Kempion
"Cum heir, cum heir, ye freely feed,And lay your head low on my knee;The heaviest weird I will you read,That ever was read to gay ladye.
"O meikle dolour sall ye dree,And aye the salt seas o'er ye'se swim;And far mair dolour sall ye dreeOn Estmere crags[L8], when ye them climb.
"I weird ye to a fiery beast,And relieved sall ye never be,Till Kempion, the kingis son,Cum to the crag, and thrice kiss thee."--
O meikle dolour did she dree,And aye the salt seas o'er she swam;And far mair dolour did she dreeOn Estmere crag, when she them clamb.
And aye she cried for Kempion,Gin he would but come to her hand:Now word has gane to Kempion,That sicken a beast was in his land.
"Now, by my sooth," said Kempion,"This fiery beast I'll gang and see."--"And by my sooth," said Segramour,"My ae brother, I'll gang wi' thee."
Then bigged hae they a bonny boat,And they hae set her to the sea;But a mile before they reach'd the shore,Around them she gar'd the red fire flee.
"O Segramour, keep the boat afloat,And let her na the land o'er near;For this wicked beast will sure gae mad,And set fire to a' the land and mair."--
Syne has he bent an arblast bow,And aim'd an arrow at her head;And swore if she didna quit the land,Wi' that same shaft to shoot her dead.
"O out of my stythe I winna rise,(And it is not for the awe o' thee,)Till Kempion, the kingis son,Cum to the crag, and thrice kiss me."--
He has louted him o'er the dizzy crag,And gien the monster kisses ane;Awa she gaed, and again she cam.The fieryest beast that ever was seen.
"O out o' my stythe I winna rise,(And not for a' thy bow nor thee,)Till Kempion, the kingis son,Cum to the crag, and thrice kiss me."--
He's louted him o'er the Estmere crags,And he has gi'en her kisses twa:Awa she gaed, and again she cam,The fieryest beast that ever you saw.
"O out of my den I winna rise,Nor flee it for the fear o' thee,Till Kempion, that courteous knight,Cum to the crag, and thrice kiss me."--
He's louted him o'er the lofty crag,And he has gi'en her kisses three:Awa she gaed, and again she cam,The loveliest ladye e'er could be!
"And by my sooth," says Kempion,"My ain true love, (for this is she,)They surely had a heart o' stane,Could put thee to such misery.
"O was it warwolf in the wood?Or was it mermaid in the sea?Or was it man or vile woman,My ain true love, that mis-shaped thee?"--
"It wasna warwolf in the wood,Nor was it mermaid in the sea:But it was my wicked step-mother,And wae and weary may she be!"--
"O, a heavier weird shall light her on,Than ever fell on vile woman;Her hair shall grow rough, and her teeth grow lang,And on her four feet shall she gang."None shall take pity her upon;In Wormeswood she aye shall won;And relieved shall she never be,Till St. Mungo come over the sea."--And sighing said that weary wight,"I doubt that day I'll never see!"
Words in this poem 15
- dolour n.
- Pain; grief; distress; anguish. [OE. dolor, dolur, dolour, F. douleur, L. dolor, fr. dolere. See 1st Dole.]
- sall n.
- An East Indian timber tree (Shorea robusta), much used for building purposes. It is of a light brown color, close-grained, and durable. [Hind. s\'bel, Skr. ç\'bela.]
- dree v. i.
- To be able to do or endure.
- crag n.
- The neck or throat [A form of craw: cf. D. kraag neck, collar, G. kragen. See Craw.]
- gane v. i.
- To yawn; to gape. [See Yawn.]
- sicken v. t.
- To make sick; to disease.
- sooth a.
- True; faithful; trustworthy. [OE. soth, AS. s, for san; akin to OS. s, OHG. sand, Icel. sannr, Sw. sann, Dan. sand, Skr. sat, sant, real, genuine, present, being; properly p. pr. from a root]
- bonny a.
- Handsome; beautiful; pretty; attractively lively and graceful. [OE. boni, prob. fr. F. bon, fem. bonne, good, fr. L. bonus good. See Bounty, and cf. Bonus, Boon.]
- afloat adv.
- Borne on the water; floating; on board ship. [Pref. a- + float.]
- syne adv.
- Afterwards; since; ago. R. of Brunne. [See Since.]
- arblast n.
- A crossbow. See Arbalest.
- mermaid n.
- A fabled marine creature, typically represented as having the upper part like that of a woman, and the lower like a fish; a sea nymph, sea woman, or woman fish. [AS. mere lake, sea. See Mere lake, and maid.]
- 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,]
- mungo n.
- A fibrous material obtained by deviling rags or the remnants of woolen goods.
- wight n.
- A whit; a bit; a jot. [OE. wight, wiht, a wight, a whit, AS. wiht, wuht, a creature, a thing; skin to D. wicht a child, OS. & OHG. wiht a creature, thing, G. wicht a creature, Icel. v]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Kempion is in the public domain. This text is taken from English and Scottish Ballads, Volume I, Project Gutenberg ebook #37031; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Francis James Child, Kempion, in English and Scottish Ballads, Volume I (1857), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #37031, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/child-ballads/kempion.html, id L08580.
Form and metre
Kempion is 82 lines in 19 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 81%). 96% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.2 syllables. 4 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending.
