The Foster Mother's Tale. A Dramatic Fragment Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis
Rhyme Scheme: ABCDEFGHDIJKLMJNOPJQ RSMTUJVWXYJZA2TJB2C2 CD2CE2F2G2H2CI2J2AK2 DL2M2N2O2JP2Q2TR2DG2 S2VT2U2V2DW2X2| Ter But that entrance Selma | A |
| Sel Can no one hear It is a perilous tale | B |
| Ter No one | C |
| Sel My husband's father told it me | D |
| Poor old Sesina angels rest his soul | E |
| He was a woodman and could fell and saw | F |
| With lusty arm You know that huge round beam | G |
| Which props the hanging wall of the old chapel | H |
| Beneath that tree while yet it was a tree | D |
| He found a baby wrapped in mosses lined | I |
| With thistle beards and such small locks of wool | J |
| As hang on brambles Well he brought him home | K |
| And reared him at the then Lord Valdez' cost | L |
| And so the babe grew up a pretty boy | M |
| A pretty boy but nost unteachable | J |
| And never learn'd a prayer nor told a bead | N |
| But knew the names of birds and mocked their notes | O |
| And whistled as he were a bird himself | P |
| And all the autumn 'twas his only play | J |
| To gather seeds of wild flowers and to plant them | Q |
| With earth and water on the stumps of trees | R |
| A Friar who gathered simples in the wood | S |
| A gray haired man he loved this little boy | M |
| The boy loved him and when the Friar taught him | T |
| He soon could write with the pen and from that time | U |
| Lived chiefly at the convent or the castle | J |
| So he became a rare and learned youth | V |
| But O poor wretch he read and read and read | W |
| Till his brain turned and ere his twentieth year | X |
| He had unlawful thoughts of many things | Y |
| And though he prayed he never loved to pray | J |
| With holy men nor in a holy place | Z |
| But yet his speech it was so soft and sweet | A2 |
| The late Lord Valdez ne'er was wearied with him | T |
| And once as by the north side of the chapel | J |
| They stood together chained in deep discourse | B2 |
| The earth heaved under them with such a groan | C2 |
| That the wall tottered and had well nigh fallen | C |
| Right on their heads My Lord was sorely frightened | D2 |
| A fever seized him and he made confession | C |
| Of all the heretical and lawless talk | E2 |
| Which brought this judgement so the youth was seized | F2 |
| And cast into that hole My husband's father | G2 |
| Sobbed like a child it almost broke his heart | H2 |
| And once as he was working near this dungeon | C |
| He heard a voice distinctly 'twas the youth's | I2 |
| Who sung a doleful song about green fields | J2 |
| How sweet it were on lake or wide savanna | A |
| To hunt for food and be a naked man | K2 |
| And wander up and down at liberty | D |
| He always doted on the youth and now | L2 |
| His love grew desperate and defying death | M2 |
| He made that cunning entrance I described | N2 |
| And the young man escaped | O2 |
| Ter 'Tis a sweet tale | J |
| Such as would lull a listening child to sleep | P2 |
| His rosy face besoiled with unwiped tears | Q2 |
| And what became of him | T |
| Sel He went on shipboard | R2 |
| With those bold voyagers who made discovery | D |
| Of golden lands Sesina's younger brother | G2 |
| Went likewise and when he returned to Spain | S2 |
| He told Sesina that the poor mad youth | V |
| Soon after they arrived in that new world | T2 |
| In spite of his dissuasion seized a boat | U2 |
| And all alone set sail by silent moonlight | V2 |
| Up a great river great as any sea | D |
| And ne'er was heard of more but 'tis supposed | W2 |
| He lived and died among the savage men | X2 |
Samuel Taylor Coleridge
(1)
Poem topics: , Print This Poem , Rhyme Scheme
Submit Spanish Translation
Submit German Translation
Submit French Translation
About The Foster Mother's Tale. A Dramatic Fragment
The Foster Mother's Tale. A Dramatic Fragment is a poem by Samuel Taylor Coleridge. This page includes the poem text, poet information, related topics, comments, and similar poems.
Write your comment about The Foster Mother's Tale. A Dramatic Fragment poem by Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Best Poems of Samuel Taylor Coleridge
