Old Wichet and His Wife
O! I went into the stable, and there for to see,And there I saw three horses stand, by one, by two, and by three;O! I called to my loving wife, and ‘Anon, kind sir!’ quoth she;‘O! what do these three horses here, without the leave of me?’
‘Why, you old fool! blind fool! can’t you very well see,These are three milking cows my mother sent to me?’‘Ods bobs! well done! milking cows with saddles on!The like was never known!’Old Wichet a cuckold went out, and a cuckold he came home!
O! I went into the kitchen, and there for to see,And there I saw three swords hang, by one, by two, quoth she;O! I called to my loving wife, and ‘Anon, kind sir!’‘O! what do these three swords do here, without the leave of me?’
‘Why, you old fool! blind fool! can’t you very well see,These are three roasting spits my mother sent to me?’‘Ods bobs! well done! roasting spits with scabbards on!The like was never known!’Old Wichet a cuckold went out, and a cuckold he came home!
O! I went into the parlour, and there for to see,And there I saw three cloaks hang, by one, by two, and by three;O! I called to my loving wife, and ‘Anon, kind sir!’ quoth she;‘O! what do these three cloaks do here, without the leave of me?’
‘Why, you old fool! blind fool! can’t you very well see,These are three mantuas my mother sent to me?’‘Ods bobs! well done! mantuas with capes on!The like was never known!’Old Wichet a cuckold went out, and a cuckold he came home!
O! I went into the pantry, and there for to see,And there I saw three pair of boots, by one, by two, and bythree;O! I called to my loving wife, and ‘Anon, kind sir!’ quoth she;‘O! what do these three pair of boots here, without the leave of me?’
‘Why, you old fool! blind fool! can’t you very well see,These are three pudding-bags my mother sent to me?’‘Ods bobs! well done! pudding-bags with spurs on!The like was never known!’Old Wichet a cuckold went out, and a cuckold he came home!
O! I went into the dairy, and there for to see,And there I saw three hats hang, by one, by two, and by three;O! I called to my loving wife, and ‘Anon, kind sir!’ quoth she;‘Pray what do these three hats here, without the leave of me?’
‘Why, you old fool! blind fool! can’t you very well see,These are three skimming-dishes my mother sent to me?’‘Ods bobs! well done! skimming-dishes with hat-bands on!The like was never known!’Old Wichet a cuckold went out, and a cuckold he came home!
O! I went into the chamber, and there for to see,And there I saw three men in bed, by one, by two, and by three;O! I called to my loving wife, and ‘Anon, kind sir!’ quoth she;‘O! what do these three men here, without the leave of me?’
‘Why, you old fool! blind fool! can’t you very well see,They are three milking-maids my mother sent to me?’‘Ods bobs! well done! milking-maids with beards on!The like was never known!’Old Wichet a cuckold went out, and a cuckold he came home!
Words in this poem
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- anon adv.
- Straightway; at once. [OE. anoon, anon, anan, lit., in one (moment), fr. AS. on in + an one. See On and One.]
- quoth v. t.
- Said; spoke; uttered; -- used only in the first and third persons in the past tenses, and always followed by its nominative, the word or words said being the object; as, quoth I. quoth he. [AS.cweedhan, imp cwæedh, pl. cwædon; akin to OS. queedhan, OHG. quethan, quedan, Icel. kveedha, Goth. qiþan. sq. root22. Cf. Bequeath.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Old Wichet and His Wife is in the public domain. This text is taken from Ancient Poems, Ballads, and Songs of the Peasantry of England, Project Gutenberg ebook #649; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Robert Bell, Old Wichet and His Wife, in Ancient Poems, Ballads and Songs of the Peasantry of England (1857), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #649, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/bell-ancient-poems/old-wichet-and-his-wife.html, id L11982.
Form and metre
Old Wichet and His Wife is 55 lines in 12 verse paragraphs. It is in rhyming couplets, 62% of the lines. 93% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 12.2 syllables.
See other poems in rhyming couplets.
