Classic and Contemporary Poetry
TALES OF A WAYSIDE INN: THE SECOND DAY: INTERLUDE (3), by HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW Poet Analysis Poet's Biography First Line: What was the end? I am ashamed Last Line: Or thundering on the startled ear. | ||||||||
"What was the end? I am ashamed Not to remember Reynard's fate; I have not read the book of late; Was he not hanged?" the Poet said. The Student gravely shook his head, And answered: "You exaggerate. There was a tournament proclaimed, And Reynard fought with Isegrim The Wolf, and having vanquished him, Rose to high honor in the State, And Keeper of the Seals was named!" At this the gay Sicilian laughed: "Fight fire with fire, and craft with craft; Successful cunning seems to be The moral of your tale," said he. "Mine had a better, and the Jew's Had none at all, that I could see; His aim was only to amuse." Meanwhile from out its ebon case His violin the Minstrel drew, And having tuned its strings anew, Now held it close in his embrace, And poising in his outstretched hand The bow, like a magician's wand, He paused, and said, with beaming face: "Last night my story was too long; To-day I give you but a song, An old tradition of the North; But first, to put you in the mood, I will a little while prelude, And from this instrument draw forth Something by way of overture." He played; at first the tones were pure And tender as a summer night, The full moon climbing to her height, The sob and ripple of the seas, The flapping of an idle sail; And then by sudden and sharp degrees The multiplied, wild harmonies Freshened and burst into a gale; A tempest howling through the dark, A crash as of some shipwrecked bark. A loud and melancholy wail. Such was the prelude to the tale Told by the Minstrel; and at times He paused amid its varying rhymes, And at each pause again broke in The music of his violin, With tones of sweetness or of fear, Movements of trouble or of calm, Creating their own atmosphere; As sitting in a church we hear Between the verses of the psalm The organ playing soft and clear, Or thundering on the startled ear. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...A GLEAM OF SUNSHINE by HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW A PSALM OF LIFE by HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW BELISARIUS by HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW BURIAL OF THE MINNISINK by HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW CARILLON by HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW CATAWBA WINE by HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW CHANGED by HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW CHAUCER; SONNET by HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW CHRISTMAS BELLS by HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW CURFEW by HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW DAYBREAK by HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW DIVINA COMMEDIA (INTRODUCTORY POEMS): 1 by HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW |
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