Anhelli - Chapter 8 Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis
Rhyme Scheme: AB CDE F DAG HI JK D LBM N OP QRS M TT UTJ OV WXYZ A2B2C2 D2E2 A2 ODF2 QG2D H2I2 TJ2 K2J2 L2L2V T| And passing further they beheld many men pale and tortured | A |
| whose names are known in the fatherland | B |
| - | |
| And they came to a subterranean lake | C |
| and proceeded along the shores of the dark water | D |
| which stirred not but was golden in places from the light of torches | E |
| - | |
| And the Shaman said 'Is this the Lake of Gennesaret of the Poles | F |
| And these men are they fishermen of misfortune ' | - |
| - | |
| Then one of those who sat sorrowfully by the shores of the black water | D |
| with a thoughtful face answered | A |
| 'They allow us to rest for today is the king's saint's day and a day of repose | G |
| - | |
| 'Therefore do we sit beside the dark water to think and to meditate and to rest | H |
| for our hearts are more wearied than our bodies | I |
| - | |
| 'For lo we lost not long since our prophet | J |
| whose favourite spot this rock was and these waters were dear to him | K |
| - | |
| 'He was a man pale with gleaming eyes gaunt and full of fire | D |
| - | |
| 'And lo seven years ago there came upon him one night the spirit of prophecy | L |
| and he felt the shock which was in the fatherland | B |
| and related to us through a whole night what he saw laughing and crying | M |
| - | |
| 'And only in the morning did he become sad and he cried out | N |
| Lo they have risen again but they cannot roll away the stones from their graves ' | - |
| And having said this he fell dead | O |
| And we set up to him this wooden cross | P |
| - | |
| 'And two years later new exiles told us what had happened | Q |
| and reckoning up the nights we found that that prophet had told us the truth | R |
| therefore we wished to do him honour but he was already in the ground | S |
| - | |
| 'Therefore do we honour this cross no longer saying | M |
| Lo the man who lieth under it was mad and crazed and deserving of laughter ' | - |
| What say ye to that ' | - |
| - | |
| And turning the Shaman said to Anhelli | T |
| 'On what dost thou meditate above this black water Is it of the tears of the people | T |
| Or dost thou ponder on that prophet Or on thyself ' | - |
| - | |
| As he spoke there came a great echo from the explosion of a mine | U |
| and it resounded above their heads ringing like an underground bell | T |
| And the Shaman said 'Lo that is the tolling for the dead prophet | J |
| Behold there is an angel of the Lord for those who see not the sun Let us pray ' | - |
| - | |
| And raising his eyes he said | O |
| 'God God We beseech Thee that our torture may be a redemption | V |
| - | |
| 'And we will not supplicate Thee to return the sun to our eyes | W |
| and the air to our breasts | X |
| for we know that Thy judgment hath been passed upon us | Y |
| but the newborn are guiltless Have mercy O God | Z |
| - | |
| 'And forgive us that we bear our cross in sorrow and are not joyful like the martyrs | A2 |
| for Thou hast not said whether our torture shall be reckoned in us as a sacrifice | B2 |
| but tell us that and we shall rejoice | C2 |
| - | |
| 'For what is life that we should regret it | D2 |
| Is it a good angel who abandoneth us in the hour of death | E2 |
| - | |
| 'The heat of our blood is the fire of the sacrifice and the sacrifice is our desires | A2 |
| Happy are those who can consecrate themselves for the people ' | - |
| - | |
| And to that the wretched men said | O |
| 'Lo this man speaketh truth for more unhappy than ourselves is that woman who followed her husband hither | D |
| and who suffereth for the heart of man | F2 |
| - | |
| 'Come and we will show you the damp pit where that martyr dwelleth with her husband | Q |
| 'She was a great lady and a princess | G2 |
| and now she is as the handmaiden of a beggar | D |
| - | |
| 'And unworthy of her pity is he whom she loved | H2 |
| for kneeling before the emperor he pleaded for his life | I2 |
| and they gave it to him despising him ' | - |
| - | |
| So saying they came up close to a wall | T |
| and through the grating they beheld that wedded pair | J2 |
| - | |
| The woman was kneeling before the man and in a basin of water was washing his feet | K2 |
| for he had returned from his work as a labourer | J2 |
| - | |
| And the water in the basin was reddened from his blood | L2 |
| and the woman did not shudder at the man and the blood | L2 |
| and she was young and beautiful like the angels of heaven | V |
| - | |
| That man and that woman were of the tsar's people | T |
Juliusz Slowacki
(1)
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