The Surf Sprite. Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis
Rhyme Scheme: A BBCCDDEEFFGGHH A IIJJKKLLLMLMNONOLPLP QJQJRSRSTKTU A VWVWBXBXYRYRJSJSBZBZ YMYM M A2B2A2B2C2FC2FD2MD2M E2CE2CF2C2F2C2G2H2G2 H2 M I2J2I2J2K2MK2MBL2ML2 M2J2N2J2DO2DP2Q2R2Q2 R2 M LS2JS2MC2MC2I | A |
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In the far off sea there is many a sprite | B |
Who rests by day but awakes at night | B |
In hidden caves where monsters creep | C |
When the sun is high these spectres sleep | C |
From the glance of noon they shrink with dread | D |
And hide 'mid the bones of the ghastly dead | D |
Where the surf is hushed and the light is dull | E |
In the hollow tube and the whitened skull | E |
They crouch in fear or in whispers wail | F |
For the lingering night and the coming gale | F |
But at even tide when the shore is dim | G |
And bubbling wreaths with the billows swim | G |
They rise on the wing of the freshened breeze | H |
And flit with the wind o'er the rolling seas | H |
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II | A |
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At summer eve as I sat on the cliff | I |
I marked a shape like a dusky skiff | I |
That skimmed the brine toward the rocky shore | J |
I heard a voice in the surge's roar | J |
I saw a form in the flashing spray | K |
And white arms beckoned me away | K |
Away o'er the tide we went together | L |
Through shade and mist and stormy weather | L |
Away away o'er the lonely water | L |
On wings of thought like shadows we flew | M |
Nor paused 'mid scenes of wreck and slaughter | L |
That came from the blackened waves to view | M |
The staggering ship to the gale we left | N |
The drifting corse and the vacant boat | O |
The ghastly swimmer all hope bereft | N |
We left them there on the sea to float | O |
Through mist and shade and stormy weather | L |
That night we went to the icy Pole | P |
And there on the rocks we stood together | L |
And saw the ocean before us roll | P |
No moon shone down on the hermit sea | Q |
No cheering beacon illumed the shore | J |
No ship on the water no light on the lea | Q |
No sound in the ear but the billow's roar | J |
But the wave was bright as if lit with pearls | R |
And fearful things on its bosom played | S |
Huge crakens circled in foamy whirls | R |
As if the deep for their sport was made | S |
And mighty whales through the crystal dashed | T |
And upward sent the far glittering spray | K |
Till the darkened sky with the radiance flashed | T |
And pictured in glory the wild array A | U |
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III | A |
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Hast thou seen the deep in the moonlight beam | V |
Its wave like a maiden's bosom swelling | W |
Hast thou seen the stars in the water's gleam | V |
As if its depths were their holy dwelling | W |
We met more beautiful scenes that night | B |
As we slid along in our spirit car | X |
For we crossed the South Sea and ere the light | B |
We doubled Cape Horn on a shooting star | X |
In our way we stooped o'er a moonlit isle | Y |
Which the fairies had built in the lonely sea | R |
And the Surf Sprite's brow was bent with a smile | Y |
As we gazed through the mist on their revelry | R |
The ripples that swept to the pebbly shore | J |
O'er shells of purple in wantonness played | S |
And the whispering zephyrs sweet odors bore | J |
From roses that bloomed amid silence and shade | S |
In winding grottos with gems all bright | B |
Soft music trembled from harps unseen | Z |
And fair forms glided on wings of light | B |
'Mid forests of fragrance and valleys of green | Z |
There were voices of gladness the heart to beguile | Y |
And glances of beauty too fond to be true | M |
For the Surf Sprite shrieked and the Fairy Isle | Y |
By the breath of the tempest was swept from our view | M |
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IV | M |
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Then the howling gale o'er the billows rushed | A2 |
And trampled the sea in its march of wrath | B2 |
From stooping clouds the red lightnings gushed | A2 |
And thunders moved in their blazing path | B2 |
'Twas a fearful night but my shadowy guide | C2 |
Had a voice of glee as we rode on the gale | F |
For we saw afar a ship on the tide | C2 |
With a bounding course and a fearless sail | F |
In darkness it came like a storm sent bird | D2 |
But another ship it met on the wave | M |
A shock a shout but no more we heard | D2 |
For they both went down to their ocean grave | M |
We paused on the misty wing of the storm | E2 |
As a ruddy flash lit the face of the deep | C |
And far in its bosom full many a form | E2 |
Was swinging down to its silent sleep | C |
Another flash and they seemed to rest | F2 |
In scattered groups on the floor of the tide | C2 |
The lover and loved they were breast to breast | F2 |
The mother and babe they were side by side | C2 |
The leaping waves clapped their hands in joy | G2 |
And gleams of gold with the waters flowed | H2 |
But the peace of the sleepers knew no alloy | G2 |
For all was hushed in their lone abode | H2 |
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V | M |
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On on like midnight visions we passed | I2 |
The storm above and the surge below | J2 |
And shrieking forms swept by on the blast | I2 |
Like demons speeding on errands of woe | J2 |
My spirit sank for aloft in the cloud | K2 |
A Star set Flag on the whirlwind flew | M |
And I knew that the billow must be the shroud | K2 |
Of the noble ship and her gallant crew | M |
Her side was striped with a belt of white | B |
And a dozen guns from each battery frowned | L2 |
But the lightning came in a sheet of flame B | M |
And the towering sails in its folds were wound | L2 |
Vain vain was the shout that in battle rout | M2 |
Had rung as a knell in the ear of the foe | J2 |
For the bursting deck was heaved from the wreck | N2 |
And the sky was bathed in the awful glow | J2 |
The ocean shook to its oozy bed | D |
As the swelling sound to the canopy went | O2 |
And the splintered fires like meteors shed | D |
Their light o'er the tossing element | P2 |
A moment they gleamed then sank in the foam | Q2 |
And darkness swept over the gorgeous glare | R2 |
They lighted the mariners down to their home | Q2 |
And left them all sleeping in stillness there | R2 |
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VI | M |
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The storm is hushed and my vision is o'er | L |
The Surf Sprite changed to a foamy wreath | S2 |
The night is deepened along the shore | J |
And I thread my way o'er the dusky heath | S2 |
But often again I shall go to that cliff | M |
And seek for her form on the flashing tide | C2 |
For I know she will come in her airy skiff | M |
And over the sea we shall swiftly ride | C2 |
Samuel Griswold Goodrich
(1)
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