The Dance At Darmstadt Poem Rhyme Scheme

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In the city of Darmstadt the Sabbath morn	A
Shone over the broad Cathedral Square	B
And to nobly richly and lowly born	A
The belfry carilloned call to prayer	B
	-
Then banker and burgher and learn'd in law	C
With clean cut forehead and firm set jaw	C
Master and prentice and tradesman trim	D
Pikemen stalwart of port and limb	D
Pledged to die for their native town	E
Scholars stately in cap and gown	E
Splendid and simple halt and hale	F
Rosy tapster and student pale	F
Stepped from their thresholds and gravely trod	G
The streets that lead to the House of God	G
And hurrying after them maid and dame	H
Wives and daughters and sweethearts came	H
All in their Sabbath best arrayed	I
Delicate ribbon and dainty braid	I
Creaseless corset and kirtle clean	J
Of sombre homespun or silken sheen	J
Rustling by with looks demure	K
As bright as posies and just as pure	K
And tight to their kirtles their children clung	L
With ambling footstep and nimble tongue	L
Prattled and questioned them all the way	M
Forgetting quite 'twas the Sabbath Day	M
Till they came to the great Cathedral Square	B
Where the organ pealed through the House of Prayer	B
	-
Now why do you waste the summer day ''	-
Cried a velveted stripling with locks of gold	N
And eyes like forget me nots in May	M
When the milch cows stream from the wintry fold	N
Week after week you troop in there	B
To mutter and mumble the self same prayer	B
Through the self same psalmody drowse and nod	G
And that's what you sooth call praising God	G
Look the sun is shining on roof and spire	O
And the wings of the swallow never tire	P
The stork hovers over her callow nest	Q
And Spring is folded to Summer's breast	Q
There's a flutter of love in the lime tree leaves	R
And the starlings flute on the Rathhaus eaves	R
Come away come away where the sycamore swings	S
Its tassels of gold and the blackbird sings	S
Where the river swirls past a tangled ledge	T
Of willow weed meadow sweet thyme and sedge	T
Where the veins of the vine are flushed with juice	U
And the trout in the stream past the miller's sluice	U
Cast wavering shadows on stone and sand	V
And when we have rambled through all the land	V
We will halt at the Inn with the Jocund Sign	W
And freshen our throats with the Mosel wine	W
But ere ever we go let us hand in hand	V
Be comrades sworn of a joyous band	V
And while they jabber and wail in there	B
Have a dance in the sunny Cathedral Square ''	-
	-
Then tabor and viol began to sound	X
And ribald and losel to beat the ground	X
Boys who mocked at the Sacred Name	H
And wantons brazening out their shame	H
With languishing eyes and streaming hair	B
They footed it all about the Square	B
Footed and frolicked and revelled round	X
To the viol's twang and the tabor's sound	X
Shouted and clapped their hands for glee	Y
Was never such madcap company	Y
Forward backward forward once more	Z
Like ebb and flow on a tidal shore	Z
Trooped together more near and near	A2
Like a troop of colts at a sound they fear	A2
Then scampered away and scattered wide	B2
Again to draw to each other's side	B2
Hand within hand and face to face	C2
Twirled and circled in lewd embrace	C2
Hurried slackened then swept along	D2
Trilling and trolling a shameful song	D2
Hurtful and hateful to godly ears	E2
Never I ween in all the years	E2
Since the Autumn woods waxed sere and brown	E
Was danced such a dance in Darmstadt town	E
	-
Now the sermon was over the service done	F2
And the grave faced worshippers one by one	F2
Poured into the bright Cathedral Square	B
And beheld the ungodly dancing there	B
Then they cried Now shame on you Stay O stay	M
Surely ye know 'tis the Sabbath Day	M
The day of the merciful mighty Lord	G2
If ye flaunt His mercy yet dread His sword ''	-
Yet never an instant the dancing stayed	I
But ribald stripling and wanton maid	I
Gasped out Don't you see we are nigh to drop	H2
With panting and pain but we cannot stop	H2
The demons have entered our limbs and we	Y
No longer have power to pause or flee	Y
They force us to hammer the hard hot ground	X
And make us pirouette round and round	X
Will never some Christian soul advance	I2
And break the spell of this demon dance ''	-
	-
Then the sober and godly would fain have heard	J2
Piteous cry and panting word	J2
But a something stronger than human will	K2
Fettered their feet and kept them still	K2
Helplessly watching the ghastly crew	L2
So swiftly they whirled and so fast they flew	L2
It made one giddy to see them there	B
So out of the broad Cathedral Square	B
Banker and burgher and learn'd in law	C
With clean cut forehead and firm set jaw	C
Master and prentice and tradesman trim	D
Pikemen stalwart of port and limb	D
Sister and sweetheart and wife demure	K
As fresh as posies and just as pure	K
With children clutching their mother's gown	E
Homeward walked through the awestruck town	E
	-
But still when the godly crowd had gone	M2
The derelict band went dancing on	N2
The sunlight glittered on roof and spire	O
And the wings of the swallow did never tire	P
The stork hovered over her callow nest	Q
And Spring was folded to Summer's breast	Q
Far away in the woodland the sycamore swung	L
Its tassels of gold and the blackbird sung	L
The river went swirling past tangled ledge	T
Of willow weed meadow sweet thyme and sedge	T
The veins of the vine were flushed with juice	U
And the trout poised still by the miller's sluice	U
But though longer and longer the shadows grew	L2
Still gambolled and anticked the ribald crew	L2
Wavered and wantoned in broken line	W
As though mad drunk with the Mosel wine	W
Reeled and rolled till the sun went down	E
And the stars shone over the darkened town	E
Golden stars in a dome of blue	L2
Careered and capered the whole night through	L2
Till their loose flesh flapped on their creaking bones	O2
And they staggered and dropped on the hard dry stones	O2
And when at last in a heap they lay	M
Like refuse the scavenger carts away	M
They throbbed up still as at farmyard pyre	P
The flickering flames of an unfed fire	P
Nor yet from their ghastly gambols ceased	P2
Till the sun ensanguined the pallid East	P2
And the starlings piped on the Rathhaus eaves	R
	-
Never never since wintry woods waxed brown	E
Was danced such a dance in Darmstadt town	E

Alfred Austin

The Dance At Darmstadt Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis

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