A Northern Legend Poem by William Cullen Bryant

A Northern Legend

Rating: 2.9


FROM THE GERMAN OF UHLAND.

There sits a lovely maiden,
The ocean murmuring nigh;
She throws the hook, and watches;
The fishes pass it by.

A ring, with a red jewel,
Is sparkling on her hand;
Upon the hook she binds it,
And flings it from the land.

Uprises from the water
A hand like ivory fair.
What gleams upon its finger?
The golden ring is there.

Uprises from the bottom
A young and handsome knight;
In golden scales he rises,
That glitter in the light.

The maid is pale with terror--
'Nay, Knight of Ocean, nay,
It was not thee I wanted;
Let go the ring, I pray.'

'Ah, maiden, not to fishes
The bait of gold is thrown;
The ring shall never leave me,
And thou must be my own.'

COMMENTS OF THE POEM
Adrian Flett 06 November 2018

A myth of life rising from the water, the sea, the very source of life itself. The universal story of Prince Charming.

1 1 Reply
Nadia Umber Lodhi 06 November 2018

Beautiful Fairy tale there sits a lovely maiden

0 1 Reply

A fairy tale so beautifully narrated

0 1 Reply
Ruta Mohapatra 06 November 2018

Entertaining! Thanks for sharing!

0 1 Reply
Kumarmani Mahakul 06 November 2018

A great legendary story has been hauntingly expressed. Beautiful poem.

0 1 Reply
Savita Tyagi 06 November 2019

What a lovely story!

0 0 Reply
Andrew Blakemore 06 November 2019

Excellent, classical poetry

0 0 Reply
Aniruddha Pathak 06 November 2019

A fairy tale with humour, so well penned.

0 0 Reply
Mahtab Bangalee 06 November 2019

Uprises from the bottom A young and handsome knight; In golden scales he rises, ../// beautiful poem; enjoyable That glitter in the light.

0 0 Reply
Kingsley Egbukole 06 November 2019

Beautifully constructed. Interesting.

0 0 Reply
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