Tales Of A Wayside Inn : Part 1. The Musician's Tale; The Saga of King Olaf XX. -- Einar Tamberskelver
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow 1807 (Portland) – 1882 (Cambridge)
It was Einar Tamberskelver
Stood beside the mast;
From his yew-bow, tipped with silver,
Flew the arrows fast;
Aimed at Eric unavailing,
As he sat concealed,
Half behind the quarter-railing,
Half behind his shield.
First an arrow struck the tiller,
Just above his head;
'Sing, O Eyvind Skaldaspiller,'
Then Earl Eric said.
'Sing the song of Hakon dying,
Sing his funeral wail!'
And another arrow flying
Grazed his coat of mail.
Turning to a Lapland yeoman,
As the arrow passed,
Said Earl Eric, 'Shoot that bowman
Standing by the mast.'
Sooner than the word was spoken
Flew the yeoman's shaft;
Einar's bow in twain was broken,
Einar only laughed.
'What was that?' said Olaf, standing
On the quarter-deck.
'Something heard I like the stranding
Of a shattered wreck.'
Einar then, the arrow taking
From the loosened string,
Answered, 'That was Norway breaking
From thy hand, O King!'
'Thou art but a poor diviner,'
Straightway Olaf said;
'Take my bow, and swifter, Einar,
Let thy shafts be sped.'
Of his bows the fairest choosing,
Reached he from above;
Einar saw the blood-drops oozing
Through his iron glove.
But the bow was thin and narrow;
At the first assay,
O'er its head he drew the arrow,
Flung the bow away;
Said, with hot and angry temper
Flushing in his cheek,
'Olaf! for so great a Kämper
Are thy bows too weak!'
Then, with smile of joy defiant
On his beardless lip,
Scaled he, light and self-reliant,
Eric's dragon-ship.
Loose his golden locks were flowing,
Bright his armor gleamed;
Like Saint Michael overthrowing
Lucifer he seemed.
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:20 min read
- 121 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | ABABCDCD AEAECFCF GBGBGHGH CICICCCC AEAECJCJ AXAXAKAK LMLMCNCN |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
Characters | 1,502 |
Words | 274 |
Stanzas | 7 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8 |
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"Tales Of A Wayside Inn : Part 1. The Musician's Tale; The Saga of King Olaf XX. -- Einar Tamberskelver" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 8 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/18766/tales-of-a-wayside-inn-:-part-1.-the-musician's-tale;-the-saga-of-king-olaf-xx.----einar-tamberskelver>.
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