Hallowe’En
The tattie-liftin’s nearly through,They’re ploughin’ whaur the barley grew,And aifter dark, roond ilka stack,Ye’ll see the horsemen stand an’ crackO Lachlan, but I mind o’ you!
I mind foo often we hae seenTen thoosand stars keek doon atweenThe nakit branches, an’ belowBaith fairm an’ bothie hae their show,Alowe wi’ lichts o’ Hallowe’en.
There’s bairns wi’ guizards at their tailClourin’ the doors wi’ runts o’ kail,And fine ye’ll hear the skreichs an’ skirlsO’ lassies wi’ their droukit curlsBobbin’ for aipples i’ the pail.
The bothie fire is loupin’ het,A new heid horseman’s kist is setRichts o’ the lum; whaur by the blazeThe auld ane stude that kept yer claes--I canna thole to see it yet!
But gin the auld fowks’ tales are richtAn ghaists come hame on Hallow nicht,O freend o’ freends! what wad I gieTo feel ye rax yer hand to meAtween the dark an’ caun’le licht?
Awa in France, across the wave,The wee lichts burn on ilka grave,An’ you an’ me their lowe hae seen--Ye’ll mebbe hae yer Hallowe’enYont, whaur ye’re lyin’ wi’ the lave.
There’s drink an’ daffin’, sang an’ danceAnd ploys and kisses get their chance,But Lachlan, man, the place I seeIs whaur the auld kist used to beAnd the lichts o’ Hallowe’en in France!
Words in this poem
- atween adv.
- Between. Spenser. [See Atwain, and cf. Between.]
- kail n.
- A kind of headless cabbage. Same as Kale, 1.
- kist n.
- A chest; hence, a coffin. Jamieson. [See Chest.]
- auld a.
- Old; as, Auld Reekie (old smoky), i. e., Edinburgh. [See Old.]
- canna n.
- A measure of length in Italy, varying from six to seven feet. [It.]
- thole v. t.
- To bear; to endure; to undergo. Gower. [OE. þolen, þolien, AS. þolian; akin to OS. tholon, OHG. dolen, G. geduld patience, dulden to endure, Icel. þola, Sw. tåla, Dan. taale, Goth. þulan, L. tolerate,]
- hallow v. t.
- To make holy; to set apart for holy or religious use; to consecrate; to treat or keep as sacred; to reverence. [OE. halowen, halwien, halgien, AS. halgian, fr. halig holy. See Holy.]
- lave v. t.
- To lade, dip, or pour out. [OE. laven. See Lavish.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Hallowe’En is in the public domain. This text is taken from Bonnie Joann, and other poems, Project Gutenberg ebook #69484; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Violet Jacob, Hallowe’En, in Bonnie Joann, and Other Poems (1921), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #69484, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/jacob-bonnie-joann/hallowe-en.html, id L21935.
Form and metre
Hallowe’En is 35 lines in 7 stanzas of 5 lines each. The rhyme scheme is AABBA, complete in 6 of its 7 stanzas; the stanza is the Limerick. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 90%).
See other limericks, 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 AABBA throughA · grewA · stackB · crackB · youA
- 2 AABBA seenA · atweenA · belowB · showB · hallowe'enA
- 3 AABBA tailA · kailA · skirlsB · curlsB · pailA
- 4 AABBA hetA · setA · blazeB · claesB · yetA
- 5 AA--A richtA · nichtA · gie · me · lichtA
- 6 AABBA waveA · graveA · seenB · hallowe'enB · laveA
- 7 AABBA danceA · chanceA · seeB · beB · franceA
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 |
|---|---|---|
| The tattie-liftin’s nearly through, | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| They’re ploughin’ whaur the barley grew, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And aifter dark, roond ilka stack, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Ye’ll see the horsemen stand an’ crack | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| O Lachlan, but I mind o’ you! | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| I mind foo often we hae seen | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Ten thoosand stars keek doon atween | 8 | ······˘/ |
| The nakit branches, an’ below | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Baith fairm an’ bothie hae their show, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Alowe wi’ lichts o’ Hallowe’en. | 8 | ······˘/ |
| There’s bairns wi’ guizards at their tail | 8 | ········ |
| Clourin’ the doors wi’ runts o’ kail, | 8 | ········ |
| And fine ye’ll hear the skreichs an’ skirls | 8 | ········ |
| O’ lassies wi’ their droukit curls | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Bobbin’ for aipples i’ the pail. | 7 | /˘····· |
| The bothie fire is loupin’ het, | 8 | ·/˘/···· |
| A new heid horseman’s kist is set | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Richts o’ the lum; whaur by the blaze | 8 | ········ |
| The auld ane stude that kept yer claes-- | 8 | ········ |
| I canna thole to see it yet! | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| But gin the auld fowks’ tales are richt | 8 | ········ |
| An ghaists come hame on Hallow nicht, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| O freend o’ freends! what wad I gie | 8 | ········ |
| To feel ye rax yer hand to me | 8 | ········ |
| Atween the dark an’ caun’le licht? | 8 | ˘/······ |
| Awa in France, across the wave, | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| The wee lichts burn on ilka grave, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| An’ you an’ me their lowe hae seen-- | 8 | ········ |
| Ye’ll mebbe hae yer Hallowe’en | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| Yont, whaur ye’re lyin’ wi’ the lave. | 7 | ······· |
| There’s drink an’ daffin’, sang an’ dance | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And ploys and kisses get their chance, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| But Lachlan, man, the place I see | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Is whaur the auld kist used to be | 8 | ········ |
| And the lichts o’ Hallowe’en in France! | 9 | ·····˘/·· |
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