Sir Arthur and Charming Mollee (Traditional.)
AS noble Sir Arthur one morning did ride,With his hounds at his feet, and his sword by his side,He saw a fair maid sitting under a tree,He askèd her name, and she said ’twas Mollee.
‘Oh, charming Mollee, you my butler shall be,To draw the red wine for yourself and for me!I’ll make you a lady so high in degree,If you will but love me, my charming Mollee!
‘I’ll give you fine ribbons, I’ll give you fine rings,I’ll give you fine jewels, and many fine things;I’ll give you a petticoat flounced to the knee,If you will but love me, my charming Mollee!’
‘I’ll have none of your ribbons, and none of your rings,None of your jewels, and other fine things;And I’ve got a petticoat suits my degree,And I’ll ne’er love a married man till his wife dee.’
‘Oh, charming Mollee, lend me then your penknife,And I will go home, and I’ll kill my own wife;I’ll kill my own wife, and my bairnies three,If you will but love me, my charming Mollee!’
‘Oh, noble Sir Arthur, it must not be so,Go home to your wife, and let nobody know;For seven long years I will wait upon thee,But I’ll ne’er love a married man till his wife dee.’
Now seven long years are gone and are past,The old woman went to her long home at last;The old woman died, and Sir Arthur was free,And he soon came a-courting to charming Mollee.
Now charming Mollee in her carriage doth ride,With her hounds at her feet, and her lord by her side:Now all ye fair maids take a warning by me,And ne’er love a married man till his wife dee.
Words in this poem
- 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,]
- penknife n.
- A small pocketknife; formerly, a knife used for making and mending quill pens. [Pen + knife.]
- nobody n.
- No person; no one; not anybody. [No, a. + body.]
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Sir Arthur and Charming Mollee (Traditional.) 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, Sir Arthur and Charming Mollee (Traditional.), 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/sir-arthur-and-charming-mollee-traditional.html, id L12002.
Form and metre
Sir Arthur and Charming Mollee (Traditional.) is 32 lines in 8 stanzas of 4 lines each. The rhyme scheme is AABB, complete in 7 of its 8 stanzas. The metre is anapaestic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 88%). 92% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.9 syllables. 1 line ends on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending.
See other poems in anapaestic 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.
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 AABB rideA · sideA · treeB · molleeB
- 2 AAAA beA · meA · degreeA · molleeA
- 3 AABB ringsA · thingsA · kneeB · molleeB
- 4 AABB ringsA · thingsA · degreeB · deeB
- 5 AABB penknifeA · wifeA · threeB · molleeB
- 6 AABB soA · knowA · theeB · deeB
- 7 AABB pastA · lastA · freeB · molleeB
- 8 AABB rideA · sideA · meB · deeB
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 anapaestic tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| AS noble Sir Arthur one morning did ride, | 11 | ·/˘·/˘·/˘·· |
| With his hounds at his feet, and his sword by his side, | 12 | ············ |
| He saw a fair maid sitting under a tree, | 11 | ·····/˘···· |
| He askèd her name, and she said ’twas Mollee. | 10 | ·········· |
| ‘Oh, charming Mollee, you my butler shall be, | 11 | ·/˘····/˘·· |
| To draw the red wine for yourself and for me! | 11 | ······˘/··· |
| I’ll make you a lady so high in degree, | 11 | ····/˘···˘/ |
| If you will but love me, my charming Mollee! | 11 | ·······/˘·· |
| ‘I’ll give you fine ribbons, I’ll give you fine rings, | 11 | ····/˘····· |
| I’ll give you fine jewels, and many fine things; | 10 | ····/˘·/·· |
| I’ll give you a petticoat flounced to the knee, | 11 | ····/˘····· |
| If you will but love me, my charming Mollee!’ | 11 | ·······/˘·· |
| ‘I’ll have none of your ribbons, and none of your rings, | 12 | ·····/˘····· |
| None of your jewels, and other fine things; | 10 | ···/˘·/˘·· |
| And I’ve got a petticoat suits my degree, | 11 | ····/˘···˘/ |
| And I’ll ne’er love a married man till his wife dee.’ | 12 | ·····/˘····· |
| ‘Oh, charming Mollee, lend me then your penknife, | 11 | ·/˘······/˘ |
| And I will go home, and I’ll kill my own wife; | 11 | ··········· |
| I’ll kill my own wife, and my bairnies three, | 9 | ········· |
| If you will but love me, my charming Mollee!’ | 11 | ·······/˘·· |
| ‘Oh, noble Sir Arthur, it must not be so, | 11 | ·/˘·/˘····· |
| Go home to your wife, and let nobody know; | 11 | ·······/··· |
| For seven long years I will wait upon thee, | 10 | ·/········ |
| But I’ll ne’er love a married man till his wife dee.’ | 12 | ·····/˘····· |
| Now seven long years are gone and are past, | 9 | ·/······· |
| The old woman went to her long home at last; | 11 | ··/˘······· |
| The old woman died, and Sir Arthur was free, | 11 | ··/˘···/˘·· |
| And he soon came a-courting to charming Mollee. | 12 | ·····/˘·/˘·· |
| Now charming Mollee in her carriage doth ride, | 11 | ·/˘····/˘·· |
| With her hounds at her feet, and her lord by her side: | 12 | ············ |
| Now all ye fair maids take a warning by me, | 11 | ·······/˘·· |
| And ne’er love a married man till his wife dee. | 11 | ····/˘····· |
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