Another Version
Welcome to thee, O White Paternoster!And welcome to thyself!Where didst thou sleep last night?As He slept, the King of Light.Where wilt thou sleep again?As the poor will sleep, in want and pain.And the night after that, where wilt thou sleep?At the feet of St. Patrick my rest shall be deep.
Who are they out before thee I see?Twelve fair angels defending me.Who are they behind thee west?The twelve apostles ever blest.What may that at thy right hand be?Holy water that Mary gave me,That it might lead me, with guidance wise,From this door to the door of Paradise.
The key of Paradise, that I need;The vat of gold stands there, indeed,With its cover above it, golden-bright;Yonder where candles blaze alight;Candles that cannot be removedTill the full of my two hands shall beThe flowing fulness of stream and sea.
O Men of the World who are shedding tears,I put Mary with her Son between you and your fears,Brigit with her mantle,Michael with his shield,And the two long white hands of God from behind folding us all,Between you and each griefAll the years,From this night till a year from to-night,And this night itself, with God.
Words in this poem
- paternoster n.
- The Lord's prayer, so called from the first two words of the Latin version. [L., Our Father.]
- didst
- , the 2d pers. sing. imp. of Do.
- 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,]
- yonder adv.
- At a distance, but within view. [OE. yonder, ýonder; cf. OD. ginder, Goth. jaindr there. Yond, adv.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Another Version is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Poem-Book of the Gael Translations from Irish Gaelic Poetry into English Prose and Verse, Project Gutenberg ebook #46917; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Eleanor Hull, Another Version, in The Poem-Book of the Gael (1912), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #46917, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/hull-gael/another-version.html, id L11747.
Form and metre
Another Version is 32 lines in 4 verse paragraphs. It is in rhyming couplets, 56% of the lines: octosyllabic couplets. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 80%). 92% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.3 syllables. 2 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 9% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
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 --AABBCC paternoster · thyself · nightA · lightA · againB · painB · sleepC · deepC
- 2 AABBAA-- seeA · meA · westB · blestB · beA · meA · wise · paradise
- 3 AABB-CC needA · indeedA · brightB · alightB · removed · beC · seaC
- 4 AAB-B-A-- tearsA · fearsA · mantleB · shield · allB · grief · yearsA · night · god
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Welcome to thee, O White Paternoster! | 9 | /˘····/˘˘ |
| And welcome to thyself! | 6 | ·/˘·˘/ |
| Where didst thou sleep last night? | 6 | ······ |
| As He slept, the King of Light. | 7 | ······· |
| Where wilt thou sleep again? | 6 | ····˘/ |
| As the poor will sleep, in want and pain. | 9 | ········· |
| And the night after that, where wilt thou sleep? | 10 | ·········· |
| At the feet of St. Patrick my rest shall be deep. | 12 | ·····/˘····· |
| Who are they out before thee I see? | 9 | ········· |
| Twelve fair angels defending me. | 8 | ··/˘˘/˘· |
| Who are they behind thee west? | 7 | ······· |
| The twelve apostles ever blest. | 8 | ··˘/˘/˘· |
| What may that at thy right hand be? | 8 | ········ |
| Holy water that Mary gave me, | 9 | /˘/˘·/˘·· |
| That it might lead me, with guidance wise, | 9 | ······/˘· |
| From this door to the door of Paradise. | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| The key of Paradise, that I need; | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| The vat of gold stands there, indeed, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| With its cover above it, golden-bright; | 10 | ··/˘···/˘· |
| Yonder where candles blaze alight; | 8 | /˘·/˘·˘/ |
| Candles that cannot be removed | 8 | /˘·/˘·˘/ |
| Till the full of my two hands shall be | 9 | ········· |
| The flowing fulness of stream and sea. | 8 | ·//˘···· |
| O Men of the World who are shedding tears, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| I put Mary with her Son between you and your fears, | 13 | ··/˘········· |
| Brigit with her mantle, | 6 | ····/˘ |
| Michael with his shield, | 5 | /˘··· |
| And the two long white hands of God from behind folding us all, | 15 | ···········/˘·· |
| Between you and each grief | 6 | ······ |
| All the years, | 3 | ··· |
| From this night till a year from to-night, | 9 | ········· |
| And this night itself, with God. | 7 | ···˘/·· |
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.