Analysis of The Eve of Crecy
William Morris 1834 (Walthamstow) – 1896 (London)
Gold on her head, and gold on her feet,
And gold where the hems of her kirtle meet,
And a golden girdle round my sweet;
Ah! qu'elle est belle La Marguerite.
Margaret's maids are fair to see,
Freshly dress'd and pleasantly;
Margaret's hair falls down to her knee;
Ah! qu'elle est belle La Marguerite.
If I were rich I would kiss her feet;
I would kiss the place where the gold hems meet,
And the golden kirtle round my sweet:
Ah! qu'elle est belle La Marguerite.
Ah me! I have never touch'd her hand;
When the arrière-ban goes through the land,
Six basnets under my pennon stand;
Ah! qu'elle est belle La Marguerite.
And many an one grins under his hood:
Sir Lambert du Bois, with all his men good,
Has neither food nor firewood;
Ah! qu'elle est belle la Marguerite.
If I were rich I would kiss her feet,
And the golden girdle of my sweet,
And thereabouts where the gold hems meet;
Ah! qu'elle est belle La Marguerite.
Yet even now it is good to think,
While my few poor varlets grumble and drink
In my desolate hall, where the fires sink,--
Ah! qu'elle est belle La Marguerite,--
Of Margaret sitting glorious there,
In glory of gold and glory of hair,
And glory of glorious face most fair;
Ah! qu'elle est belle La Marguerite.
Likewise to-night I make good cheer,
Because this battle draweth near:
For what have I to lose or fear?
Ah! qu'elle est belle La Marguerite.
For, look you, my horse is good to prance
A right fair measure in this war-dance,
Before the eyes of Philip of France;
Ah! qu'elle est belle La Marguerite.
And sometime it may hap, perdie,
While my new towers stand up three and three,
And my hall gets painted fair to see--
Ah! qu'elle est belle La Marguerite--
That folks may say: Times change, by the rood,
For Lambert, banneret of the wood,
Has heaps of food and firewood;
Ah! qu'elle est belle La Marguerite.
Scheme | aaaA bbbA AaaA cccA dddA AaaA eeeA fffA gggA hhhA abbA xddA |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain (33%) |
Metre | 110101101 011011011 001010111 111011101 10011111 1010100 100111101 111011101 110111101 1110110111 00101111 111011101 111110101 101111101 1110111 111011101 0101111011 1101111111 1101110 111011101 110111101 001010111 00110111 111011101 110111111 111111001 01100110101 111011101 1100101001 0101101011 0101100111 111011101 1111111 0111011 11111111 111011101 111111111 011100111 010111011 111011101 011111 1111011101 011110111 111011101 111111101 1101101 1111010 111011101 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,813 |
Words | 340 |
Sentences | 25 |
Stanzas | 12 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 48 |
Letters per line (avg) | 29 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 117 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 28 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 05, 2023
- 1:46 min read
- 98 Views
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"The Eve of Crecy" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 23 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/41158/the-eve-of-crecy>.
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