Chill Winter
Nipping this winter's night, the snow drifts by,Below the hill the boisterous billows roar;'Tis bitter cold to-night the mountain o'er,Yet still the ungovernable stag bells forth his cry.
To-night laid not his side upon the groundThe deer of Slievecarn of the hundred fights;He, with the stag of Echtge's frozen heights,Caught the wolves' snarl, and quivered at the sound.
I, Caoilte, wakeful lie, and Dermot Donn,We, with keen Oscar of the footsteps fleet,Watch the slow hours of moving night retreat,Whilst the dread pack of hungry wolves comes on.
Well rests the ruddy deer in dawn's dim light,Deep breathing near the covering earthen mound,Hidden from sight, as 'twere beneath the ground,All in the latter end of chilly night.
I sit to-night amongst the ancient race,And of the younger men but few I know,Though, in the ice-bound mornings long ago,From my firm grasp the javelin flew apace.
I thank Heaven's King, I thank sweet Mary's Son,My hand it was that silenced countless men;They lie stretched out beneath us in the glen,Colder than we, death-cold, lies many and many an one.
Words in this poem
- boisterous a.
- Rough or rude; unbending; unyielding; strong; powerful. [OE. boistous; of uncertain origin; cf. W. bwyst wild, savage, wildness, ferocity, bwystus ferocious.]
- quivered a.
- Furnished with, or carrying, a quiver.
- wakeful a.
- Not sleeping; indisposed to sleep; watchful; vigilant.
- donn n.
- Sir; Mr; Signior; -- a title in Spain, formerly given to noblemen and gentlemen only, but now common to all classes. [Sp. don; akin to Pg. dom, It. donno; fr. L. dominus master. See Dame, and cf. Domine, Dominie, Domino, Dan, Dom.]
- amongst prep.
- Mixed or mingled; surrounded by. [OE. amongist, amonges, amonge, among, AS. onmang, ongemang, gemang, in a crowd or mixture. For the ending -st see Amidst. See Mingle.]
- apace adv.
- With a quick pace; quick; fast; speedily. [Pref. a- + pace. OE. a pas at a walk, in which a is the article. See Pace.]
- thank n.
- A expression of gratitude; an acknowledgment expressive of a sense of favor or kindness received; obligation, claim, or desert, or gratitude; -- now generally used in the plural. [AS. Þanc, Þonc, thanks, favor, thought; akin to OS. thank favor, pleasure, thanks, D. & G. dank thanks, Icel. Þ\'94kk, Dan. tak, Sw. tack, Goth. Þagks thanks; -]
- countless a.
- Incapable of being counted; not ascertainable; innumerable.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Chill Winter 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, Chill Winter, in The Poem-Book of the Gael (1912), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #46917, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/hull-gael/chill-winter.html, id L11681.
Form and metre
Chill Winter is 24 lines in 6 stanzas of 4 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABBA, complete in 5 of its 6 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 84%). 96% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.2 syllables.
See other poems in iambic pentameter.
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 A--A byA · roar · o'er · cryA
- 2 ABBA groundA · fightsB · heightsB · soundA
- 3 ABBA donnA · fleetB · retreatB · onA
- 4 ABBA lightA · moundB · groundB · nightA
- 5 ABBA raceA · knowB · agoB · apaceA
- 6 ABBA sonA · menB · glenB · oneA
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 pentameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Nipping this winter's night, the snow drifts by, | 10 | /˘·/˘····· |
| Below the hill the boisterous billows roar; | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| 'Tis bitter cold to-night the mountain o'er, | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| Yet still the ungovernable stag bells forth his cry. | 11 | ···˘/˘····· |
| To-night laid not his side upon the ground | 10 | ·········· |
| The deer of Slievecarn of the hundred fights; | 11 | ········/˘· |
| He, with the stag of Echtge's frozen heights, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Caught the wolves' snarl, and quivered at the sound. | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| I, Caoilte, wakeful lie, and Dermot Donn, | 9 | ··/˘··/˘· |
| We, with keen Oscar of the footsteps fleet, | 10 | ···/˘··/·· |
| Watch the slow hours of moving night retreat, | 10 | ···/·/˘·˘/ |
| Whilst the dread pack of hungry wolves comes on. | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Well rests the ruddy deer in dawn's dim light, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Deep breathing near the covering earthen mound, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘/˘· |
| Hidden from sight, as 'twere beneath the ground, | 10 | /˘········ |
| All in the latter end of chilly night. | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| I sit to-night amongst the ancient race, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| And of the younger men but few I know, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Though, in the ice-bound mornings long ago, | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| From my firm grasp the javelin flew apace. | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| I thank Heaven's King, I thank sweet Mary's Son, | 11 | ··/˘····/˘· |
| My hand it was that silenced countless men; | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| They lie stretched out beneath us in the glen, | 10 | ·········· |
| Colder than we, death-cold, lies many and many an one. | 12 | /˘·····/·/·· |
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