Re-Written
Hark, the boatswain hoarsely bawling,By shovel, tongues, and poker stand;Down the scuttle quick be hauling,Down your bellows, hand, boys, hand;Now it freshens,--blow like blazes;Now unto the coal-hole go;Stir, boys, stir, don’t mind black faces,Up your ashes nimbly throw.
Ply your bellows, raise the wind, boys,See the valve is clear of course;Let the paddles spin, don’t mind, boys,Though the weather should be worse.Fore and aft a proper draft get,Oil the engines, see all clear;Hands up, each a sack of coal get,Man the boiler, cheer, lads, cheer.
Now the dreadful thunder’s roaring,Peal on peal contending clash;On our heads fierce rain falls pouring,In our eyes the paddles splash.One wide water all around us,All above one smoke-black sky:Different deaths at once surround us;Hark! what means that dreadful cry?
The funnel’s gone! cries ev’ry tongue out,The engineer’s washed off the deck;A leak beneath the coal-hole’s sprung outCall all hands to clear the wreck.Quick, some coal, some nubbly pieces;Come, my hearts, be stout and bold;Plumb the boiler, speed decreases,Four feet water getting cold.
While o’er the ship wild waves are beating,We for wives or children mourn;Alas! from hence there’s no retreating;Alas! to them there’s no return.The fire is out--we’ve burst the bellows,The tinder-box is swamped below;Heaven have mercy on poor fellows,For only that can serve us now!
Words in this poem
- boatswain n.
- An officer who has charge of the boats, sails, rigging, colors, anchors, cables, cordage, etc., of a ship, and who also summons the crew, and performs other duties. [Boat + swain.]
- hoarsely adv.
- With a harsh, grating sound or voice.
- scuttle n.
- A broad, shallow basket. [AS. scutel a dish, platter; cf. Icel. skutill; both fr. L. scutella, dim. of scutra, scuta, a dish or platter; cf. scutum a shield. Cf. Skillet.]
- dreadful a.
- Full of dread or terror; fearful.
- peal v. i.
- To appeal. Spencer.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Re-Written is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Comic Poems of Thomas Hood A New and Complete Edition, Project Gutenberg ebook #56712; 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 Hood, Re-Written, in Poems (1827–1845), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #56712, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/hood-poems/re-written.html, id L06730.
Form and metre
Re-Written is 40 lines in 5 stanzas of 8 lines each. The commonest rhyme scheme is ABABCDCD, 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 86%). 99% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.8 syllables. 12 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending.
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 ABAB-C-C bawlingA · standB · haulingA · handB · blazes · goC · faces · throwC
- 2 A-A-BCBC boysA · course · boysA · worse · getB · clearC · getB · cheerC
- 3 ABABCDCD roaringA · clashB · pouringA · splashB · usC · skyD · usC · cryD
- 4 ABABCDCD outA · deckB · outA · wreckB · piecesC · boldD · decreasesC · coldD
- 5 A-A-B-B- beatingA · mourn · retreatingA · return · bellowsB · below · fellowsB · now
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Hark, the boatswain hoarsely bawling, | 8 | ··/˘/˘/˘ |
| By shovel, tongues, and poker stand; | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Down the scuttle quick be hauling, | 8 | ··/˘··/˘ |
| Down your bellows, hand, boys, hand; | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Now it freshens,--blow like blazes; | 8 | ··/˘··/˘ |
| Now unto the coal-hole go; | 7 | ······· |
| Stir, boys, stir, don’t mind black faces, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Up your ashes nimbly throw. | 7 | ··/˘/˘· |
| Ply your bellows, raise the wind, boys, | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| See the valve is clear of course; | 7 | ······· |
| Let the paddles spin, don’t mind, boys, | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| Though the weather should be worse. | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Fore and aft a proper draft get, | 8 | ····/˘·· |
| Oil the engines, see all clear; | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Hands up, each a sack of coal get, | 8 | ········ |
| Man the boiler, cheer, lads, cheer. | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Now the dreadful thunder’s roaring, | 8 | ··/˘/˘/˘ |
| Peal on peal contending clash; | 7 | ···˘/˘· |
| On our heads fierce rain falls pouring, | 9 | ·/˘····/˘ |
| In our eyes the paddles splash. | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| One wide water all around us, | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| All above one smoke-black sky: | 7 | ······· |
| Different deaths at once surround us; | 8 | /˘···˘/· |
| Hark! what means that dreadful cry? | 7 | ····/˘· |
| The funnel’s gone! cries ev’ry tongue out, | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| The engineer’s washed off the deck; | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| A leak beneath the coal-hole’s sprung out | 9 | ········· |
| Call all hands to clear the wreck. | 7 | ······· |
| Quick, some coal, some nubbly pieces; | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Come, my hearts, be stout and bold; | 7 | ······· |
| Plumb the boiler, speed decreases, | 8 | ··/˘·˘/˘ |
| Four feet water getting cold. | 7 | ··/˘/˘· |
| While o’er the ship wild waves are beating, | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| We for wives or children mourn; | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Alas! from hence there’s no retreating; | 9 | ˘/····˘/˘ |
| Alas! to them there’s no return. | 8 | ˘/····˘/ |
| The fire is out--we’ve burst the bellows, | 9 | ·/·····/˘ |
| The tinder-box is swamped below; | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Heaven have mercy on poor fellows, | 9 | /˘·/˘··/˘ |
| For only that can serve us now! | 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.