Herawde

Thomas Chatterton (1752–1770) · 1777

iambic pentameter · ABABBCBCDD · 10 lines · from The Rowley Poems

Bourtonne ys kynge.Dysplaie the Englyshe bannorre onn the tente;Rounde hymm, yee mynstrelles, songs of achments synge;Yee Herawdes, getherr upp the speeres besprente;To Kynge of Tourney-tylte bee all knees bente.Dames faire and gentle, forr youre loves hee foughte;Forr you the longe tylte-launce, the swerde hee shente;Hee joustedd, alleine havynge you ynn thoughte.Comme, mynstrelles, sound the strynge, goe onn eche syde,Whylest hee untoe the Kynge ynn state doe ryde.

Words in this poem

tourney v. i.
To perform in tournaments; to tilt. [Cf.OF. torneier. See Tourney, n.]
forr prep.
In the most general sense, indicating that in consideration of, in view of, or with reference to, which anything is done or takes place. [AS. for, fore; akin to OS. for, fora, furi, D. voor, OHG. fora, G. vor, OHG. furi, G. für, Icel. fyrir, Sw. för, Dan. for, adv. för, Goth. faúr, faúra, L. pro, ]
longe n.
A thrust. See Lunge. Smollett. [Abbrev. fr. allonge. See Lunge.]

Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.

About this text

Herawde is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Rowley Poems, Project Gutenberg ebook #13037; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.

Cite as: Thomas Chatterton, Herawde, in The Rowley Poems (1777), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #13037, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/chatterton-rowley/herawde-3.html, id L12155.

Form and metre

Herawde is 10 lines in a single stanza. It rhymes ABABBCBCDD. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 80%). 100% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 9.6 syllables.

See other poems in iambic pentameter.

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. 1 ABABBCBCDD kyngeA · tenteB · syngeA · besprenteB · benteB · foughteC · shenteB · thoughteC · sydeD · rydeD
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 pentameter. How this is done.

LineSyl.Stress
Bourtonne ys kynge.4····
Dysplaie the Englyshe bannorre onn the tente;10··········
Rounde hymm, yee mynstrelles, songs of achments synge;10··········
Yee Herawdes, getherr upp the speeres besprente;10··········
To Kynge of Tourney-tylte bee all knees bente.10···/˘·····
Dames faire and gentle, forr youre loves hee foughte;10···/˘·····
Forr you the longe tylte-launce, the swerde hee shente;10··········
Hee joustedd, alleine havynge you ynn thoughte.10··········
Comme, mynstrelles, sound the strynge, goe onn eche syde,11········/˘·
Whylest hee untoe the Kynge ynn state doe ryde.11···········
Notes from the edition 4

The glosses and notes to the Rowley Poems, from Tyrwhitt's edition (Project Gutenberg #13037).

  1. Line 3 slain.
  2. Line 4 oversets.
  3. Line 7 a castle.
  4. Line 8 revenge.

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.

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