The Ballad of the Dark Ladie a Fragment
Beneath yon birch with silver bark,And boughs so pendulous and fair,The brook falls scatter'd down the rock:And all is mossy there!
And there upon the moss she sits,The Dark Ladié in silent pain;The heavy tear is in her eye,And drops and swells again.
Three times she sends her little pageUp the castled mountain's breast,If he might find the Knight that wearsThe Griffin for his crest.
The sun was sloping down the sky,And she had linger'd there all day,Counting moments, dreaming fears--Oh wherefore can he stay?
She hears a rustling o'er the brook,She sees far off a swinging bough!"'Tis He! 'Tis my betrothed Knight!Lord Falkland, it is Thou!"
She springs, she clasps him round the neck,She sobs a thousand hopes and fears,Her kisses glowing on his cheeksShe quenches with her tears.
"My friends with rude ungentle wordsThey scoff and bid me fly to thee!O give me shelter in thy breast!O shield and shelter me!
"My Henry, I have given thee much,I gave what I can ne'er recall,I gave my heart, I gave my peace,O Heaven! I gave thee all."
The Knight made answer to the Maid,While to his heart he held her hand,"Nine castles hath my noble sire,None statelier in the land.
"The fairest one shall be my love's,The fairest castle of the nine!Wait only till the stars peep out,The fairest shall be thine:
"Wait only till the hand of eveHath wholly closed yon western bars,And through the dark we two will stealBeneath the twinkling stars!"--
"The dark? the dark? No! not the dark?The twinkling stars? How, Henry? How?O God! 'twas in the eye of noonHe pledged his sacred vow!
"And in the eye of noon my loveShall lead me from my mother's door,Sweet boys and girls all clothed in whiteStrewing flowers before:
"But first the nodding minstrels goWith music meet for lordly bowers,The children next in snow-white vests,Strewing buds and flowers!
"And then my love and I shall pace,My jet black hair in pearly braids,Between our comely bachelorsAnd blushing bridal maids."
Words in this poem
- castled a.
- Having a castle or castles; supporting a castle; as, a castled height or crag.
- wherefore adv.
- For which reason; so; -- used relatively. [Where + for.]
- ungentle a.
- Not gentle; lacking good breeding or delicacy; harsh.
- sire n.
- A lord, master, or other person in authority. See Sir. [F. sire, originally, an older person. See Sir.]
- 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,]
- twinkling n.
- The act of one who, or of that which, twinkles; a quick movement of the eye; a wink; a twinkle. Holland.
- strewing n.
- The act of scattering or spreading.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Ballad of the Dark Ladie a Fragment is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems of Coleridge, Project Gutenberg ebook #8208; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Samuel Taylor Coleridge, The Ballad of the Dark Ladie a Fragment, in Poems of Coleridge (1796–1817), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #8208, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/coleridge-poems/the-ballad-of-the-dark-ladie-a-fragment.html, id L00309.
Form and metre
The Ballad of the Dark Ladie a Fragment is 60 lines in 15 stanzas of 4 lines each. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 92%). 97% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.6 syllables. 4 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 18% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
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 bark · fairA · rock · thereA
- 2 -A-A sits · painA · eye · againA
- 3 -A-A page · breastA · wears · crestA
- 4 -A-A sky · dayA · fears · stayA
- 5 -A-A brook · boughA · knight · thouA
- 6 -A-A neck · fearsA · cheeks · tearsA
- 7 -A-A words · theeA · breast · meA
- 8 -A-A much · recallA · peace · allA
- 9 -A-A maid · handA · sire · landA
- 10 -A-A love's · nineA · out · thineA
- 11 -A-A eve · barsA · steal · starsA
- 12 -A-A dark · howA · noon · vowA
- 13 -A-A love · doorA · white · beforeA
- 14 -A-A go · bowersA · vests · flowersA
- 15 -A-A pace · braidsA · bachelors · maidsA
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Beneath yon birch with silver bark, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And boughs so pendulous and fair, | 8 | ···/˘˘·· |
| The brook falls scatter'd down the rock: | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And all is mossy there! | 6 | ···/˘· |
| And there upon the moss she sits, | 8 | ········ |
| The Dark Ladié in silent pain; | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| The heavy tear is in her eye, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| And drops and swells again. | 6 | ····˘/ |
| Three times she sends her little page | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Up the castled mountain's breast, | 8 | ··/˘˘/˘· |
| If he might find the Knight that wears | 8 | ········ |
| The Griffin for his crest. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| The sun was sloping down the sky, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And she had linger'd there all day, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Counting moments, dreaming fears-- | 7 | /˘/˘/˘· |
| Oh wherefore can he stay? | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| She hears a rustling o'er the brook, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| She sees far off a swinging bough! | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| "'Tis He! 'Tis my betrothed Knight! | 8 | ······˘· |
| Lord Falkland, it is Thou!" | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| She springs, she clasps him round the neck, | 8 | ········ |
| She sobs a thousand hopes and fears, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Her kisses glowing on his cheeks | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| She quenches with her tears. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| "My friends with rude ungentle words | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| They scoff and bid me fly to thee! | 8 | ········ |
| O give me shelter in thy breast! | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| O shield and shelter me! | 6 | ···/˘· |
| "My Henry, I have given thee much, | 8 | ·/˘··/·· |
| I gave what I can ne'er recall, | 8 | ······/· |
| I gave my heart, I gave my peace, | 8 | ········ |
| O Heaven! I gave thee all." | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| The Knight made answer to the Maid, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| While to his heart he held her hand, | 8 | ········ |
| "Nine castles hath my noble sire, | 9 | ·/˘··/˘/˘ |
| None statelier in the land. | 7 | ······· |
| "The fairest one shall be my love's, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| The fairest castle of the nine! | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| Wait only till the stars peep out, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| The fairest shall be thine: | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| "Wait only till the hand of eve | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Hath wholly closed yon western bars, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| And through the dark we two will steal | 8 | ········ |
| Beneath the twinkling stars!"-- | 7 | ···/˘˘· |
| "The dark? the dark? No! not the dark? | 8 | ········ |
| The twinkling stars? How, Henry? How? | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| O God! 'twas in the eye of noon | 8 | ········ |
| He pledged his sacred vow! | 8 | ··˘·/˘˘· |
| "And in the eye of noon my love | 8 | ········ |
| Shall lead me from my mother's door, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Sweet boys and girls all clothed in white | 8 | ········ |
| Strewing flowers before: | 6 | /˘/˘·· |
| "But first the nodding minstrels go | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| With music meet for lordly bowers, | 9 | ·/˘··/˘/˘ |
| The children next in snow-white vests, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Strewing buds and flowers! | 6 | /˘··/˘ |
| "And then my love and I shall pace, | 8 | ········ |
| My jet black hair in pearly braids, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Between our comely bachelors | 8 | ··/˘/˘/˘ |
| And blushing bridal maids." | 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.