St. Patrick's Breastplate
I arise to-dayThrough the strength of heaven:Light of sun,Radiance of moon,Splendour of fire,Speed of lightning,Swiftness of wind,Depth of sea,Stability of earth,Firmness of rock.
I arise to-dayThrough God's strength to pilot me:God's might to uphold me,God's wisdom to guide me,God's eye to look before me,God's ear to hear me,God's word to speak for me,God's hand to guard me,God's way to lie before me,God's shield to protect me,God's host to save meFrom snares of devils,From temptations of vices,From every one who shall wish me ill,Afar and anear,Alone and in a multitude.
Christ to shield me to-dayAgainst poison, against burning,Against drowning, against wounding,So that there may come to me abundance of reward.Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,Christ on my right, Christ on my left,Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down, Christ whenI arise,Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,Christ in the mouth of every one who speaks of me,Christ in every eye that sees me,Christ in every ear that hears me.
I arise to-dayThrough a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,Through belief in the threeness,Through confession of the onenessOf the Creator of Creation.
Words in this poem
- splendour n.
- Great brightness; brilliant luster; brilliancy; as, the splendor ot the sun. B. Jonson. [L. fr. splendere to shine: cf. F. splendeur.]
- 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,]
- afar adv.
- At, to, or from a great distance; far away; -- often used with from preceding, or off following; as, he was seen from afar; I saw him afar off. [Pref. a-.(for on or of) + far.]
- anear v. t.
- To near; to approach.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
St. Patrick's Breastplate 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, St. Patrick's Breastplate, in The Poem-Book of the Gael (1912), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #46917, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/hull-gael/st-patrick-s-breastplate.html, id L25711.
Form and metre
St. Patrick's Breastplate is 44 lines in 4 stanzas. The metre is trochaic trimeter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 79%).
See other poems in trochaic trimeter.
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 -AAA------ day · heavenA · sunA · moonA · fire · lightning · wind · sea · earth · rock
- 2 -AAAAAAAAAA----- day · meA · meA · meA · meA · meA · meA · meA · meA · meA · meA · devils · vices · ill · anear · multitude
- 3 ----AA---AAAA day · burning · wounding · reward · meA · meA · left · when · arise · meA · meA · meA · meA
- 4 --AA- day · trinity · threenessA · onenessA · creation
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 trimeter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| I arise to-day | 5 | ·˘/·· |
| Through the strength of heaven: | 6 | ····/˘ |
| Light of sun, | 3 | ··· |
| Radiance of moon, | 5 | /˘˘·· |
| Splendour of fire, | 5 | /˘·/˘ |
| Speed of lightning, | 4 | ··/˘ |
| Swiftness of wind, | 4 | /˘·· |
| Depth of sea, | 3 | ··· |
| Stability of earth, | 6 | ˘/˘˘·· |
| Firmness of rock. | 4 | /˘·· |
| I arise to-day | 5 | ·˘/·· |
| Through God's strength to pilot me: | 7 | ····/˘· |
| God's might to uphold me, | 6 | ···˘/· |
| God's wisdom to guide me, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| God's eye to look before me, | 7 | ······· |
| God's ear to hear me, | 5 | ····· |
| God's word to speak for me, | 6 | ······ |
| God's hand to guard me, | 5 | ····· |
| God's way to lie before me, | 7 | ······· |
| God's shield to protect me, | 6 | ···˘/· |
| God's host to save me | 5 | ····· |
| From snares of devils, | 5 | ···/˘ |
| From temptations of vices, | 7 | ·˘/˘·/˘ |
| From every one who shall wish me ill, | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| Afar and anear, | 5 | ˘/·˘/ |
| Alone and in a multitude. | 8 | ˘/···/˘· |
| Christ to shield me to-day | 6 | ······ |
| Against poison, against burning, | 8 | ··/˘··/˘ |
| Against drowning, against wounding, | 8 | ··/˘··/˘ |
| So that there may come to me abundance of reward. | 13 | ·······˘/˘·˘/ |
| Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me, | 11 | ··········· |
| Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me, | 11 | ··········· |
| Christ on my right, Christ on my left, | 8 | ········ |
| Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down, Christ when | 12 | ············ |
| I arise, | 3 | ·˘/ |
| Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me, | 12 | ·····/˘····· |
| Christ in the mouth of every one who speaks of me, | 12 | ·····/˘····· |
| Christ in every eye that sees me, | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| Christ in every ear that hears me. | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| I arise to-day | 5 | ·˘/·· |
| Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity, | 14 | ··/˘···˘/˘··/˘ |
| Through belief in the threeness, | 7 | ·˘/···· |
| Through confession of the oneness | 8 | ·˘/˘··/˘ |
| Of the Creator of Creation. | 9 | ··˘/˘·˘/˘ |
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.