What have I done for you
WHAT have I done for you,England, my England?What is there I would not do,England, my own?With your glorious eyes austere,As the Lord were walking near,Whispering terrible things and dearAs the Song on your bugles blown,England—Round the world on your bugles blown!
Where shall the watchful Sun,England, my England,Match the master-work you’ve done,England, my own?When shall he rejoice agenSuch a breed of mighty menAs come forward, one to ten,To the Song on your bugles blown,England—Down the years on your bugles blown?
Ever the faith endures,England, my England:—‘Take and break us: we are yours,‘England, my own!‘Life is good, and joy runs high‘Between English earth and sky:‘Death is death; but we shall die‘To the Song on your bugles blown,‘England—‘To the stars on your bugles blown!
They call you proud and hard,England, my England:You with worlds to watch and ward,England, my own!You whose mailed hand keeps the keysOf such teeming destiniesYou could know nor dread nor easeWere the Song on your bugles blown,England,Round the Pit on your bugles blown!
Mother of Ships whose might,England, my England,Is the fierce old Sea’s delight,England, my own,Chosen daughter of the Lord,Spouse-in-Chief of the ancient sword,There’s the menace of the WordIn the Song on your bugles blown,England—Out of heaven on your bugles blown!
Words in this poem
- glorious a.
- Exhibiting attributes, qualities, or acts that are worthy of or receive glory; noble; praiseworthy; excellent; splendid; illustrious; inspiring admiration; as, glorious deeds. [OF. glorios, glorious, F. glorieux, fr. L. gloriosus. See Glory, n.]
- 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,]
- mailed a.
- Protected by an external coat, or covering, of scales or plates.
- teeming a.
- Prolific; productive.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
What have I done for you is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems, Project Gutenberg ebook #1568; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: W. E. Henley, What have I done for you, in Poems (1898), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #1568, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/henley-poems/what-have-i-done-for-you.html, id L12461.
Form and metre
What have I done for you is 50 lines in 5 stanzas of 10 lines each. The commonest rhyme scheme is ABACDDDCBC, in 2 of the 5 stanzas; the rest vary or could not be confirmed. The metre is trochaic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 82%). 92% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 6.2 syllables. 11 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 trochaic 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 ABACDDDCBC youA · englandB · doA · ownC · austereD · nearD · dearD · blownC · englandB · blownC
- 2 ABAC-DDCBC sunA · englandB · doneA · ownC · agen · menD · tenD · blownC · englandB · blownC
- 3 ABACDDDCBC enduresA · englandB · yoursA · ownC · highD · skyD · dieD · blownC · englandB · blownC
- 4 -A-BCCCBAB hard · englandA · ward · ownB · keysC · destiniesC · easeC · blownB · englandA · blownB
- 5 ABACDD-CBC mightA · englandB · delightA · ownC · lordD · swordD · word · blownC · englandB · blownC
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 trochaic tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| WHAT have I done for you, | 6 | ······ |
| England, my England? | 5 | /˘·/˘ |
| What is there I would not do, | 7 | ······· |
| England, my own? | 4 | /˘·· |
| With your glorious eyes austere, | 8 | ··/˘˘·˘/ |
| As the Lord were walking near, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Whispering terrible things and dear | 8 | /˘/˘˘··· |
| As the Song on your bugles blown, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| England— | 2 | /˘ |
| Round the world on your bugles blown! | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Where shall the watchful Sun, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| England, my England, | 5 | /˘·/˘ |
| Match the master-work you’ve done, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| England, my own? | 4 | /˘·· |
| When shall he rejoice agen | 7 | ···˘/˘/ |
| Such a breed of mighty men | 7 | ····/˘· |
| As come forward, one to ten, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| To the Song on your bugles blown, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| England— | 2 | /˘ |
| Down the years on your bugles blown? | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Ever the faith endures, | 6 | /˘··˘/ |
| England, my England:— | 5 | /˘·/˘ |
| ‘Take and break us: we are yours, | 7 | ······· |
| ‘England, my own! | 4 | /˘·· |
| ‘Life is good, and joy runs high | 7 | ······· |
| ‘Between English earth and sky: | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| ‘Death is death; but we shall die | 7 | ······· |
| ‘To the Song on your bugles blown, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| ‘England— | 2 | /˘ |
| ‘To the stars on your bugles blown! | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| They call you proud and hard, | 6 | ······ |
| England, my England: | 5 | /˘·/˘ |
| You with worlds to watch and ward, | 7 | ······· |
| England, my own! | 4 | /˘·· |
| You whose mailed hand keeps the keys | 8 | ···˘···· |
| Of such teeming destinies | 7 | ··/˘/˘˘ |
| You could know nor dread nor ease | 7 | ······· |
| Were the Song on your bugles blown, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| England, | 2 | /˘ |
| Round the Pit on your bugles blown! | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Mother of Ships whose might, | 6 | /˘···· |
| England, my England, | 5 | /˘·/˘ |
| Is the fierce old Sea’s delight, | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| England, my own, | 4 | /˘·· |
| Chosen daughter of the Lord, | 7 | /˘/˘··· |
| Spouse-in-Chief of the ancient sword, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| There’s the menace of the Word | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| In the Song on your bugles blown, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| England— | 2 | /˘ |
| Out of heaven on your bugles blown! | 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.