The Knight's Ghost
"There is a fashion in this land,And even come to this country,That every lady should meet her lord,When he is newly come frae sea:
"Some wi' hawks, and some wi' hounds,And other some wi' gay monie;But I will gae myself alone,And set his young son on his knee."
She's ta'en her young son in her arms,And nimbly walk'd by yon sea strand;And there she spy'd her father's ship,As she was sailing to dry land.
"Where hae ye put my ain gude lord,This day he stays sae far frae me?""If ye be wanting your ain gude lord,A sight o' him ye'll never see."
"Was he brunt, or was he shot?Or was he drowned in the sea?Or what's become o' my ain gude lord,That he will ne'er appear to me?"
"He wasna brunt, nor was he shot,Nor was he drowned in the sea;He was slain in Dumfermling,A fatal day to you and me."
"Come in, come in, my merry young men,Come in and drink the wine wi' me;And a' the better ye shall fare,For this gude news ye tell to me."
She's brought them down to yon cellar,She brought them fifty steps and three;She birled wi' them the beer and wine,Till they were as drunk as drunk could be.
Then she has lock'd her cellar door,For there were fifty steps and three;"Lie there wi' my sad malison,For this bad news ye've tauld to me."
She's ta'en the keys intill her hand,And threw them deep, deep in the sea;"Lie there wi' my sad malison,Till my gude lord return to me."
Then she sat down in her own room,And sorrow lull'd her fast asleep;And up it starts her own gude lord,And even at that lady's feet.
"Take here the keys, Janet," he says,"That ye threw deep, deep in the sea;And ye'll relieve my merry young men,For they've nane o' the swick o' me.
"They shot the shot, and drew the stroke,And wad in red bluid to the knee;Nae sailors mair for their lord coud do,Nor my young men they did for me."
"I hae a question at you to ask,Before that ye depart frae me;You'll tell to me what day I'll die,And what day will my burial be?"
"I hae nae mair o' God's powerThan he has granted unto me;But come to heaven when ye will,There porter to you I will be.
"But ye'll be wed to a finer knightThan ever was in my degree;Unto him ye'll hae children nine,And six o' them will be ladies free.
"The other three will be bold young men,To fight for king and countrie;The ane a duke, the second a knight,And third a laird o' lands sae free."
Words in this poem
- brunt n.
- The heat, or utmost violence, of an onset; the strength or greatest fury of any contention; as, the brunt of a battle. [OE. brunt, bront, fr. Icel. bruna to rush; cf. Icel. brenna to burn. Cf. Burn, v. t.]
- 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,]
- malison n.
- Malediction; curse; execration. [OF. maleicon, L. maledictio. See Malediction, and cf. Benison.]
- relieve v. t.
- To lift up; to raise again, as one who has fallen; to cause to rise. Piers Plowman. [OE. releven, F. relever to raise again, discharge, relieve, fr. L. relevare to lift up, raise, make light, relieve; pref. re- re- + levare to raise, fr. levis l]
- depart v. i.
- To part; to divide; to separate. [OE. departen to divide, part, depart, F. départir to divide, distribute, se départir to separate one's self, depart; pref. dé- (L. de) + partir to part, depart,]
- burial n.
- A grave; a tomb; a place of sepulture. [OE. buriel, buriels, grave, tomb, AS. byrgels, fr. byrgan to bury, and akin to OS. burgisli sepulcher.]
- duke n.
- A leader; a chief; a prince. [F. duc, fr. L. dux, ducis, leader, commander, fr. ducere to lead; akin to AS. teón to draw; cf. AS. heretoga (here army) an army leader, general, G. herzog duke]
- laird n.
- A lord; a landholder, esp. one who holds land directly of the crown. [See Lord.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Knight's Ghost 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, The Knight's Ghost, in English and Scottish Ballads, Volume I (1857), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #37031, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/child-ballads/the-knight-s-ghost.html, id L08595.
Form and metre
The Knight's Ghost is 68 lines in 17 stanzas of 4 lines each. The metre is iambic tetrameter, 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 8.1 syllables. 5 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.
