The Poet
Letitia Elizabeth Landon 1802 (Chelsea) – 1838 (Cape Coast)
Oh say not that truth does not dwell with the lyre,
That the Minstrel will feign what he never has felt;
Oh say not his love is a fugitive fire,
Thrown o'er the snow mountains, will sparkle, not melt.
It is not the Alpine hills rich with the ray
Of sunset can image the soul of the bard;
The light of the evening around them may play,
But the frost-work beneath is, tho' bright, cold and hard.
’Tis the burning volcano, that ceaselessly glows,
Where the Minstrelmay find his own semblance pourtray'd;
The red fires that gleam on the summit are those
That first on his own inmost spirit have preyed.
Ah, deeply the Minstrel has felt all he sings,
Every passion he paints his own bosom has known;
No note of wild music is swept from the strings,
But first his own feelings have echoed the tone.
Then say not his love is a fugitive fire,
That the heart can be ice while the lip is of flame;
Oh say not that truth does not dwell with the lyre;
The pulse of the heart and the harp are the same.
Font size:
Submitted by Madeleine Quinn on March 03, 2020
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 57 sec read
- 13 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | Abcb dede fbfx ghgh ciAi |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic hexameter |
Characters | 990 |
Words | 191 |
Stanzas | 5 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Translation
Find a translation for this poem in other languages:
Select another language:
- - Select -
- 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
- 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
- Español (Spanish)
- Esperanto (Esperanto)
- 日本語 (Japanese)
- Português (Portuguese)
- Deutsch (German)
- العربية (Arabic)
- Français (French)
- Русский (Russian)
- ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
- 한국어 (Korean)
- עברית (Hebrew)
- Gaeilge (Irish)
- Українська (Ukrainian)
- اردو (Urdu)
- Magyar (Hungarian)
- मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
- Indonesia (Indonesian)
- Italiano (Italian)
- தமிழ் (Tamil)
- Türkçe (Turkish)
- తెలుగు (Telugu)
- ภาษาไทย (Thai)
- Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
- Čeština (Czech)
- Polski (Polish)
- Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
- Românește (Romanian)
- Nederlands (Dutch)
- Ελληνικά (Greek)
- Latinum (Latin)
- Svenska (Swedish)
- Dansk (Danish)
- Suomi (Finnish)
- فارسی (Persian)
- ייִדיש (Yiddish)
- հայերեն (Armenian)
- Norsk (Norwegian)
- English (English)
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"The Poet" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 30 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/52715/the-poet>.
Discuss the poem The Poet with the community...
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In