King Henry
Lat never a man a wooing wend,That lacketh thingis three;A routh o' gould, an open heart,Ay fu' o' charity.
As this I speak of King Henry,For he lay burd-alane;And he's doen him to a jelly hunt's ha',Was far frae ony town.
He chas'd the deer now him before,And the roe down by the den,Till the fattest buck in a' the flockKing Henry he has slain.
O he has doen him to his ha',To mak him bierly cheer;And in it cam a grisly ghost,Staed stappin' i' the fleer.
Her head hat the roof-tree o' the house,Her middle ye mat weel span;--He's thrown to her his gay mantle;Says,--"Ladie, hap your lingcan."
Her teeth was a' like leather stakes,Her nose like club or mell;And I ken nae thing she 'pear'd to be,But the fiend that wons in hell.
"Some meat, some meat, ye King Henry;Some meat ye gie to me.""And what meat's in this house, Ladie?And what ha'e I to gi'e?""Its ye do kill your berry-brown steed,And ye bring him here to me."
O whan he slew his berry-brown steed,Wow but his heart was sair!She ate him a' up, flesh and bane,Left naething but hide and hair.
"Mair meat, mair meat, ye King Henry,Mair meat ye bring to me.""And what meat's in this house, Ladie?And what hae I to gi'e?""O ye do kill your good grey hounds,And ye bring them in to me."
O whan he killed his good grey hounds,Wow but his heart was sair!She ate them a' up, flesh and bane,Left naething but hide and hair.
"Mair meat, mair meat, ye King Henry,Mair meat ye bring to me.""And what meat's in this house, Ladie?And what hae I to gi'e?""O ye do kill your gay goss hawks,And ye bring them here to me."
O whan he kill'd his gay goss hawks,Wow but his heart was sair!She ate them a' up, skin and bane,Left naething but feathers bare.
"Some drink, some drink, now, King Henry;Some drink ye bring to me.""O what drink's in this house, Ladie,That ye're nae welcome tee?""O ye sew up your horse's hide,And bring in a drink to me."
And he's sew'd up the bloody hide,A puncheon o' wine put in;She drank it a' up at a waught,Left na ae drap ahin'.
"A bed, a bed, now, King Henry,A bed ye mak to me;For ye maun pu' the heather green,And mak a bed to me."
And pu'd has he the heather green,And made to her a bed;And up he's ta'en his gay mantle,And o'er it has he spread.
"Tak aff your claiths, now, King Henry,And lye down by my side;""O God forbid," says King Henry,"That ever the like betide;That ever the fiend that wons in hell,Should streek down by my side."
Whan nicht was gane, and day was come,And the sun shone thro' the ha',The fairest lady that ever was seenLay atween him and the wa'.
"O weel is me!" says King Henry;"How lang'll this last wi' me?"Then out it spake that fair lady,--"E'en till the day you die.
"For I've met wi' mony a gentle knicht,That gae me sic a fill;But never before wi' a curteis knicht,That gae me a' my will."
Words in this poem
- wend n.
- A large extent of ground; a perambulation; a circuit.
- ghost n.
- The spirit; the soul of man. [OE. gast, gost, soul, spirit, AS. gast breath, spirit, soul; akin to OS. g spirit, soul, D. geest, G. geist, and prob. to E. gaze, ghastly.]
- fleer n.
- One who flees. Ld. Berners.
- weel
- A kind of trap or snare for fish, made of twigs. Carew. [Prov. E. weel, weal, a wicker basket to catch eels; prob. akin to willow, and so called as made of willow twigs.]
- mell v. i.
- To mix; to meddle. [F. mêler, OF. meller, mester. See Meddle.]
- steed n.
- A horse, especially a spirited horse for state of war; -- used chiefly in poetry or stately prose. [OE. stede, AS. steda a stud-horse, war horse, fr. stod a stud of breeding steeds; akin to G. stute a mare, Icel. stedda, sto, a stud. *163. See Stud of horses.]
- bane v. t.
- To be the bane of; to ruin. Fuller.
- puncheon n.
- A figured stamp, die, or punch, used by goldsmiths, cutlers, etc. [F. poinçon awl, bodkin, crown, king-post, fr. L. punctio a pricking, fr. pungere to prick. See Pungent, and cf. Punch a tool, Punction.]
- drank n.
- Wild oats, or darnel grass. See Drake a plant. [Cf. 3d Drake.]
- waught n.
- A large draught of any liquid. Jamieson. [Cf. Quaff.]
- betide v. t.
- To happen to; to befall; to come to ; as, woe betide the wanderer. [OE. bitiden; pref. bi-, be- + tiden, fr. AS. tidan, to happen, fr. tid time. See Tide.]
- streek v. t.
- To stretch; also, to lay out, as a dead body. See Streak. [Obs.
- gane v. i.
- To yawn; to gape. [See Yawn.]
- atween adv.
- Between. Spenser. [See Atwain, and cf. Between.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
King Henry 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, King Henry, in English and Scottish Ballads, Volume I (1857), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #37031, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/child-ballads/king-henry.html, id L08582.
Form and metre
King Henry is 90 lines in 20 stanzas. The metre is common measure, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 82%). 98% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.3 syllables. 13 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending.
See other poems in common measure.
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.