- 3 -A-A arms · strandA · ship · landA
- 4 ABAB lordA · meB · lordA · seeB
- 5 -A-A shot · seaA · lord · meA
- 6 -A-A shot · seaA · dumfermling · meA
- 7 -A-A men · meA · fare · meA
- 8 -A-A cellar · threeA · wine · beA
- 9 -A-A door · threeA · malison · meA
- 10 -A-A hand · seaA · malison · meA
- 12 -A-A says · seaA · men · meA
- 13 -A-A stroke · kneeA · do · meA
- 14 -AAA ask · meA · dieA · beA
- 15 -A-A power · meA · will · beA
- 16 -A-A knight · degreeA · nine · freeA
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 |
|---|---|---|
| "There is a fashion in this land, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And even come to this country, | 8 | ·/˘···/˘ |
| That every lady should meet her lord, | 9 | ·/˘/˘···· |
| When he is newly come frae sea: | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| "Some wi' hawks, and some wi' hounds, | 7 | ······· |
| And other some wi' gay monie; | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| But I will gae myself alone, | 8 | ·····/˘/ |
| And set his young son on his knee." | 8 | ········ |
| She's ta'en her young son in her arms, | 8 | ········ |
| And nimbly walk'd by yon sea strand; | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| And there she spy'd her father's ship, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| As she was sailing to dry land. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| "Where hae ye put my ain gude lord, | 8 | ········ |
| This day he stays sae far frae me?" | 8 | ········ |
| "If ye be wanting your ain gude lord, | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| A sight o' him ye'll never see." | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| "Was he brunt, or was he shot? | 7 | ······· |
| Or was he drowned in the sea? | 8 | ····˘··· |
| Or what's become o' my ain gude lord, | 9 | ··˘/····· |
| That he will ne'er appear to me?" | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| "He wasna brunt, nor was he shot, | 8 | ········ |
| Nor was he drowned in the sea; | 8 | ····˘··· |
| He was slain in Dumfermling, | 7 | ······· |
| A fatal day to you and me." | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| "Come in, come in, my merry young men, | 9 | ·····/˘·· |
| Come in and drink the wine wi' me; | 8 | ········ |
| And a' the better ye shall fare, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| For this gude news ye tell to me." | 8 | ········ |
| She's brought them down to yon cellar, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| She brought them fifty steps and three; | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| She birled wi' them the beer and wine, | 8 | ········ |
| Till they were as drunk as drunk could be. | 9 | ········· |
| Then she has lock'd her cellar door, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| For there were fifty steps and three; | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| "Lie there wi' my sad malison, | 8 | ·····/˘˘ |
| For this bad news ye've tauld to me." | 8 | ········ |
| She's ta'en the keys intill her hand, | 8 | ········ |
| And threw them deep, deep in the sea; | 8 | ········ |
| "Lie there wi' my sad malison, | 8 | ·····/˘˘ |
| Till my gude lord return to me." | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| Then she sat down in her own room, | 8 | ········ |
| And sorrow lull'd her fast asleep; | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| And up it starts her own gude lord, | 8 | ········ |
| And even at that lady's feet. | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| "Take here the keys, Janet," he says, | 8 | ····/˘·· |
| "That ye threw deep, deep in the sea; | 8 | ········ |
| And ye'll relieve my merry young men, | 9 | ··˘/·/˘·· |
| For they've nane o' the swick o' me. | 8 | ········ |
| "They shot the shot, and drew the stroke, | 8 | ········ |
| And wad in red bluid to the knee; | 8 | ········ |
| Nae sailors mair for their lord coud do, | 11 | ·/˘········ |
| Nor my young men they did for me." | 8 | ········ |
| "I hae a question at you to ask, | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| Before that ye depart frae me; | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| You'll tell to me what day I'll die, | 8 | ········ |
| And what day will my burial be?" | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| "I hae nae mair o' God's power | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Than he has granted unto me; | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| But come to heaven when ye will, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| There porter to you I will be. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| "But ye'll be wed to a finer knight | 8 | ······/· |
| Than ever was in my degree; | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| Unto him ye'll hae children nine, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And six o' them will be ladies free. | 9 | ······/˘· |
| "The other three will be bold young men, | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| To fight for king and countrie; | 7 | ······· |
| The ane a duke, the second a knight, | 9 | ·····/˘·· |
| And third a laird o' lands sae free." | 8 | ········ |
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.