˘/ |
| The arms that would embrace her clasp the void | 10 | ····˘/···· |
| This feverish breast no phantom-bliss can cool, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| O, waft her here, the true, the living one! | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Let but my hand her hand, the tender, feel-- | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| The very shadow of her robe alone!-- | 10 | ·/˘/····˘/ |
| So into life the idle dream shall steal! | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| As glide from heaven, when least we ween, | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| The rosy hours of bliss, | 7 | ·/˘/˘·· |
| All gently came the maid, unseen:-- | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| He waked beneath her kiss! | 6 | ······ |
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.