Rhyme of the Duchess May
To the belfry, one by one, went the ringers from the sun,Toll slowly.And the oldest ringer said, "Ours is music for the deadWhen the rebecks are all done."
Six abeles i' the churchyard grow on the north side in a row,Toll slowly.And the shadows of their tops rock across the little slopesOf the grassy graves below.
On the south side and the west a small river runs in haste,Toll slowly.And, between the river flowing and the fair green trees a-growing,Do the dead lie at their rest.
On the east I sate that day, up against a willow grey:Toll slowly.Through the rain of willow-branches I could see the low hill-rangesAnd the river on its way.
There I sate beneath the tree, and the bell tolled solemnly,Toll slowly.While the trees' and river's voices flowed between the solemn noises,--Yet death seemed more loud to me.
There I read this ancient rhyme while the bell did all the timeToll slowly.And the solemn knell fell in with the tale of life and sin,Like a rhythmic fate sublime.
Words in this poem
- belfry n.
- A movable tower erected by besiegers for purposes of attack and defense. [OE. berfray movable tower used in sieges, OF. berfreit, berfroit, F. beffroi, fr. MHG. bervrit, bercvrit, G. bergfriede, fr. MHG. bergen to protect (G. bergen t]
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- ringer n.
- One who, or that which, rings; especially, one who rings chimes on bells.
- churchyard n.
- The ground adjoining a church, in which the dead are buried; a cemetery.
- sate v. t.
- To satisfy the desire or appetite of; to satiate; to glut; to surfeit. [Probably shortened fr. satiate: cf. L. satus full. See Satiate.]
- rhythmic a.
- Pertaining to, or of the nature of, rhythm DAy and night I worked my rhythmic thought. Mrs. Browning. [Gr. rhythmicus, F. rhythmique.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Rhyme of the Duchess May is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Poetical Works of Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Volume 2, Project Gutenberg ebook #33363; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Rhyme of the Duchess May, in Lady Geraldine's Courtship, and Other Poems (1844), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #33363, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/barrett-browning-poems-2/rhyme-of-the-duchess-may.html, id L24817.
Form and metre
Rhyme of the Duchess May is 24 lines in 6 stanzas of 4 lines each.
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.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 1 A--A sunA · slowly · dead · doneA
- 2 A--A rowA · slowly · slopes · belowA
- 4 A--A greyA · slowly · ranges · wayA
- 6 A--A timeA · slowly · sin · sublimeA
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. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| To the belfry, one by one, went the ringers from the sun, | 14 | ··/˘·····/˘··· |
| Toll slowly. | 3 | ·/˘ |
| And the oldest ringer said, "Ours is music for the dead | 15 | ··/˘/˘·/˘·/˘··· |
| When the rebecks are all done." | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Six abeles i' the churchyard grow on the north side in a row, | 15 | ·˘/··/········· |
| Toll slowly. | 3 | ·/˘ |
| And the shadows of their tops rock across the little slopes | 14 | ··/·····˘/·/˘· |
| Of the grassy graves below. | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| On the south side and the west a small river runs in haste, | 14 | ·········/˘··· |
| Toll slowly. | 3 | ·/˘ |
| And, between the river flowing and the fair green trees a-growing, | 16 | ····/˘/˘······/˘ |
| Do the dead lie at their rest. | 7 | ······· |
| On the east I sate that day, up against a willow grey: | 14 | ···········/·· |
| Toll slowly. | 3 | ·/˘ |
| Through the rain of willow-branches I could see the low hill-ranges | 16 | ····/·/˘······/˘ |
| And the river on its way. | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| There I sate beneath the tree, and the bell tolled solemnly, | 14 | ···········/˘˘ |
| Toll slowly. | 3 | ·/˘ |
| While the trees' and river's voices flowed between the solemn noises,-- | 16 | ····/˘/˘····/˘/˘ |
| Yet death seemed more loud to me. | 7 | ······· |
| There I read this ancient rhyme while the bell did all the time | 14 | ····/˘········ |
| Toll slowly. | 3 | ·/˘ |
| And the solemn knell fell in with the tale of life and sin, | 14 | ··/˘·········· |
| Like a rhythmic fate sublime. | 7 | ··/˘·˘/ |
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.