The Chaunty of the “Nona”
Come list all ye Cullies and Doxies so dear,You shall hearken to the tale of the Bold MarineerThat took ship out of Holyhead and drove her so hardPast Bardsey, Pwlheli, Port Madoc, and Fishguard--Past Bardsey, Pwlheli, Port Madoc, and Fishguard.
Then he dropped out of Fishguard on a calm Summer’s day,By St David’s and Strumbles and across St Bride’s Bay;Circumnavigating Skomer, that Island, around,With the heart of a Lion he threaded Jack Sound--With the heart of a Lion he threaded Jack Sound.
But from out the Main Ocean there rolled a great cloud,So he clawed into Milford Haven by the Fog Blast so loud,Until he dropped anchor in a deep-wooded bay,Where all night with Old Sleep and Quiet Sadness he lay--Where all night with Old Sleep and Quiet Sadness he lay.
Next morning was a Doldrum, and he whistled for a breeze,Which came from the N.N.W.’ard all across the high seas;And in passing St Govan’s lightship he gave them good night,But before it was morning he raised Lundy Light--Before it was morning he had raised Lundy Light.
Then he tossed for twelve hours in that horrible placeWhich is known to the Mariner as the Great White Horse Race,Till with a slant about three bells, or maybe near four,He saw white water breaking upon Loud Appledore--He saw white water breaking upon Loud Appledore.
The Pirates of Appledore, the Wines of Instow;But her nose is for Bideford with the tide at the flow.Rattle anchor, batten hatches, and leave your falls curled.The Long Bridge of Bideford is the end of the World--The Long Bridge of Bideford is the end of the World.
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,]
- drove n.
- A collection of cattle driven, or cattle collected for driving; a number of animals, as oxen, sheep, or swine, driven in a body. [AS. draf, fr. drifan to drive. See Drive.]
- clawed a.
- Furnished with claws. N. Grew.
- sadness n.
- Heaviness; firmness.
- maybe adv.
- Perhaps; possibly; peradventure. [For it may be.]
- batten v. t.
- To make fat by plenteous feeding; to fatten. [See Batful.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Chaunty of the “Nona” is in the public domain. This text is taken from Sonnets and Verse, Project Gutenberg ebook #60663; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Hilaire Belloc, The Chaunty of the “Nona”, in Sonnets and Verse (1923), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #60663, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/belloc-sonnets-verse/the-chaunty-of-the-nona.html, id L21692.
Form and metre
The Chaunty of the “Nona” is 30 lines in 6 stanzas of 5 lines each. Every stanza rhymes AABBB. This poem did not settle on a metre of its own; the book it comes from is in iambic tetrameter.
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.
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 AABBB dearA · marineerA · hardB · fishguardB · fishguardB
- 2 AABBB dayA · bayA · aroundB · soundB · soundB
- 3 AABBB cloudA · loudA · bayB · layB · layB
- 4 AABBB breezeA · seasA · nightB · lightB · lightB
- 5 AABBB placeA · raceA · fourB · appledoreB · appledoreB
- 6 AABBB instowA · flowA · curledB · worldB · worldB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Come list all ye Cullies and Doxies so dear, | 11 | ····/˘·/˘·· |
| You shall hearken to the tale of the Bold Marineer | 13 | ··/˘········· |
| That took ship out of Holyhead and drove her so hard | 13 | ············· |
| Past Bardsey, Pwlheli, Port Madoc, and Fishguard-- | 11 | ······/˘··· |
| Past Bardsey, Pwlheli, Port Madoc, and Fishguard. | 11 | ······/˘··· |
| Then he dropped out of Fishguard on a calm Summer’s day, | 13 | ··········/˘· |
| By St David’s and Strumbles and across St Bride’s Bay; | 12 | ··/˘···˘/··· |
| Circumnavigating Skomer, that Island, around, | 13 | ˘˘/˘/˘···/˘·· |
| With the heart of a Lion he threaded Jack Sound-- | 12 | ·····/˘·/˘·· |
| With the heart of a Lion he threaded Jack Sound. | 12 | ·····/˘·/˘·· |
| But from out the Main Ocean there rolled a great cloud, | 13 | ·····/˘··˘··· |
| So he clawed into Milford Haven by the Fog Blast so loud, | 15 | ·····/˘/˘······ |
| Until he dropped anchor in a deep-wooded bay, | 13 | ····˘/˘···/˘· |
| Where all night with Old Sleep and Quiet Sadness he lay-- | 13 | ·······/˘/˘·· |
| Where all night with Old Sleep and Quiet Sadness he lay. | 13 | ·······/˘/˘·· |
| Next morning was a Doldrum, and he whistled for a breeze, | 14 | ·/˘··/˘··/˘··· |
| Which came from the N.N.W.’ard all across the high seas; | 15 | ······/˘··˘/··· |
| And in passing St Govan’s lightship he gave them good night, | 14 | ··/˘·/˘/······ |
| But before it was morning he raised Lundy Light-- | 13 | ·····/˘··˘/˘· |
| Before it was morning he had raised Lundy Light. | 13 | ····/˘···˘/˘· |
| Then he tossed for twelve hours in that horrible place | 13 | ·····/˘··/˘˘· |
| Which is known to the Mariner as the Great White Horse Race, | 13 | ·····/˘······ |
| Till with a slant about three bells, or maybe near four, | 13 | ·········/˘·· |
| He saw white water breaking upon Loud Appledore-- | 13 | ···/˘/˘······ |
| He saw white water breaking upon Loud Appledore. | 13 | ···/˘/˘······ |
| The Pirates of Appledore, the Wines of Instow; | 12 | ·/˘········· |
| But her nose is for Bideford with the tide at the flow. | 14 | ·············· |
| Rattle anchor, batten hatches, and leave your falls curled. | 13 | /˘/˘/˘/˘····· |
| The Long Bridge of Bideford is the end of the World-- | 13 | ············· |
| The Long Bridge of Bideford is the end of the World. | 13 | ············· |
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.