The Sword Of The Tomb : A Northern Legend Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis
Rhyme Scheme: AABBC DDBB EFEF GGHHI JJKK LMLM CCNNO PPQQO BRSR JJIIL TUGGL FVFV WWDDI XYKK ZLZL PPA2A2I B2C2KK AD2AD2 E2E2F2F2G PPDDG FG2FG2 H2H2I2I2J XXJ2J2J K2B2K2 DDL2L2K M2M2F2F2 K2B2K2 N2N2O2O2G P2P2HH H2VH2V| 'Voice of the gifted elder time | A |
| Voice of the charm and the Runic rhyme | A |
| Speak from the shades and the depths disclose | B |
| How Sigurd may vanquish his mortal foes | B |
| Voice of the buried past | C |
| - | |
| 'Voice of the grave 'tis the mighty hour | D |
| When night with her stars and dreams hath power | D |
| And my step hath been soundless on the snows | B |
| And the spell I have sung hath laid repose | B |
| On the billow and the blast ' | - |
| - | |
| Then the torrents of the North | E |
| And the forest pines were still | F |
| While a hollow chant came forth | E |
| From the dark sepulchral hill | F |
| - | |
| 'There shines no sun 'midst the hidden dead | G |
| But where the day looks not the brave may tread | G |
| There is heard no song and no mead is pour'd | H |
| But the warrior may come to the silent board | H |
| In the shadow of the night | I |
| - | |
| 'There is laid a sword in thy father's tomb | J |
| And its edge is fraught with thy foeman's doom | J |
| But soft be thy step through the silence deep | K |
| And move not the urn in the house of sleep | K |
| For the viewless have fearful might ' | - |
| - | |
| Then died the solemn lay | L |
| As a trumpet's music dies | M |
| By the night wind borne away | L |
| Through the wild and stormy skies | M |
| - | |
| The fir trees rock'd to the wailing blast | C |
| As on through the forest the warrior pass'd | C |
| Through the forest of Odin the dim and old | N |
| The dark place of visions and legends told | N |
| By the fires of Northern pine | O |
| - | |
| The fir trees rock'd and the frozen ground | P |
| Gave back to his footstep a hollow sound | P |
| And it seem'd that the depths of those awful shades | Q |
| From the dreary gloom of their long arcades | Q |
| Gave warning with voice and sign | O |
| - | |
| But the wind strange magic knows | B |
| To call wild shape and tone | R |
| From the grey wood's tossing boughs | S |
| When night is on her throne | R |
| - | |
| The pines clos'd o'er him with deeper gloom | J |
| As he took the path to the monarch's tomb | J |
| The pole star shone and the heavens were bright | I |
| With the arrowy streams of the northern light | I |
| But his road through dimness lay | L |
| - | |
| He pass'd in the heart of that ancient wood | T |
| The dark shrine stain'd with the victim's blood | U |
| Nor paus'd till the rock where a vaulted bed | G |
| Had been hewn of old for the kingly dead | G |
| Arose on his midnight way | L |
| - | |
| Then first a moment's chill | F |
| Went shuddering through his breast | V |
| And the steel clad man stood still | F |
| Before that place of rest | V |
| - | |
| But he cross'd at length with a deep drawn breath | W |
| The threshold floor of the hall of Death | W |
| And look'd on the pale mysterious fire | D |
| Which gleam'd from the urn of his warrior sire | D |
| With a strange and solemn light | I |
| - | |
| Then darkly the words of the boding strain | X |
| Like an omen rose on his soul again | Y |
| 'Soft be thy step through the silence deep | K |
| And move not the urn in the house of sleep | K |
| For the viewless have fearful might ' | - |
| - | |
| But the gleaming sword and shield | Z |
| Of many a battle day | L |
| Hung o'er that urn reveal'd | Z |
| By the tomb fire's waveless ray | L |
| - | |
| With a faded wreath of oak leaves bound | P |
| They hung o'er the dust of the far renown'd | P |
| Whom the bright Valkyriur's warning voice | A2 |
| Had call'd to the banquet where gods rejoice | A2 |
| And the rich mead flows in light | I |
| - | |
| With a beating heart his son drew near | B2 |
| And still rang the verse in his thrilling ear | C2 |
| 'Soft be thy step through the silence deep | K |
| And move not the urn in the house of sleep | K |
| For the viewless have fearful might ' | - |
| - | |
| And many a Saga's rhyme | A |
| And legend of the grave | D2 |
| That shadowy scene and time | A |
| Call'd back to daunt the brave | D2 |
| - | |
| But he rais'd his arm and the flame grew dim | E2 |
| And the sword in its light seem'd to wave and swim | E2 |
| And his faltering hand could not grasp it well | F2 |
| From the pale oak wreath with a clash it fell | F2 |
| Through the chamber of the dead | G |
| - | |
| The deep tomb rang with the heavy sound | P |
| And the urn lay shiver'd in fragments round | P |
| And a rush as of tempests quench'd the fire | D |
| And the scatter'd dust of his warlike sire | D |
| Was strewn on the Champion's head | G |
| - | |
| One moment and all was still | F |
| In the slumberer's ancient hall | G2 |
| When the rock had ceas'd to thrill | F |
| With the mighty weapon's fall | G2 |
| - | |
| The stars were just fading one by one | H2 |
| The clouds were just ting'd by the early sun | H2 |
| When there stream'd through the cavern a torch's flame | I2 |
| And the brother of Sigurd the valiant came | I2 |
| To seek him in the tomb | J |
| - | |
| Stretch'd on his shield like the steel girt slain | X |
| By moonlight seen on the battle plain | X |
| In a speechless trance lay the warrior there | J2 |
| But he wildly woke when the torch's glare | J2 |
| Burst on him through the gloom | J |
| - | |
| 'The morning wind blows free | K2 |
| And the hour of chase is near | B2 |
| Come forth come forth with me | K2 |
| What dost thou Sigurd here ' | - |
| - | |
| 'I have put out the holy sepulchral fire | D |
| I have scatter'd the dust of my warrior sire | D |
| It burns on my head and it weighs down my heart | L2 |
| But the winds shall not wander without their part | L2 |
| To strew o'er the restless deep | K |
| - | |
| 'In the mantle of death he was here with me now | M2 |
| There was wrath in his eye there was gloom on his brow | M2 |
| And his cold still glance on my spirit fell | F2 |
| With an icy ray and a withering spell | F2 |
| Oh chill is the house of sleep ' | - |
| - | |
| 'The morning wind blows free | K2 |
| And the reddening sun shines clear | B2 |
| Come forth come forth with me | K2 |
| It is dark and fearful here ' | - |
| - | |
| 'He is there he is there with his shadowy frown | N2 |
| But gone from his head is the kingly crown | N2 |
| The crown from his head and the spear from his hand | O2 |
| They have chas'd him far from the glorious land | O2 |
| Where the feast of the gods is spread | G |
| - | |
| 'He must go forth alone on his phantom steed | P2 |
| He must ride o'er the grave hills with stormy speed | P2 |
| His place is no longer at Odin's board | H |
| He is driven from Valhalla without his sword | H |
| But the slayer shall avenge the dead ' | - |
| - | |
| That sword its fame had won | H2 |
| By the fall of many a crest | V |
| But its fiercest work was done | H2 |
| In the tomb on Sigurd's breast | V |
Felicia Dorothea Hemans
(1)
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About The Sword Of The Tomb : A Northern Legend
The Sword Of The Tomb : A Northern Legend is a poem by Felicia Dorothea Hemans. This page includes the poem text, poet information, related topics, comments, and similar poems.
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