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 A-A- feedA · knee · readA · ladye
- 2 A-A- dreeA · swim · dreeA · climb
- 3 -A-A beast · beA · son · theeA
- 4 ABAB dreeA · swamB · dreeA · clambB
- 5 ABAB kempionA · handB · kempionA · landB
- 6 -A-A kempion · seeA · segramour · theeA
- 7 -A-A boat · seaA · shore · fleeA
- 8 -A-A afloat · nearA · mad · mairA
- 9 -A-A bow · headA · land · deadA
- 10 -A-A rise · theeA · son · meA
- 12 -A-A rise · theeA · son · meA
- 14 -A-A rise · theeA · knight · meA
- 15 -A-A crag · threeA · cam · beA
- 17 -A-A wood · seaA · woman · theeA
- 18 -A-A wood · seaA · mother · beA
- 19 AABBAACC-C onA · womanA · langB · gangB · uponA · wonA · beC · seaC · wight · seeC
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 |
|---|---|---|
| "Cum heir, cum heir, ye freely feed, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And lay your head low on my knee; | 8 | ········ |
| The heaviest weird I will you read, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| That ever was read to gay ladye. | 8 | ·/······ |
| "O meikle dolour sall ye dree, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| And aye the salt seas o'er ye'se swim; | 8 | ········ |
| And far mair dolour sall ye dree | 8 | ········ |
| On Estmere crags[L8], when ye them climb. | 9 | ········· |
| "I weird ye to a fiery beast, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And relieved sall ye never be, | 8 | ·˘/··/˘· |
| Till Kempion, the kingis son, | 7 | ······· |
| Cum to the crag, and thrice kiss thee."-- | 8 | ········ |
| O meikle dolour did she dree, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| And aye the salt seas o'er she swam; | 8 | ········ |
| And far mair dolour did she dree | 8 | ········ |
| On Estmere crag, when she them clamb. | 8 | ········ |
| And aye she cried for Kempion, | 7 | ······· |
| Gin he would but come to her hand: | 8 | ········ |
| Now word has gane to Kempion, | 7 | ······· |
| That sicken a beast was in his land. | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| "Now, by my sooth," said Kempion, | 7 | ······· |
| "This fiery beast I'll gang and see."-- | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| "And by my sooth," said Segramour, | 8 | ········ |
| "My ae brother, I'll gang wi' thee." | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| Then bigged hae they a bonny boat, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And they hae set her to the sea; | 8 | ········ |
| But a mile before they reach'd the shore, | 9 | ········· |
| Around them she gar'd the red fire flee. | 10 | ····/˘··/· |
| "O Segramour, keep the boat afloat, | 9 | ·······˘/ |
| And let her na the land o'er near; | 8 | ········ |
| For this wicked beast will sure gae mad, | 9 | ··/˘····· |
| And set fire to a' the land and mair."-- | 9 | ··/······ |
| Syne has he bent an arblast bow, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And aim'd an arrow at her head; | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And swore if she didna quit the land, | 9 | ········· |
| Wi' that same shaft to shoot her dead. | 8 | ········ |
| "O out of my stythe I winna rise, | 9 | ········· |
| (And it is not for the awe o' thee,) | 9 | ········· |
| Till Kempion, the kingis son, | 7 | ······· |
| Cum to the crag, and thrice kiss me."-- | 8 | ········ |
| He has louted him o'er the dizzy crag, | 10 | ··/˘···/˘· |
| And gien the monster kisses ane; | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Awa she gaed, and again she cam. | 9 | ·····˘/·· |
| The fieryest beast that ever was seen. | 8 | ·/˘··/·· |
| "O out o' my stythe I winna rise, | 9 | ········· |
| (And not for a' thy bow nor thee,) | 8 | ········ |
| Till Kempion, the kingis son, | 7 | ······· |
| Cum to the crag, and thrice kiss me."-- | 8 | ········ |
| He's louted him o'er the Estmere crags, | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| And he has gi'en her kisses twa: | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Awa she gaed, and again she cam, | 9 | ·····˘/·· |
| The fieryest beast that ever you saw. | 8 | ·/˘··/·· |
| "O out of my den I winna rise, | 9 | ········· |
| Nor flee it for the fear o' thee, | 8 | ········ |
| Till Kempion, that courteous knight, | 8 | ····/˘˘· |
| Cum to the crag, and thrice kiss me."-- | 8 | ········ |
| He's louted him o'er the lofty crag, | 9 | ·/˘···/˘· |
| And he has gi'en her kisses three: | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Awa she gaed, and again she cam, | 9 | ·····˘/·· |
| The loveliest ladye e'er could be! | 9 | ········· |
| "And by my sooth," says Kempion, | 7 | ······· |
| "My ain true love, (for this is she,) | 8 | ········ |
| They surely had a heart o' stane, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Could put thee to such misery. | 8 | ·····/˘˘ |
| "O was it warwolf in the wood? | 8 | ········ |
| Or was it mermaid in the sea? | 8 | ···/···· |
| Or was it man or vile woman, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| My ain true love, that mis-shaped thee?"-- | 8 | ········ |
| "It wasna warwolf in the wood, | 8 | ········ |
| Nor was it mermaid in the sea: | 8 | ···/···· |
| But it was my wicked step-mother, | 9 | ····/˘·/˘ |
| And wae and weary may she be!"-- | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| "O, a heavier weird shall light her on, | 9 | ··/˘····· |
| Than ever fell on vile woman; | 8 | ·/˘···/˘ |
| Her hair shall grow rough, and her teeth grow lang, | 10 | ·········· |
| And on her four feet shall she gang. | 8 | ········ |
| "None shall take pity her upon; | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| In Wormeswood she aye shall won; | 8 | ········ |
| And relieved shall she never be, | 8 | ·˘/··/˘· |
| Till St. Mungo come over the sea."-- | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| And sighing said that weary wight, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| "I doubt that day I'll never see!" | 8 | ·····/˘· |
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