The Sexes
See in the babe two loveliest flowers united--yet in truth,While in the bud they seem the same--the virgin and the youth!But loosened is the gentle bond, no longer side by side--From holy shame the fiery strength will soon itself divide.Permit the youth to sport, and still the wild desire to chase,For, but when sated, weary strength returns to seek the grace.Yet in the bud, the double flowers the future strife begin,How precious all--yet naught can still the longing heart within.In ripening charms the virgin bloom to woman shape hath grown,But round the ripening charms the pride hath clasped its guardian zone;Shy, as before the hunter's horn the doe all trembling moves,She flies from man as from a foe, and hates before she loves!
From lowering brows this struggling world the fearless youth observes,And hardened for the strife betimes, he strains the willing nerves;Far to the armed throng and to the race prepared to start,Inviting glory calls him forth, and grasps the troubled heart:--Protect thy work, O Nature now! one from the other flies,Till thou unitest each at last that for the other sighs.There art thou, mighty one! where'er the discord darkest frown,Thou call'st the meek harmonious peace, the god-like soother down.The noisy chase is lulled asleep, day's clamor dies afar,And through the sweet and veiled air in beauty comes the star.Soft-sighing through the crisped reeds, the brooklet glides along,And every wood the nightingale melodious fills with song.O virgin! now what instinct heaves thy bosom with the sigh?O youth! and wherefore steals the tear into thy dreaming eye?Alas! they seek in vain within the charm around bestowed,The tender fruit is ripened now, and bows to earth its load.And restless goes the youth to feed his heart upon its fire,All, where the gentle breath to cool the flame of young desire!And now they meet--the holy love that leads them lights their eyes,And still behind the winged god the winged victory flies.O heavenly love!--'tis thy sweet task the human flowers to bind,For ay apart, and yet by thee forever intertwined!
Words in this poem
- babe n.
- An infant; a young child of either sex; a baby. [Cf. Ir. bab, baban, W. baban, maban.]
- strife n.
- The act of striving; earnest endeavor. [OF. estrif. See Strive.]
- betimes adv.
- In good season or time; before it is late; seasonably; early. [Pref. be- (for by) + time; that is, by the proper time. The -s is an adverbial ending.]
- inviting a.
- Alluring; tempting; as, an inviting amusement or prospect.
- soother n.
- One who, or that which, soothes.
- 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.]
- veiled a.
- Covered by, or as by, a veil; hidden.
- heaves n.
- A disease of horses, characterized by difficult breathing, with heaving of the flank, wheezing, flatulency, and a peculiar cough; broken wind.
- wherefore adv.
- For which reason; so; -- used relatively. [Where + for.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Sexes 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 Sexes, in The Poems of Schiller: Third Period (1805), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #6796, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/schiller-third-period/the-sexes.html, id L21869.
Form and metre
The Sexes is 34 lines in 2 stanzas. The metre is iambic heptameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 84%).
See other poems in iambic heptameter.
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 AABBCCDDEE-- truthA · youthA · sideB · divideB · chaseC · graceC · beginD · withinD · grownE · zoneE · moves · loves
- 2 AABBCCDDEEFFGGHHIICCJJ observesA · nervesA · startB · heartB · fliesC · sighsC · frownD · downD · afarE · starE · alongF · songF · sighG · eyeG · bestowedH · loadH · fireI · desireI · eyesC · fliesC · bindJ · intertwinedJ
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 heptameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| See in the babe two loveliest flowers united--yet in truth, | 15 | ········/˘/˘··· |
| While in the bud they seem the same--the virgin and the youth! | 14 | ·········/˘··· |
| But loosened is the gentle bond, no longer side by side-- | 14 | ·/˘··/˘··/˘··· |
| From holy shame the fiery strength will soon itself divide. | 14 | ·/˘··/˘···˘/˘/ |
| Permit the youth to sport, and still the wild desire to chase, | 14 | ˘/········˘/·· |
| For, but when sated, weary strength returns to seek the grace. | 14 | ···/˘/˘·˘/···· |
| Yet in the bud, the double flowers the future strife begin, | 14 | ·····/˘/·/˘·˘/ |
| How precious all--yet naught can still the longing heart within. | 14 | ·/˘······/˘··· |
| In ripening charms the virgin bloom to woman shape hath grown, | 14 | ·/˘··/˘··/˘··· |
| But round the ripening charms the pride hath clasped its guardian zone; | 14 | ···/˘······/˘· |
| Shy, as before the hunter's horn the doe all trembling moves, | 14 | ·····/˘····/˘· |
| She flies from man as from a foe, and hates before she loves! | 14 | ·············· |
| From lowering brows this struggling world the fearless youth observes, | 14 | ·/˘··/˘··/˘·˘/ |
| And hardened for the strife betimes, he strains the willing nerves; | 14 | ·/˘········/˘· |
| Far to the armed throng and to the race prepared to start, | 14 | ····˘·····˘/·· |
| Inviting glory calls him forth, and grasps the troubled heart:-- | 14 | ˘/˘/˘······/˘· |
| Protect thy work, O Nature now! one from the other flies, | 14 | ˘/···/˘····/˘· |
| Till thou unitest each at last that for the other sighs. | 14 | ··/˘˘······/˘· |
| There art thou, mighty one! where'er the discord darkest frown, | 15 | ···/˘·˘˘/·/˘/˘· |
| Thou call'st the meek harmonious peace, the god-like soother down. | 14 | ····˘/˘····/˘· |
| The noisy chase is lulled asleep, day's clamor dies afar, | 14 | ·/˘···˘/·/˘·˘/ |
| And through the sweet and veiled air in beauty comes the star. | 14 | ······˘··/˘··· |
| Soft-sighing through the crisped reeds, the brooklet glides along, | 14 | ·/˘···˘··/˘·˘/ |
| And every wood the nightingale melodious fills with song. | 14 | ·/˘··/˘˘/˘˘··· |
| O virgin! now what instinct heaves thy bosom with the sigh? | 14 | ·/˘··/˘··/˘··· |
| O youth! and wherefore steals the tear into thy dreaming eye? | 14 | ···/˘······/˘· |
| Alas! they seek in vain within the charm around bestowed, | 14 | ˘/··········˘/ |
| The tender fruit is ripened now, and bows to earth its load. | 14 | ·/˘··/˘······· |
| And restless goes the youth to feed his heart upon its fire, | 15 | ·/˘··········/˘ |
| All, where the gentle breath to cool the flame of young desire! | 15 | ···/˘·······˘/˘ |
| And now they meet--the holy love that leads them lights their eyes, | 14 | ·····/˘······· |
| And still behind the winged god the winged victory flies. | 14 | ······˘···/˘˘· |
| O heavenly love!--'tis thy sweet task the human flowers to bind, | 14 | ·/˘······/˘/·· |
| For ay apart, and yet by thee forever intertwined! | 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.