Fragments of an Unfinished Drama: Before the Cavern of the Indian Enchantress
ENCHANTRESS:He came like a dream in the dawn of life,He fled like a shadow before its noon;He is gone, and my peace is turned to strife,And I wander and wane like the weary moon.O, sweet Echo, wake,And for my sakeMake answer the while my heart shall break!
But my heart has a music which Echo's lips,Though tender and true, yet can answer not,And the shadow that moves in the soul's eclipseCan return not the kiss by his now forgot;Sweet lips! he who hathOn my desolate pathCast the darkness of absence, worse than death!
SPIRIT:Within the silent centre of the earthMy mansion is; where I have lived inspheredFrom the beginning, and around my sleepHave woven all the wondrous imageryOf this dim spot, which mortals call the world;Infinite depths of unknown elementsMassed into one impenetrable mask;Sheets of immeasurable fire, and veinsOf gold and stone, and adamantine iron.And as a veil in which I walk through HeavenI have wrought mountains, seas, and waves, and clouds,And lastly light, whose interfusion dawnsIn the dark space of interstellar air.
Words in this poem
- enchantress n.
- A woman versed in magical arts; a sorceress; also, a woman who fascinates. [Cf. F. enchanteresse.]
- strife n.
- The act of striving; earnest endeavor. [OF. estrif. See Strive.]
- 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,]
- centre v. i.
- To be placed in a center; to be central.
- mansion n.
- A dwelling place, -- whether a part or whole of a house or other shelter. [OF. mansion, F. maison, fr. L. mansio a staying, remaining, a dwelling, habitation, fr. manere, mansum, to stay, dwell; akin to Gr. Manse, Manor, Menagerie, Men]
- wondrous adv.
- In a wonderful or surprising manner or degree; wonderfully. [OE. wonders, adv. (later also adj.). See Wonder, n., and cf. -wards.]
- imagery n.
- The work of one who makes images or visible representation of objects; imitation work; images in general, or in mass. [OE. imagerie, F. imagerie.]
- lastly adv.
- In the last place; in conclusion.
- interfusion n.
- The act of interfusing, or the state of being interfused. [L. interfusio.]
- interstellar a.
- Between or among the stars; as, interstellar space.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Fragments of an Unfinished Drama: Before the Cavern of the Indian Enchantress is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Complete Poetical Works of Percy Bysshe Shelley — Volume 1, Project Gutenberg ebook #4797; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Percy Bysshe Shelley, Fragments of an Unfinished Drama: Before the Cavern of the Indian Enchantress, in Alastor, and Other Poems (1813–1820), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #4797, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/shelley-poems/the-enchantress-comes-forth.html, id L00278.
Form and metre
Fragments of an Unfinished Drama: Before the Cavern of the Indian Enchantress is 29 lines in 3 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 80%). 93% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.4 syllables. 1 line ends on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 27% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
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 -ABABCCC enchantress · lifeA · noonB · strifeA · moonB · wakeC · sakeC · breakC
- 2 ABABCC- lipsA · notB · eclipseA · forgotB · hathC · pathC · death
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 |
|---|---|---|
| ENCHANTRESS: | 3 | ˘/˘ |
| He came like a dream in the dawn of life, | 10 | ·········· |
| He fled like a shadow before its noon; | 10 | ····/····· |
| He is gone, and my peace is turned to strife, | 10 | ·········· |
| And I wander and wane like the weary moon. | 11 | ··/˘····/˘· |
| O, sweet Echo, wake, | 5 | ··/˘· |
| And for my sake | 4 | ···· |
| Make answer the while my heart shall break! | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| But my heart has a music which Echo's lips, | 11 | ·····/˘·/˘· |
| Though tender and true, yet can answer not, | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| And the shadow that moves in the soul's eclipse | 11 | ··/······˘/ |
| Can return not the kiss by his now forgot; | 11 | ·˘/······˘/ |
| Sweet lips! he who hath | 5 | ····· |
| On my desolate path | 6 | ··/˘·· |
| Cast the darkness of absence, worse than death! | 10 | ··/˘·/˘··· |
| SPIRIT: | 2 | /˘ |
| Within the silent centre of the earth | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| My mansion is; where I have lived insphered | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| From the beginning, and around my sleep | 10 | ··˘/˘····· |
| Have woven all the wondrous imagery | 10 | ·/˘··/˘/˘˘ |
| Of this dim spot, which mortals call the world; | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Infinite depths of unknown elements | 10 | /˘˘··˘//˘˘ |
| Massed into one impenetrable mask; | 10 | ····˘/˘˘˘· |
| Sheets of immeasurable fire, and veins | 10 | ··˘/˘·˘/·· |
| Of gold and stone, and adamantine iron. | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| And as a veil in which I walk through Heaven | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| I have wrought mountains, seas, and waves, and clouds, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| And lastly light, whose interfusion dawns | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| In the dark space of interstellar air. | 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.