- 4 -A-A ha · cheerA · ghost · fleerA
- 5 -A-A house · spanA · mantle · lingcanA
- 6 -A-A stakes · mellA · be · hellA
- 7 -ABB-A henry · meA · ladieB · gi'eB · steed · meA
- 8 -A-A steed · sairA · bane · hairA
- 9 -ABB-A henry · meA · ladieB · gi'eB · hounds · meA
- 10 -A-A hounds · sairA · bane · hairA
- 11 -ABB-A henry · meA · ladieB · gi'eB · hawks · meA
- 12 -A-A hawks · sairA · bane · bareA
- 13 -A-A-A henry · meA · ladie · teeA · hide · meA
- 15 -A-A henry · meA · green · meA
- 16 -A-A green · bedA · mantle · spreadA
- 17 ABAB-B henryA · sideB · henryA · betideB · hell · sideB
- 18 -A-A come · haA · seen · waA
- 19 -A-A henry · meA · lady · dieA
- 20 ABAB knichtA · fillB · knichtA · willB
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 common measure. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Lat never a man a wooing wend, | 8 | ·/···/˘· |
| That lacketh thingis three; | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| A routh o' gould, an open heart, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Ay fu' o' charity. | 6 | ···/˘˘ |
| As this I speak of King Henry, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| For he lay burd-alane; | 6 | ····˘/ |
| And he's doen him to a jelly hunt's ha', | 10 | ······/˘·· |
| Was far frae ony town. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| He chas'd the deer now him before, | 8 | ········ |
| And the roe down by the den, | 7 | ······· |
| Till the fattest buck in a' the flock | 9 | ··/˘····· |
| King Henry he has slain. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| O he has doen him to his ha', | 8 | ········ |
| To mak him bierly cheer; | 6 | ···/˘· |
| And in it cam a grisly ghost, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Staed stappin' i' the fleer. | 7 | ·˘····· |
| Her head hat the roof-tree o' the house, | 9 | ········· |
| Her middle ye mat weel span;-- | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| He's thrown to her his gay mantle; | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Says,--"Ladie, hap your lingcan." | 7 | ······· |
| Her teeth was a' like leather stakes, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Her nose like club or mell; | 6 | ······ |
| And I ken nae thing she 'pear'd to be, | 9 | ········· |
| But the fiend that wons in hell. | 7 | ······· |
| "Some meat, some meat, ye King Henry; | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Some meat ye gie to me." | 6 | ······ |
| "And what meat's in this house, Ladie? | 8 | ········ |
| And what ha'e I to gi'e?" | 6 | ······ |
| "Its ye do kill your berry-brown steed, | 9 | ·····/˘·· |
| And ye bring him here to me." | 7 | ······· |
| O whan he slew his berry-brown steed, | 9 | ·····/˘·· |
| Wow but his heart was sair! | 6 | ······ |
| She ate him a' up, flesh and bane, | 8 | ········ |
| Left naething but hide and hair. | 8 | ········ |
| "Mair meat, mair meat, ye King Henry, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Mair meat ye bring to me." | 6 | ······ |
| "And what meat's in this house, Ladie? | 8 | ········ |
| And what hae I to gi'e?" | 6 | ······ |
| "O ye do kill your good grey hounds, | 8 | ········ |
| And ye bring them in to me." | 7 | ······· |
| O whan he killed his good grey hounds, | 8 | ········ |
| Wow but his heart was sair! | 6 | ······ |
| She ate them a' up, flesh and bane, | 8 | ········ |
| Left naething but hide and hair. | 8 | ········ |
| "Mair meat, mair meat, ye King Henry, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Mair meat ye bring to me." | 6 | ······ |
| "And what meat's in this house, Ladie? | 8 | ········ |
| And what hae I to gi'e?" | 6 | ······ |
| "O ye do kill your gay goss hawks, | 8 | ········ |
| And ye bring them here to me." | 7 | ······· |
| O whan he kill'd his gay goss hawks, | 8 | ········ |
| Wow but his heart was sair! | 6 | ······ |
| She ate them a' up, skin and bane, | 8 | ········ |
| Left naething but feathers bare. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| "Some drink, some drink, now, King Henry; | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Some drink ye bring to me." | 6 | ······ |
| "O what drink's in this house, Ladie, | 8 | ········ |
| That ye're nae welcome tee?" | 6 | ···/˘· |
| "O ye sew up your horse's hide, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And bring in a drink to me." | 7 | ······· |
| And he's sew'd up the bloody hide, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| A puncheon o' wine put in; | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| She drank it a' up at a waught, | 8 | ········ |
| Left na ae drap ahin'. | 6 | ······ |
| "A bed, a bed, now, King Henry, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| A bed ye mak to me; | 6 | ······ |
| For ye maun pu' the heather green, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And mak a bed to me." | 6 | ······ |
| And pu'd has he the heather green, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And made to her a bed; | 6 | ······ |
| And up he's ta'en his gay mantle, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| And o'er it has he spread. | 6 | ······ |
| "Tak aff your claiths, now, King Henry, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| And lye down by my side;" | 6 | ······ |
| "O God forbid," says King Henry, | 8 | ··˘/··/˘ |
| "That ever the like betide; | 7 | ·/˘··˘/ |
| That ever the fiend that wons in hell, | 8 | ·/······ |
| Should streek down by my side." | 6 | ······ |
| Whan nicht was gane, and day was come, | 8 | ········ |
| And the sun shone thro' the ha', | 7 | ······· |
| The fairest lady that ever was seen | 9 | ·/˘/˘·/·· |
| Lay atween him and the wa'. | 7 | ·˘/···· |
| "O weel is me!" says King Henry; | 8 | ······/˘ |
| "How lang'll this last wi' me?" | 6 | ······ |
| Then out it spake that fair lady,-- | 8 | ······/˘ |
| "E'en till the day you die. | 6 | ······ |
| "For I've met wi' mony a gentle knicht, | 10 | ····/˘·/˘· |
| That gae me sic a fill; | 6 | ······ |
| But never before wi' a curteis knicht, | 9 | ·/······· |
| That gae me a' my will." | 6 | ······ |
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.