The Meeting
I see her still--by her fair train surrounded,The fairest of them all, she took her place;Afar I stood, by her bright charms confounded,For, oh! they dazzled with their heavenly grace.With awe my soul was filled--with bliss unbounded,While gazing on her softly radiant face;But soon, as if up-borne on wings of fire,My fingers 'gan to sweep the sounding lyre.
The thoughts that rushed across me in that hour,The words I sang, I'd fain once more invoke;Within, I felt a new-awakened power,That each emotion of my bosom spoke.My soul, long time enchained in sloth's dull bower,Through all its fetters now triumphant broke,And brought to light unknown, harmonious numbers,Which in its deepest depths, had lived in slumbers.
And when the chords had ceased their gentle sighing,And when my soul rejoined its mortal frame,I looked upon her face and saw love vieing,In every feature, with her maiden shame.And soon my ravished heart seemed heavenward flying,When her soft whisper o'er my senses came.The blissful seraphs' choral strains aloneCan glad mine ear again with that sweet tone,
Of that fond heart, which, pining silently,Ne'er ventures to express its feelings lowly,The real and modest worth is known to me--'Gainst cruel fate I'll guard its cause so holy.Most blest of all, the meek one's lot shall be--Love's flowers by love's own hand are gathered solely--The fairest prize to that fond heart is due,That feels it, and that beats responsive, too!
Words in this poem
- afar adv.
- At, to, or from a great distance; far away; -- often used with from preceding, or off following; as, he was seen from afar; I saw him afar off. [Pref. a-.(for on or of) + far.]
- rushed a.
- Abounding or covered with rushes.
- fain v. t.
- To be glad ; to wish or desire.
- 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.]
- blissful a.
- Full of, characterized by, or causing, joy and felicity; happy in the highest degree.
- choral a.
- Of or pertaining to a choir or chorus; singing, sung, or adapted to be sung, in chorus or harmony. Choral service, a service of song. [LL. choralis, fr. L. chorus. See Chorus.]
- 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,]
- responsive a.
- That responds; ready or inclined to respond. [Cf. F. resposif.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Meeting 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 Meeting, in The Poems of Schiller: Third Period (1805), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #6796, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/schiller-third-period/the-meeting.html, id L21815.
Form and metre
The Meeting is 32 lines in 4 stanzas of 8 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABABABCC, complete in 3 of its 4 stanzas; the stanza is the Ottava rima. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 90%).
See other poems in ottava rima, 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 ABABABCC surroundedA · placeB · confoundedA · graceB · unboundedA · faceB · fireC · lyreC
- 2 ABABABCC hourA · invokeB · powerA · spokeB · bowerA · brokeB · numbersC · slumbersC
- 3 ABABABCC sighingA · frameB · vieingA · shameB · flyingA · cameB · aloneC · toneC
- 4 -ABAB-CC silently · lowlyA · meB · holyA · beB · solely · dueC · tooC
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 |
|---|---|---|
| I see her still--by her fair train surrounded, | 11 | ········˘/˘ |
| The fairest of them all, she took her place; | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Afar I stood, by her bright charms confounded, | 11 | ˘/······˘/˘ |
| For, oh! they dazzled with their heavenly grace. | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| With awe my soul was filled--with bliss unbounded, | 11 | ········˘/˘ |
| While gazing on her softly radiant face; | 10 | ·/˘··/˘/˘· |
| But soon, as if up-borne on wings of fire, | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| My fingers 'gan to sweep the sounding lyre. | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| The thoughts that rushed across me in that hour, | 11 | ····˘/···/˘ |
| The words I sang, I'd fain once more invoke; | 10 | ········˘/ |
| Within, I felt a new-awakened power, | 11 | ······˘/˘/˘ |
| That each emotion of my bosom spoke. | 10 | ··˘/˘··/˘· |
| My soul, long time enchained in sloth's dull bower, | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| Through all its fetters now triumphant broke, | 10 | ···/˘·˘/˘· |
| And brought to light unknown, harmonious numbers, | 11 | ····˘/˘/˘/˘ |
| Which in its deepest depths, had lived in slumbers. | 11 | ···/˘····/˘ |
| And when the chords had ceased their gentle sighing, | 11 | ·······/˘/˘ |
| And when my soul rejoined its mortal frame, | 10 | ····˘/·/˘· |
| I looked upon her face and saw love vieing, | 10 | ·········· |
| In every feature, with her maiden shame. | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| And soon my ravished heart seemed heavenward flying, | 12 | ·······/˘˘/˘ |
| When her soft whisper o'er my senses came. | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| The blissful seraphs' choral strains alone | 10 | ·/˘··/˘·˘/ |
| Can glad mine ear again with that sweet tone, | 10 | ····˘/···· |
| Of that fond heart, which, pining silently, | 10 | ·····/˘/˘˘ |
| Ne'er ventures to express its feelings lowly, | 11 | ·/˘·˘/·/˘/˘ |
| The real and modest worth is known to me-- | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| 'Gainst cruel fate I'll guard its cause so holy. | 11 | ·/˘······/˘ |
| Most blest of all, the meek one's lot shall be-- | 10 | ·········· |
| Love's flowers by love's own hand are gathered solely-- | 11 | ·/·····/˘/˘ |
| The fairest prize to that fond heart is due, | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| That feels it, and that beats responsive, too! | 10 | ······˘/˘· |
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.