Love and Black Magic
To the woods, to the woods is the wizard gone;In his grotto the maiden sits alone.She gazes up with a weary smileAt the rafter-hanging crocodile,The slowly swinging crocodile.Scorn has she of her master's gear,Cauldron, alembic, crystal sphere,Phial, philtre--"FiddlededeeFor all such trumpery trash!" quo' she."A soldier is the lad for me;Hey and hither, my lad!
"Oh, here have I ever lain forlorn:My father died ere I was born,Mother was by a wizard wed,And oft I wish I had died instead--Often I wish I were long time dead.But, delving deep in my master's lore,I have won of magic power such storeI can turn a skull--oh, fiddlededeeFor all this curious craft!" quo' she."A soldier is the lad for me;Hey and hither, my lad!
"To bring my brave boy unto my arms,What need have I of magic charms--'Abracadabra!' and 'Prestopuff'?I have but to wish, and that is enough.The charms are vain, one wish is enough.My master pledged my hand to a wizard;Transformed would I be to toad or lizardIf e'er he guessed--but fiddlededeeFor a black-browed sorcerer, now," quo' she."Let Cupid smile and the fiend must flee;Hey and hither, my lad."
Words in this poem
- rafter n.
- Originally, any rough and somewhat heavy piece of timber. Now, commonly, one of the timbers of a roof which are put on sloping, according to the inclination of the roof. See Illust. of Queen-post. [AS. ræfter; akin to E. raft, n. See Raft.]
- phial n.
- A glass vessel or bottle, especially a small bottle for medicines; a vial. [F. fiole, L. phiala a broad, flat, shallow cup or bowl, Gr. Vial.]
- philtre n.
- A potion or charm intended to excite the passion of love.
- trumpery n.
- Deceit; fraud. Grenewey. [F. tromperie deceit, fr. tromper to deceive. See Trump to trick.]
- forlorn a.
- Deserted abandoned; lost. [OE., p.p. of forlesen to lose utterly, AS. forleósan (p.p. forloren); pref. for- + leósan (in comp.) to lose; cf. D. verliezen to lose, G. verlieren, Sw. förlor]
- curious a.
- Difficult to please or satisfy; solicitous to be correct; careful; scrupulous; nice; exact. [OF. curios, curius, F. curieux, L. curiosus careful, inquisitive, fr. cura care. See Cure.]
- craft n.
- Strength; might; secret power. [AS. cr strength, skill, art, cunning; akin to OS., G., Sw., & Dan. kraft strength, D. kracht, Icel. kraptr; perh. originally, a drawing together, stretching, fr]
- cupid
- The god of love, son of Venus; usually represented as a naked, winged boy with bow and arrow. [L.Cupido, fr. cupido desire, desire of love, fr. cupidus. See Cupidity.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Love and Black Magic is in the public domain. This text is taken from Fairies and Fusiliers, Project Gutenberg ebook #10122; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Robert Graves, Love and Black Magic, in Fairies and Fusiliers (1917), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #10122, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/graves-fairies/love-and-black-magic.html, id L02441.
Form and metre
Love and Black Magic is 33 lines in 3 stanzas of 11 lines each. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 82%). 89% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.6 syllables. 2 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 --AAABB-CC- gone · alone · smileA · crocodileA · crocodileA · gearB · sphereB · fiddlededee · sheC · meC · lad
- 2 AABBBCC-DD- forlornA · bornA · wedB · insteadB · deadB · loreC · storeC · fiddlededee · sheD · meD · lad
- 3 AABBBCC-DDC armsA · charmsA · prestopuffB · enoughB · enoughB · wizardC · lizardC · fiddlededee · sheD · fleeD · ladC
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 |
|---|---|---|
| To the woods, to the woods is the wizard gone; | 11 | ········/˘· |
| In his grotto the maiden sits alone. | 10 | ··/··/˘·˘/ |
| She gazes up with a weary smile | 9 | ·/˘···/˘· |
| At the rafter-hanging crocodile, | 9 | ··/˘/˘/˘· |
| The slowly swinging crocodile. | 8 | ·/˘/˘/˘· |
| Scorn has she of her master's gear, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Cauldron, alembic, crystal sphere, | 8 | /˘˘/˘/˘· |
| Phial, philtre--"Fiddlededee | 7 | /˘····· |
| For all such trumpery trash!" quo' she. | 9 | ···/˘˘··· |
| "A soldier is the lad for me; | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Hey and hither, my lad! | 6 | ··/˘·· |
| "Oh, here have I ever lain forlorn: | 8 | ····/·˘/ |
| My father died ere I was born, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Mother was by a wizard wed, | 8 | /˘···/˘· |
| And oft I wish I had died instead-- | 9 | ·······˘/ |
| Often I wish I were long time dead. | 9 | /˘······· |
| But, delving deep in my master's lore, | 9 | ·/˘···/˘· |
| I have won of magic power such store | 9 | ····/˘/·· |
| I can turn a skull--oh, fiddlededee | 10 | ·········· |
| For all this curious craft!" quo' she. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| "A soldier is the lad for me; | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Hey and hither, my lad! | 6 | ··/˘·· |
| "To bring my brave boy unto my arms, | 9 | ········· |
| What need have I of magic charms-- | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| 'Abracadabra!' and 'Prestopuff'? | 8 | ·˘/˘···· |
| I have but to wish, and that is enough. | 10 | ········˘/ |
| The charms are vain, one wish is enough. | 9 | ·······˘/ |
| My master pledged my hand to a wizard; | 10 | ·/˘·····/˘ |
| Transformed would I be to toad or lizard | 10 | ˘/······/˘ |
| If e'er he guessed--but fiddlededee | 9 | ········· |
| For a black-browed sorcerer, now," quo' she. | 9 | ····/˘··· |
| "Let Cupid smile and the fiend must flee; | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| Hey and hither, my lad." | 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.