Ballad of the Three Spectres
AS I went up by OvillersIn mud and water cold to the knee,There went three jeering, fleering spectres,That walked abreast and talked of me.
The first said, “Here’s a right brave soldierThat walks the dark unfearingly;Soon he’ll come back on a fine stretcher,And laughing for a nice Blighty.”
The second, “Read his face, old comrade,No kind of lucky chance I see;One day he’ll freeze in mud to the marrow,Then look his last on Picardie.”
Though bitter the word of these first twainCurses the third spat venomously;“He’ll stay untouched till the war’s last dawningThen live one hour of agony.”
Liars the first two were. Behold meAt sloping arms by one--two--three;Waiting the time I shall discoverWhether the third spake verity.
Words in this poem
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- jeering a.
- Mocking; scoffing.
- stretcher n.
- One who, or that which, stretches.
- twain a.
- Two;- nearly obsolete in common discourse, but used in poetry and burlesque. [OE. twein, tweien, tweyne, AS. twegen, masc. See Two.]
- spat n.
- A young oyster or other bivalve mollusk, both before and after it first becomes adherent, or such young, collectively. [From the root of spit; hence, literally, that which is ejected.]
- 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,]
- discover v. i.
- To discover or show one's self.
- verity n.
- The quality or state of being true, or real; consonance of a statement, proposition, or other thing, with fact; truth; reality. [F. vérité, L. veritas, fr. verus true. See Very.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Ballad of the Three Spectres is in the public domain. This text is taken from Severn & Somme, Project Gutenberg ebook #63895; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Ivor Gurney, Ballad of the Three Spectres, in Severn and Somme (1917), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #63895, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/gurney-severn-somme/ballad-of-the-three-spectres.html, id L02570.
Form and metre
Ballad of the Three Spectres is 20 lines in 5 stanzas of 4 lines each. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 85%). 88% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.8 syllables. 8 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 30% 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 ovillers · kneeA · spectres · meA
- 5 AA-- meA · threeA · discover · verity
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 |
|---|---|---|
| AS I went up by Ovillers | 8 | ········ |
| In mud and water cold to the knee, | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| There went three jeering, fleering spectres, | 9 | ···/˘/˘/˘ |
| That walked abreast and talked of me. | 10 | ··˘˘/··˘·· |
| The first said, “Here’s a right brave soldier | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| That walks the dark unfearingly; | 8 | ········ |
| Soon he’ll come back on a fine stretcher, | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| And laughing for a nice Blighty.” | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| The second, “Read his face, old comrade, | 9 | ·/˘····/· |
| No kind of lucky chance I see; | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| One day he’ll freeze in mud to the marrow, | 10 | ········/˘ |
| Then look his last on Picardie.” | 8 | ········ |
| Though bitter the word of these first twain | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| Curses the third spat venomously; | 9 | /˘······· |
| “He’ll stay untouched till the war’s last dawning | 10 | ··˘/····/˘ |
| Then live one hour of agony.” | 9 | ···/˘·/˘˘ |
| Liars the first two were. Behold me | 9 | /˘····˘/· |
| At sloping arms by one--two--three; | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Waiting the time I shall discover | 9 | /˘····˘/˘ |
| Whether the third spake verity. | 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.