"The Execution of Montrose"
"But when he came, though pale and wan,He looked so great and high,"--p. 37.
"Then first a woman's voice was heardIn jeer and laughter loud,"--p. 38.
"For seven long years thou hast not daredTo look him in the face,"--p. 39.
"With savage glee came Warristoun,To read the murderous doom,"--p. 40.
"And God who made shall gather them:I go from you to Him!"--p. 41.
"He is coming! he is coming!Like a bridegroom from his room,"--p. 42.
"The grim Geneva ministersWith anxious scowl drew near,"--p. 43.
"And he climbed the lofty ladderAs it were the path to heaven,"--p. 43.
Words in this poem
- hast
- , 2d pers. sing. pres. of. Fave, contr. of havest.
- glee n.
- Music; minstrelsy; entertainment.
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
- bridegroom n.
- A man newly married, or just about to be married. [OE. bridegome, brudgume, AS. br (akin to OS. br, D. bruidegom, bruigom, OHG. pr, MHG. briutegome, G. bräutigam); AS. br bride + guma man, akin to Goth. guma, Ic]
- scowl v. i.
- To wrinkle the brows, as in frowning or displeasure; to put on a frowning look; to look sour, sullen, severe, or angry. [Akin to Dan. skule; cf. Icel. skolla to skulk, LG. schulen to hide one's self, D. schuilen, G. schielen to squint, Dan. skele, Sw. skela, AS. sceolh squinting. ]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
"The Execution of Montrose" is in the public domain. This text is taken from Lays of the Scottish Cavaliers and Other Poems, Project Gutenberg ebook #10945; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: William Edmondstoune Aytoun, "The Execution of Montrose", in Lays of the Scottish Cavaliers (1849), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #10945, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/aytoun-lays/the-execution-of-montrose-2.html, id L10305.
Form and metre
"The Execution of Montrose" is 16 lines in 8 verse paragraphs. It is unrhymed, as far as the pronouncing dictionary can tell. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 81%). 97% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.8 syllables. 3 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 25% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in iambic tetrameter.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against iambic tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| "But when he came, though pale and wan, | 8 | ········ |
| He looked so great and high,"--p. 37. | 8 | ··˘····· |
| "Then first a woman's voice was heard | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| In jeer and laughter loud,"--p. 38. | 7 | ···/˘·· |
| "For seven long years thou hast not dared | 8 | ·/······ |
| To look him in the face,"--p. 39. | 7 | ······· |
| "With savage glee came Warristoun, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| To read the murderous doom,"--p. 40. | 8 | ···/˘˘·· |
| "And God who made shall gather them: | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| I go from you to Him!"--p. 41. | 7 | ······· |
| "He is coming! he is coming! | 8 | ··/˘··/˘ |
| Like a bridegroom from his room,"--p. 42. | 8 | ··/····· |
| "The grim Geneva ministers | 8 | ··˘/˘/˘˘ |
| With anxious scowl drew near,"--p. 43. | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| "And he climbed the lofty ladder | 8 | ····/˘/˘ |
| As it were the path to heaven,"--p. 43. | 8 | ······/· |
The reader shows the same poem with its rhymes coloured and a stress row above each line, the notes beside their stanzas, and any word's definition on a tap; the analysis page takes the whole book apart. How every part of this site was made.