Written In A Young Lady's Album.

By Friedrich Schiller

Narrative Poem
     Sweet friend, the world, like some fair infant blessed,      Radiant with sportive grace, around thee plays;      Yet 'tis not as depicted in thy breast      Not as within thy soul's fair glass, its rays      Are mirrored. The respectful fealty      That my heart's nobleness hath won for thee,      The miracles thou workest everywhere,      The charms thy being to this life first lent,      To it, mere charms to reckon thou'rt content,      To us, they seem humanity so fair.      The witchery sweet of ne'er-polluted youth,      The talisman of innocence and truth      Him I would see, who these to scorn can dare!      Thou revellest joyously in telling o'er      The blooming flowers that round thy path are strown,      The glad, whom thou hast made so evermore,      The souls that thou hast conquered for thine own.      In thy deceit so blissful be thou glad!      Ne'er let a waking disenchantment sad      Hurl thee despairing from thy dream's proud flight!      Like the fair flowerets that thy beds perfume,      Observe them, but ne'er touch them as they bloom,      Plant them, but only for the distant sight.      Created only to enchant the eye,      In faded beauty at thy feet they'll lie,      The nearer thee, the nearer their long night!

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Poem Details

Language: English
Keywords: Public Domain
Source: Public Domain Collection
Rights/Permissions: Public Domain
Analysis & Notes:
This poem employs an intricate blend of adoration and warning, addressing a friend whose innocence and charm have a mesmerizing yet fleeting allure. The speaker’s voice is lyrical and reverent, though tinged with melancholy as it contrasts the friend’s idealized world with the inevitable decay of beauty. The unrhymed iambic pentameter lends a rhythmic, almost incantatory quality to the lines, while enjambment creates a sense of flowing inevitability, mirroring the passage of time. The structure’s unbroken stanza suggests the poem’s meditation is uninterrupted, its power derived from sustained tension between delight and dread. The imagery shifts from radiant, youthful vitality to wilting petals, underscoring the transience of beauty. The poem’s volta arrives subtly, pivoting from praise to caution, urging the friend to admire but not possess. The final lines sharpen into a stark warning, revealing the poem’s core insight: proximity to beauty guarantees its ruin.

Exploring Narrative Poetry

Narrative poetry is a form of poetry that tells a story, often making use of the voices of a narrator and characters as well. Unlike lyric poetry, which focuses on emotions and thoughts, narrative poetry is dedicated to storytelling, weaving tales that captivate readers through plot and character development.

Narrative poems are unique in their ability to combine the depth of storytelling with the expressive qualities of poetry. Here are some defining characteristics:

  • Structured Plot: Narrative poems typically have a clear beginning, middle, and end, following a plot that might involve conflict, climax, and resolution, much like a short story or novel.
  • Character Development: Characters in narrative poems are often well-developed, with distinct voices and personalities that drive the story forward.
  • Descriptive Language: The language used in narrative poetry is vivid and descriptive, painting a clear picture of the scenes and events, while also conveying the emotions and atmosphere of the story.

From ancient epics like "The Iliad" and "The Odyssey" to more modern narrative poems, this form continues to engage readers by blending the art of storytelling with the beauty and rhythm of poetry.