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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

THE KING'S GOBLET by JOHANN CHRISTOPH FRIEDRICH VON SCHILLER

First Line: HO! EVERY GALLANT KNIGHT AND SQUIRE
Last Line: THE BOY IS SEEN NO MORE!
I.

"Ho! every gallant knight and squire
Attend!" exclaimed the king;
"This Golden Goblet shall be his,
Who from this rock will spring,
And from the dark abyss below
The cup to me will bring!"

II.

And at the word, from where he stood
Upon the rocky steep,
He cast the Golden Goblet down
Beneath the ocean deep;
Far down into the black abyss
Where roaring eddies sweep.

III.

And thrice the king to all his men
The proclamation made;
But all were mute: nor knight nor squire
The fearful feat essayed;
To follow where the cup went down,
The boldest were afraid.

IV.

Now while in silence round the king
They stood in grim array,
Up came a page of handsome mien,
A gallant youth and gay;
And straight he took his girdle off,
And cast his cloak away.

V.

And while they praised his form and face,
And marveled what he meant,
Far out upon the dizzy cliff
The gallant stripling went;
And there a long and steady gaze
Into the deep he sent.

VI.

A whispered prayer, and down he leaps
From off the giddy height,
Into the foaming flood below,
Where all is black as night!
(A hundred shouts went up to Heaven,
And he was lost to sight!

VII.

Then spake the bravest knight of all
Who saw that fearful thing,
"If thus your Gracious Majesty
His jeweled crown should fling,
Pardie! I would not seek it there,
To wear it as a king!

VIII.

"Alas! that one so young and fair
Should find a watery grave;
In vain were mortal succor now
The gallant boy to save!"
But see! -- an arm is gleaming forth
Above the foaming wave!

IX.

'T is he! see how his straining arms
Obey his will's command;
One struggle more, -- the boy is saved;
His foot is on the land!
And now be bows before the king,
The goblet in his hand!

X.

"Here, daughter! fill the cup with wine!"
The king exclaimed aloud;
Whereat a damsel, young and fair,
In filial duty bowed;
And soon returned the brimming cup,
Before the smiling crowd.

XI.

"Long live your gracious Majesty!"
He said, and drank the wine;
"And may no mortal ever dare
A deed so dread as mine;
Nor brave the monsters that I saw
Beneath the foamy brine!

XII.

"Ah, me! to think of all I saw;
It fills me now with dread!
The horrid sharks and dragons huge
That in the sea are bred;
And serpents vast that coil and crawl
Within their slimy bed.

XIII.

"The goblet hung upon a crag
Far down as I could dive;
I know not how I got me thence,
Though fiercely I did strive;
But God is good, and heard my prayer,
And here I stand alive!"

XIV.

"The cup is thine!" the monarch said;
"And thou hast earned it dear;
But, thou shalt have this costly ring,
(A diamond large and clear!)
To dive again, and further bring
What thou shalt see and hear!"

XV.

"Nay, father!" -- thus the maiden spoke, --
"This cruel play forbear;
And let some hardy knight of thine
The page's honor share;
Already has the boy achieved
What not a man did dare!"

XVI.

"T was then the monarch seized the cup
And threw it in the sea;
'Go! fetch it up!" he cried, "and thou
A knight of mine shall be;
And this my daughter, weeping here,
I'll make her wife to thee!"

XVII.

One glance upon the beauteous maid;
One look of inward pain;
One supplicating prayer to Heaven,
And down he dives again,
To follow where the goblet fell,
Beneath the raging main!

XVIII.

Long -- long they gaze with anxious looks;
In vain their eyes explore
The dashing waves beneath the rock,
Where sullen breakers roar;
Alack, alack, -- he comes not back!
The boy is seen no more!



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