Ballad
Sigh on, sad heart, for Love's eclipseAnd Beauty's fairest queen,Though 'tis not for my peasant lipsTo soil her name between:A king might lay his sceptre down,But I am poor and nought,The brow should wear a golden crownThat wears her in its thought.
The diamonds glancing in her hair,Whose sudden beams surprise,Might bid such humble hopes bewareThe glancing of her eyes;Yet looking once, I look'd too long,And if my love is sin,Death follows on the heels of wrong,And kills the crime within.
Her dress seem'd wove of lily leaves,It was so pure and fine,O lofty wears, and lowly weaves,--But hodden-gray is mine;And homely hose must step apart,Where garter'd princes stand,But may he wear my love at heartThat wins her lily hand!
Alas! there's far from russet friezeTo silks and satin gowns,But I doubt if God made like degreesIn courtly hearts and clowns.My father wrong'd a maiden's mirth,And brought her cheeks to blame,And all that's lordly of my birthIs my reproach and shame!
'Tis vain to weep,--'tis vain to sigh,'Tis vain, this idle speech,For where her happy pearls do lie,My tears may never reach;Yet when I'm gone, e'en lofty prideMay say, of what has been,His love was nobly born and died,Though all the rest was mean!
My speech is rude,--but speech is weakSuch love as mine to tell,Yet had I words, I dare not speak,So, Lady, fare thee well;I will not wish thy better stateWas one of low degree,But I must weep that partial fateMade such a churl of me.
Words in this poem
- sceptre n.
- A staff or baton borne by a sovereign, as a ceremonial badge or emblem of authority; a royal mace. [F. sceptre, L. sceptrum, from Gr. shaft. See Shaft, and cf. Scape a stem, shaft.]
- glancing a.
- Shooting, as light.
- beware v. t.
- To avoid; to take care of; to have a care for.
- wove
- p. pr. & rare vb. n. of Weave.
- homely a.
- Belonging to, or having the characteristics of, home; domestic; familiar; intimate. [From Home, n.]
- courtly a.
- Relating or belonging to a court. [From Court.]
- nobly adv.
- Of noble extraction; as, nobly born or descended.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Ballad is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Poetical Works of Thomas Hood, Project Gutenberg ebook #15652; 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, Ballad, in The Song of the Shirt, and Other Poems (1826–1845), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #15652, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/hood-poetical-works/ballad-3.html, id L26120.
Form and metre
Ballad is 48 lines in 6 stanzas of 8 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABABCDCD, complete in 5 of its 6 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 96%).
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 ABABCDCD eclipseA · queenB · lipsA · betweenB · downC · noughtD · crownC · thoughtD
- 2 ABABCDCD hairA · surpriseB · bewareA · eyesB · longC · sinD · wrongC · withinD
- 3 ABABCDCD leavesA · fineB · weavesA · mineB · apartC · standD · heartC · handD
- 4 ABABCDCD friezeA · gownsB · degreesA · clownsB · mirthC · blameD · birthC · shameD
- 5 ABABC-C- sighA · speechB · lieA · reachB · prideC · been · diedC · mean
- 6 ABABCDCD weakA · tellB · speakA · wellB · stateC · degreeD · fateC · meD
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Sigh on, sad heart, for Love's eclipse | 8 | ······˘/ |
| And Beauty's fairest queen, | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| Though 'tis not for my peasant lips | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| To soil her name between: | 6 | ······ |
| A king might lay his sceptre down, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| But I am poor and nought, | 6 | ······ |
| The brow should wear a golden crown | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| That wears her in its thought. | 6 | ······ |
| The diamonds glancing in her hair, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| Whose sudden beams surprise, | 6 | ·/˘·˘/ |
| Might bid such humble hopes beware | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| The glancing of her eyes; | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Yet looking once, I look'd too long, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| And if my love is sin, | 6 | ······ |
| Death follows on the heels of wrong, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| And kills the crime within. | 6 | ······ |
| Her dress seem'd wove of lily leaves, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| It was so pure and fine, | 6 | ······ |
| O lofty wears, and lowly weaves,-- | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| But hodden-gray is mine; | 6 | ······ |
| And homely hose must step apart, | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| Where garter'd princes stand, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| But may he wear my love at heart | 8 | ········ |
| That wins her lily hand! | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Alas! there's far from russet frieze | 8 | ˘/···/˘· |
| To silks and satin gowns, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| But I doubt if God made like degrees | 9 | ·······˘/ |
| In courtly hearts and clowns. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| My father wrong'd a maiden's mirth, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| And brought her cheeks to blame, | 6 | ······ |
| And all that's lordly of my birth | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Is my reproach and shame! | 6 | ··˘/·· |
| 'Tis vain to weep,--'tis vain to sigh, | 8 | ········ |
| 'Tis vain, this idle speech, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| For where her happy pearls do lie, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| My tears may never reach; | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Yet when I'm gone, e'en lofty pride | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| May say, of what has been, | 6 | ······ |
| His love was nobly born and died, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Though all the rest was mean! | 6 | ······ |
| My speech is rude,--but speech is weak | 8 | ········ |
| Such love as mine to tell, | 6 | ······ |
| Yet had I words, I dare not speak, | 8 | ········ |
| So, Lady, fare thee well; | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| I will not wish thy better state | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Was one of low degree, | 6 | ····˘/ |
| But I must weep that partial fate | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Made such a churl of me. | 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.