In a Far Country
Two strangers met on a mountain-sideIn a far country ...The moon was young, the year was old,The airs of the night were bitter-cold,And their heavy cloaks their dress did hide.
One stranger did the other stayIn that far country:“What brings you into the icy darkWith lifted eyes that only markThe lights of heaven, less light than day?”
The second said the first untoIn the far country:“Many the lights of heaven are,But I watch for the birth of one more StarNot yet arisen. And what do you?”
The first man to the other spokeIn the far country:“Even as you I wait the birthOf one new Light above the earth.What garb do you wear beneath your cloak?”
The second dropped his outer dressIn that far country:He wore a sheep-skin frayed and thinWhose holes laid bare the shivering skin,And the wind made mock of his nakedness.
The other did his robe unfoldIn that far country,And plain to see in the starlight dimWere the furs and purple that covered him,They were so heavy and rich with gold.
The hand of each unto each did springIn that far country.“Brother, why dared ye the night?” “BecauseHe, even as I, a Shepherd was.”“I came, because He was a King.”
Handfast they watched the Birth on highIn the far country.Shepherd and King forgotten be,But not that all men’s Brother was HeWho for all men did live and dieIn a far country.
Words in this poem
- spoke n.
- The radius or ray of a wheel; one of the small bars which are inserted in the hub, or nave, and which serve to support the rim or felly. [OE. spoke, spake, AS, spaca; akin to D. speek, LG. speke, OHG. speihha, G. speiche. sq. root170. Cf. Spike a nail.]
- garb n.
- External appearance, as expressive of the feelings or character; looks; fashion or manner, as of speech. [OF. garbe looks, countenance, grace, ornament, fr. OHG. garawi, garwi, ornament, dress. akin to E. gear. See Gear, n.]
- nakedness n.
- The condition of being naked.
- starlight n.
- The light given by the stars.
- handfast n.
- Hold; grasp; custody; power of confining or keeping.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
In a Far Country is in the public domain. This text is taken from Sonnets and Poems, Project Gutenberg ebook #56244; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Eleanor Farjeon, In a Far Country, in Sonnets and Poems (1918), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #56244, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/farjeon-sonnets-poems/in-a-far-country.html, id L21960.
Form and metre
In a Far Country is 41 lines in 8 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 83%).
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-BBA sideA · country · oldB · coldB · hideA
- 2 A-BBA stayA · country · darkB · markB · dayA
- 3 --AA- unto · country · areA · starA · you
- 4 A-BBA spokeA · country · birthB · earthB · cloakA
- 5 A-BBA dressA · country · thinB · skinB · nakednessA
- 6 A-BBA unfoldA · country · dimB · himB · goldA
- 7 A-BBA springA · country · becauseB · wasB · kingA
- 8 ABCCAB highA · countryB · beC · heC · dieA · countryB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Two strangers met on a mountain-side | 9 | ·/˘···/˘· |
| In a far country ... | 5 | ···/˘ |
| The moon was young, the year was old, | 8 | ········ |
| The airs of the night were bitter-cold, | 9 | ······/˘· |
| And their heavy cloaks their dress did hide. | 9 | ··/˘····· |
| One stranger did the other stay | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| In that far country: | 5 | ···/˘ |
| “What brings you into the icy dark | 9 | ······/˘· |
| With lifted eyes that only mark | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| The lights of heaven, less light than day?” | 8 | ···/···· |
| The second said the first unto | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| In the far country: | 5 | ···/˘ |
| “Many the lights of heaven are, | 8 | /˘···/˘· |
| But I watch for the birth of one more Star | 10 | ·········· |
| Not yet arisen. And what do you?” | 9 | ··˘/˘···· |
| The first man to the other spoke | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| In the far country: | 5 | ···/˘ |
| “Even as you I wait the birth | 8 | /˘······ |
| Of one new Light above the earth. | 8 | ········ |
| What garb do you wear beneath your cloak?” | 9 | ········· |
| The second dropped his outer dress | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| In that far country: | 5 | ···/˘ |
| He wore a sheep-skin frayed and thin | 8 | ········ |
| Whose holes laid bare the shivering skin, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And the wind made mock of his nakedness. | 10 | ·······/˘˘ |
| The other did his robe unfold | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| In that far country, | 5 | ···/˘ |
| And plain to see in the starlight dim | 9 | ······/·· |
| Were the furs and purple that covered him, | 10 | ····/˘·/˘· |
| They were so heavy and rich with gold. | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| The hand of each unto each did spring | 9 | ········· |
| In that far country. | 5 | ···/˘ |
| “Brother, why dared ye the night?” “Because | 9 | /˘······· |
| He, even as I, a Shepherd was.” | 8 | ·/···/˘· |
| “I came, because He was a King.” | 8 | ········ |
| Handfast they watched the Birth on high | 8 | /˘······ |
| In the far country. | 5 | ···/˘ |
| Shepherd and King forgotten be, | 8 | /˘··˘/˘· |
| But not that all men’s Brother was He | 9 | ·····/˘·· |
| Who for all men did live and die | 8 | ········ |
| In a far country. | 5 | ···/˘ |
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.