The Trotting Horse
I CAN sport as fine a trotting horse as any swell in town,To trot you fourteen miles an hour, I’ll bet you fifty crown;He is such a one to bend his knees, and tuck his haunches in,And throw the dust in people’s face, and think it not a sin.For to ride away, trot away,Ri, fa lar, la, &c.
He has an eye like any hawk, a neck like any swan,A foot light as the stag’s, the while his back is scarce a span;Kind Nature hath so formed him, he is everything that’s good,—Aye! everything a man could wish, in bottom, bone, and blood.For to ride away, &c.
If you drop therein, he’ll nod his head, and boldly walk away,While others kick and bounce about, to him it’s only play;There never was a finer horse e’er went on English ground,He is rising six years old, and is all over right and sound.For to ride away, &c.
If any frisk or milling match should call me out of town,I can pass the blades with white cockades, their whiskers hangingdown;With large jack-towels round their necks, they think they’re first andfast,But, with their gapers open wide, they find that they are last.Whilst I ride away, &c.
If threescore miles I am from home, I darkness never mind,My friend is gone, and I am left, with pipe and pot behind;Up comes some saucy kiddy, a scampsman on the hot,But ere he pulls the trigger I am off just like a shot.For I ride away, &c.
If Fortune e’er should fickle be, and wish to have againThat which she so freely gave, I’d give it without pain;I would part with it most freely, and without the least remorse,Only grant to me what God hath gave, my mistress and my horse!That I may ride away, &c.
Words in this poem
- scarce a.
- Not plentiful or abundant; in small quantity in proportion to the demand; not easily to be procured; rare; uncommon. [OE. scars, OF. escars, eschars, LL. scarpsus, for L. excerptus, p. p. of excerpere to pick out, and hence to contract, to shorten; ex (see Ex-) + carpere. See C]
- boldly adv.
- In a bold manner. [AS. bealdlice.]
- bounce v. i.
- To strike or thump, so as to rebound, or to make a sudden noise; a knock loudly. [OE. bunsen; cf. D. bonzen to strike, bounce, bons blow, LG. bunsen to knock; all prob. of imitative origin.]
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- kiddy v. t.
- To deceive; to outwit; to hoax. Dickens.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Trotting Horse 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, The Trotting Horse, 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/the-trotting-horse.html, id L11990.
Form and metre
The Trotting Horse is 33 lines in 6 verse paragraphs. It is in rhyming couplets, 61% of the lines. The metre is iambic heptameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 88%). 97% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 11.6 syllables. 1 line ends on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 9% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in rhyming couplets, other poems in iambic heptameter.
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-- townA · crownA · inB · sinB · away · —
- 2 --AA- swan · span · goodA · bloodA · —
- 3 AABB- awayA · playA · groundB · soundB · —
- 4 A-A-BB- townA · hanging · downA · and · fastB · lastB · —
- 5 AABB- mindA · behindA · hotB · shotB · —
- 6 AABB- againA · painA · remorseB · horseB · —
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 heptameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| I CAN sport as fine a trotting horse as any swell in town, | 15 | ······/˘··/˘··· |
| To trot you fourteen miles an hour, I’ll bet you fifty crown; | 14 | ···//··/···/˘· |
| He is such a one to bend his knees, and tuck his haunches in, | 15 | ··············· |
| And throw the dust in people’s face, and think it not a sin. | 14 | ·····/˘······· |
| For to ride away, trot away, | 8 | ···˘/·˘/ |
| Ri, fa lar, la, &c. | 5 | ····· |
| He has an eye like any hawk, a neck like any swan, | 14 | ·····/˘····/˘· |
| A foot light as the stag’s, the while his back is scarce a span; | 14 | ·············· |
| Kind Nature hath so formed him, he is everything that’s good,— | 14 | ·/˘······/˘··· |
| Aye! everything a man could wish, in bottom, bone, and blood. | 14 | ·/˘······/˘··· |
| For to ride away, &c. | 6 | ···˘/· |
| If you drop therein, he’ll nod his head, and boldly walk away, | 15 | ··········/˘·˘/ |
| While others kick and bounce about, to him it’s only play; | 14 | ·/˘········/˘· |
| There never was a finer horse e’er went on English ground, | 12 | ·/··/····/˘· |
| He is rising six years old, and is all over right and sound. | 14 | ··/˘·········· |
| For to ride away, &c. | 6 | ···˘/· |
| If any frisk or milling match should call me out of town, | 14 | ·/˘··/˘······· |
| I can pass the blades with white cockades, their whiskers hanging | 14 | ··········/˘/˘ |
| down; | 1 | · |
| With large jack-towels round their necks, they think they’re first and | 13 | ···/˘········ |
| fast, | 1 | · |
| But, with their gapers open wide, they find that they are last. | 14 | ·····/˘······· |
| Whilst I ride away, &c. | 6 | ···˘/· |
| If threescore miles I am from home, I darkness never mind, | 13 | ·/˘······/˘/· |
| My friend is gone, and I am left, with pipe and pot behind; | 14 | ·············· |
| Up comes some saucy kiddy, a scampsman on the hot, | 13 | ···/˘/˘······ |
| But ere he pulls the trigger I am off just like a shot. | 14 | ·····/˘······· |
| For I ride away, &c. | 6 | ···˘/· |
| If Fortune e’er should fickle be, and wish to have again | 14 | ·/˘··/˘·····˘/ |
| That which she so freely gave, I’d give it without pain; | 13 | ····/˘······· |
| I would part with it most freely, and without the least remorse, | 15 | ······/˘·····˘/ |
| Only grant to me what God hath gave, my mistress and my horse! | 15 | /˘········/˘··· |
| That I may ride away, &c. | 7 | ····˘/· |
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