The Duel
“I AM here to time, you see;The glade is well-screened—eh?—against alarm;Fit place to vindicate by my armThe honour of my spotless wife,Who scorns your libel upon her lifeIn boasting intimacy!
“‘All hush-offerings you’ll spurn,My husband. Two must come; one only go,’She said. ‘That he’ll be you I know;To faith like ours Heaven will be just,And I shall abide in fullest trustYour speedy glad return.’”
“Good. Here am also I;And we’ll proceed without more waste of wordsTo warm your cockpit. Of the swordsTake you your choice. I shall therebyFeel that on me no blame can lie,Whatever Fate accords.”
So stripped they there, and fought,And the swords clicked and scraped, and the onsets sped;Till the husband fell; and his shirt was redWith streams from his heart’s hot cistern. NoughtCould save him now; and the other, wroughtMaybe to pity, said:
“Why did you urge on this?Your wife assured you; and ’t had better beenThat you had let things pass, sereneIn confidence of long-tried bliss,Holding there could be nought amissIn what my words might mean.”
Then, seeing nor ruth nor rageCould move his foeman more—now Death’s deaf thrall—He wiped his steel, and, with a callLike turtledove to dove, swift brokeInto the copse, where under an oakHis horse cropt, held by a page.
“All’s over, Sweet,” he criedTo the wife, thus guised; for the young page was she.“’Tis as we hoped and said ’t would be.He never guessed . . . We mount and rideTo where our love can reign uneyed.He’s clay, and we are free.”
Words in this poem
- glade n.
- An open passage through a wood; a grassy open or cleared space in a forest. [Prob. of Scand. origin, and akin to glad, a.; cf. also W. golead, goleuad, a lighting, illumination, fr. goleu light, clear, bright, goleu fwlch glade, lit., a ]
- honour n.
- Esteem due or paid to worth; high estimation; respect; consideration; reverence; veneration; manifestation of respect or reverence. [OE. honor, honour, onour, onur, OF. honor, onor, honur, onur, honour, onour, F. honneur, fr. L. honor, honos.]
- spurn v. t.
- To drive back or away, as with the foot; to kick. [OE. spurnen to kick against, to stumble over, AS. spurnan to kick, offend; akin to spura spur, OS. & OHG. spurnan to kick, Icel. spyrna, L. spernere to despise,]
- 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,]
- cockpit n.
- A pit, or inclosed area, for cockfights.
- maybe adv.
- Perhaps; possibly; peradventure. [For it may be.]
- ruth n.
- Sorrow for the misery of another; pity; tenderness. [From Rue, v.: cf. Icel. hryggedh, hrygedh.]
- foeman n.
- An enemy in war. [AS. fhman.]
- broke v. i.
- To transact business for another. Brome. [See Broker, and cf. Brook.]
- copse n.
- A wood of small growth; a thicket of brushwood. See Coppice. [Contr. from coppice.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Duel is in the public domain. This text is taken from Moments of Vision and Miscellaneous Verses, Project Gutenberg ebook #3255; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Thomas Hardy, The Duel, in Moments of Vision and Miscellaneous Verses (1917), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #3255, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/hardy-moments-of-vision/the-duel.html, id L24125.
Form and metre
The Duel is 42 lines in 7 stanzas of 6 lines each. It is in rhyming couplets, 52% of the lines: octosyllabic couplets. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 84%).
See other poems in octosyllabic couplets, 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 -AABB- see · alarmA · armA · wifeB · lifeB · intimacy
- 2 ABBCCA spurnA · goB · knowB · justC · trustC · returnA
- 3 A-BAAB iA · words · swordsB · therebyA · lieA · accordsB
- 4 ABBAAB foughtA · spedB · redB · noughtA · wroughtA · saidB
- 5 A-BAAB thisA · been · sereneB · blissA · amissA · meanB
- 6 ABBCCA rageA · thrallB · callB · brokeC · oakC · pageA
- 7 ABBA-B criedA · sheB · beB · rideA · uneyed · freeB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| “I AM here to time, you see; | 7 | ······· |
| The glade is well-screened—eh?—against alarm; | 10 | ········˘/ |
| Fit place to vindicate by my arm | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| The honour of my spotless wife, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Who scorns your libel upon her life | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| In boasting intimacy! | 7 | ·/˘/˘˘˘ |
| “‘All hush-offerings you’ll spurn, | 7 | ··/˘˘·· |
| My husband. Two must come; one only go,’ | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| She said. ‘That he’ll be you I know; | 8 | ········ |
| To faith like ours Heaven will be just, | 8 | ···//··· |
| And I shall abide in fullest trust | 9 | ···˘/·/˘· |
| Your speedy glad return.’” | 6 | ·/˘·˘/ |
| “Good. Here am also I; | 6 | ···/˘· |
| And we’ll proceed without more waste of words | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| To warm your cockpit. Of the swords | 8 | ···/···· |
| Take you your choice. I shall thereby | 8 | ········ |
| Feel that on me no blame can lie, | 8 | ········ |
| Whatever Fate accords.” | 6 | ·/˘·˘/ |
| So stripped they there, and fought, | 7 | ··˘···· |
| And the swords clicked and scraped, and the onsets sped; | 11 | ········/·· |
| Till the husband fell; and his shirt was red | 10 | ··/˘······ |
| With streams from his heart’s hot cistern. Nought | 9 | ······/˘· |
| Could save him now; and the other, wrought | 9 | ······/˘· |
| Maybe to pity, said: | 6 | /˘·/˘· |
| “Why did you urge on this? | 6 | ······ |
| Your wife assured you; and ’t had better been | 11 | ··˘/····/˘· |
| That you had let things pass, serene | 8 | ······˘/ |
| In confidence of long-tried bliss, | 8 | ·/˘˘···· |
| Holding there could be nought amiss | 8 | /˘····˘/ |
| In what my words might mean.” | 6 | ······ |
| Then, seeing nor ruth nor rage | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| Could move his foeman more—now Death’s deaf thrall— | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| He wiped his steel, and, with a call | 8 | ········ |
| Like turtledove to dove, swift broke | 8 | ·/˘˘···· |
| Into the copse, where under an oak | 9 | ········· |
| His horse cropt, held by a page. | 7 | ······· |
| “All’s over, Sweet,” he cried | 6 | ······ |
| To the wife, thus guised; for the young page was she. | 11 | ··········· |
| “’Tis as we hoped and said ’t would be. | 9 | ········· |
| He never guessed . . . We mount and ride | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| To where our love can reign uneyed. | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| He’s clay, and we are free.” | 6 | ······ |
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