Tegnér's Drapa by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
The speaker hears a lament for Balder, then recounts how blind Hoeder kills him with a mistletoe spear and how his burning funeral ship is launched out to sea. The speaker calls on northern bards to preserve freedom while abandoning songs of bloodshed, declaring that love prevails over force and contrasting Thor’s threats with the meek Christ.
By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow · Genre: Mythological Poetry, Narrative Poetry, Elegy · 574 words
First lines
I heard a voice, that cried, / "Balder the Beautiful / Is dead, is dead! " / And through the misty air / Passed like the mournful cry / Of sunward sailing cranes.
I saw the pallid corpse / Of the dead sun / Borne through the Northern sky. / Blasts from Niffelheim / Lifted the sheeted mists / Around him as he passed.
Genres
- Mythological Poetry — The verses recount Balder’s death by a mistletoe spear, Odin’s participation in his funeral, and the rejection of Thor’s rule.
- Narrative Poetry — The stanzas move from a heard lament through Balder’s killing, preparation for burial, and departure aboard a burning ship.
- Elegy — A repeated cry announces Balder’s death, while the speaker describes despair, his corpse, and his funeral.
Tags
Norse mythology · mourning · funeral ships · mistletoe · love and force · renunciation of violence
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Tegnér's Drapa is listed on Textopian as a poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, dated Date unknown.
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- Work type: Poem
- Author: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
- Date: Date unknown
- Language: English
- Genres: Mythological Poetry, Narrative Poetry, Elegy
- Length: 574 words
- Structure: 1 section, 12 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Easy (6th Grade)
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