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 AAAA seeA · threeA · sheA · meA
- 2 AA--- seeA · meA · on · known · home
- 3 AA-A seeA · sheA · sir · meA
- 4 AA--- seeA · meA · on · known · home
- 5 AAAA seeA · threeA · sheA · meA
- 6 AA--- seeA · meA · on · known · home
- 7 AAAAA seeA · byA · threeA · sheA · meA
- 8 AA--- seeA · meA · on · known · home
- 9 AAAA seeA · threeA · sheA · meA
- 10 AA--- seeA · meA · on · known · home
- 11 AAAA seeA · threeA · sheA · meA
- 12 AA--- seeA · meA · on · known · home
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 |
|---|---|---|
| O! I went into the stable, and there for to see, | 13 | ······/˘····· |
| And there I saw three horses stand, by one, by two, and by three; | 15 | ·····/˘········ |
| O! I called to my loving wife, and ‘Anon, kind sir!’ quoth she; | 15 | ·····/˘··˘/···· |
| ‘O! what do these three horses here, without the leave of me?’ | 14 | ·····/˘······· |
| ‘Why, you old fool! blind fool! can’t you very well see, | 12 | ········/˘·· |
| These are three milking cows my mother sent to me?’ | 12 | ···/˘··/˘··· |
| ‘Ods bobs! well done! milking cows with saddles on! | 11 | ····/˘··/˘· |
| The like was never known!’ | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Old Wichet a cuckold went out, and a cuckold he came home! | 15 | ····/˘····/˘··· |
| O! I went into the kitchen, and there for to see, | 13 | ······/˘····· |
| And there I saw three swords hang, by one, by two, quoth she; | 13 | ············· |
| O! I called to my loving wife, and ‘Anon, kind sir!’ | 13 | ·····/˘··˘/·· |
| ‘O! what do these three swords do here, without the leave of me?’ | 14 | ·············· |
| ‘Why, you old fool! blind fool! can’t you very well see, | 12 | ········/˘·· |
| These are three roasting spits my mother sent to me?’ | 12 | ···/˘··/˘··· |
| ‘Ods bobs! well done! roasting spits with scabbards on! | 11 | ····/˘··/˘· |
| The like was never known!’ | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Old Wichet a cuckold went out, and a cuckold he came home! | 15 | ····/˘····/˘··· |
| O! I went into the parlour, and there for to see, | 13 | ······/˘····· |
| And there I saw three cloaks hang, by one, by two, and by three; | 14 | ·············· |
| O! I called to my loving wife, and ‘Anon, kind sir!’ quoth she; | 15 | ·····/˘··˘/···· |
| ‘O! what do these three cloaks do here, without the leave of me?’ | 14 | ·············· |
| ‘Why, you old fool! blind fool! can’t you very well see, | 12 | ········/˘·· |
| These are three mantuas my mother sent to me?’ | 11 | ···/˘·/˘··· |
| ‘Ods bobs! well done! mantuas with capes on! | 9 | ····/˘··· |
| The like was never known!’ | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Old Wichet a cuckold went out, and a cuckold he came home! | 15 | ····/˘····/˘··· |
| O! I went into the pantry, and there for to see, | 13 | ······/˘····· |
| And there I saw three pair of boots, by one, by two, and by | 14 | ·············· |
| three; | 1 | · |
| O! I called to my loving wife, and ‘Anon, kind sir!’ quoth she; | 15 | ·····/˘··˘/···· |
| ‘O! what do these three pair of boots here, without the leave of me?’ | 15 | ··············· |
| ‘Why, you old fool! blind fool! can’t you very well see, | 12 | ········/˘·· |
| These are three pudding-bags my mother sent to me?’ | 12 | ···/˘··/˘··· |
| ‘Ods bobs! well done! pudding-bags with spurs on! | 10 | ····/˘···· |
| The like was never known!’ | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Old Wichet a cuckold went out, and a cuckold he came home! | 15 | ····/˘····/˘··· |
| O! I went into the dairy, and there for to see, | 13 | ······/˘····· |
| And there I saw three hats hang, by one, by two, and by three; | 14 | ·············· |
| O! I called to my loving wife, and ‘Anon, kind sir!’ quoth she; | 15 | ·····/˘··˘/···· |
| ‘Pray what do these three hats here, without the leave of me?’ | 13 | ············· |
| ‘Why, you old fool! blind fool! can’t you very well see, | 12 | ········/˘·· |
| These are three skimming-dishes my mother sent to me?’ | 13 | ···/˘/˘·/˘··· |
| ‘Ods bobs! well done! skimming-dishes with hat-bands on! | 12 | ····/˘/˘···· |
| The like was never known!’ | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Old Wichet a cuckold went out, and a cuckold he came home! | 15 | ····/˘····/˘··· |
| O! I went into the chamber, and there for to see, | 13 | ······/˘····· |
| And there I saw three men in bed, by one, by two, and by three; | 15 | ··············· |
| O! I called to my loving wife, and ‘Anon, kind sir!’ quoth she; | 15 | ·····/˘··˘/···· |
| ‘O! what do these three men here, without the leave of me?’ | 13 | ············· |
| ‘Why, you old fool! blind fool! can’t you very well see, | 12 | ········/˘·· |
| They are three milking-maids my mother sent to me?’ | 12 | ···/˘··/˘··· |
| ‘Ods bobs! well done! milking-maids with beards on! | 10 | ····/˘···· |
| The like was never known!’ | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Old Wichet a cuckold went out, and a cuckold he came home! | 15 | ····/˘····/˘··· |
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