Arwyrain
Arddwyreaf hael o hil Rodri,Ardwyad gorwlad, gwerlin teithi,Teithiawg Prydain, twyth arfdwyth Owain,Teyrnain ni grain, ni grawn rei.Teir lleng i daethant, liant lestri,Teir praff prif lynges wy bres brofi,Un o'r Iwerddon, arall arfogionOr Llychlynigion, llwrw hirion lli.Ar drydedd dros for o Norddmandi,Ar drafferth anferth, anfad iddi.A dreig Mon mor ddrud i eissillyd yn aer,A bu terfysc taer i haer holi,A rhagddaw rhewys dwys dyfysci,A rhewin a thrin a thranc Cymri,A'r gad gad greudde, a'r gryd gryd graendde,Ac am dal Moelfre mil fannieri,A'r ladd ladd lachar, ar bar beri,A ffwyr ffwyr ffyrfgawdd ar fawdd foddi,A Menai heb drai o drallanw gwaedryar,A lliw gwyar gwyr yn heli:A llurygawr glas, a gloes trychni,A thrychion yn nhud rhag rheiddrudd ri,A dygyfor Lloegr, a dygyfranc a hi,Ag ei dygyfwrw yn astrusi,A dygyfod clod cleddyf difri,Yn saith ugain iaith wy faith foli.
Words in this poem
- ladd n.
- A boy; a youth; a stripling. [OE. ladde, of Celtic origin; cf. W. , Ir. lath. (. Cf. Lass.]
- clod n.
- A lump or mass, especially of earth, turf, or clay. [OE. clodde, latter form of clot. See Clot.]
- saith
- 3d pers. sing. pres. of Say.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Arwyrain is in the public domain. This text is taken from Some Specimens of the Poetry of the Ancient Welsh Bards, Project Gutenberg ebook #32767; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Evan Evans, Arwyrain, in Specimens of the Poetry of the Ancient Welsh Bards (1764), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #32767, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/evans-welsh/arwyrain.html, id L11878.
Form and metre
Arwyrain is 26 lines in a single stanza. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 76%). 98% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.8 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 -------A-B-------B-A------ rodri · teithi · owain · rei · lestri · brofi · arfogion · lliA · norddmandi · iddiB · aer · holi · dyfysci · cymri · graendde · fannieri · beri · foddiB · gwaedryar · heliA · trychni · ri · hi · astrusi · difri · foli
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.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Arddwyreaf hael o hil Rodri, | 8 | ········ |
| Ardwyad gorwlad, gwerlin teithi, | 8 | ········ |
| Teithiawg Prydain, twyth arfdwyth Owain, | 9 | ········· |
| Teyrnain ni grain, ni grawn rei. | 7 | ······· |
| Teir lleng i daethant, liant lestri, | 8 | ········ |
| Teir praff prif lynges wy bres brofi, | 8 | ········ |
| Un o'r Iwerddon, arall arfogion | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Or Llychlynigion, llwrw hirion lli. | 9 | ········· |
| Ar drydedd dros for o Norddmandi, | 9 | ········· |
| Ar drafferth anferth, anfad iddi. | 9 | ········· |
| A dreig Mon mor ddrud i eissillyd yn aer, | 11 | ··········· |
| A bu terfysc taer i haer holi, | 9 | ········· |
| A rhagddaw rhewys dwys dyfysci, | 9 | ········· |
| A rhewin a thrin a thranc Cymri, | 9 | ········· |
| A'r gad gad greudde, a'r gryd gryd graendde, | 8 | ········ |
| Ac am dal Moelfre mil fannieri, | 9 | //······· |
| A'r ladd ladd lachar, ar bar beri, | 9 | ········· |
| A ffwyr ffwyr ffyrfgawdd ar fawdd foddi, | 9 | ········· |
| A Menai heb drai o drallanw gwaedryar, | 10 | ·········· |
| A lliw gwyar gwyr yn heli: | 7 | ······· |
| A llurygawr glas, a gloes trychni, | 9 | ········· |
| A thrychion yn nhud rhag rheiddrudd ri, | 9 | ········· |
| A dygyfor Lloegr, a dygyfranc a hi, | 11 | ··········· |
| Ag ei dygyfwrw yn astrusi, | 8 | ········ |
| A dygyfod clod cleddyf difri, | 9 | ········· |
| Yn saith ugain iaith wy faith foli. | 9 | ········· |
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.