Pride
Did iver ye see the like o’ that?The warld’s fair fashioned to winder at!Heuch--dinna tell me! Yon’s Fishie PeteThat cried the haddies in Ferry StreetSet up wi’ his coats an’ his grand cigarsIn ane o’ they stinkin’ motor-cars!
I mind the time (an’ it’s no far past)When he wasna for fleein’ alang sae fastAn’ doon i’ the causey his cairt wad standAs he roared oot “Haddies!” below his hand;Ye’d up wi’ yer windy an’ doon he’d loupFrae the shaft o’ the cairt by the sheltie’s doup.
Aye, muckle cheenges an’ little sense,A bawbee’s wut an’ a poond’s pretence!For there’s him noo wi’ his neb to the skyI’ yon deil’s machinery swiggit by,An’ me, that whiles gi’ed him a piece to eat,Tramps aye to the kirk on my ain twa feet.
And, nee’bours, mind ye, the warld’s a-gleyOr we couldna see what we’ve seen the day,Guid fortune’s blate whaur she’s weel desairv’tThe sinner fu’ an’ the godly stairv’t,An’ fowk like me an’ my auld guidmanJist wearied, daein’ the best we can!
I’ve kept my lips an’ my tongue frae guileAn’ kept mysel’ to mysel’ the while;Agin a’ wastrels I’ve aye been setAnd I’m no for seekin’ to thole them yet;A grand example I’ve been through life,A righteous liver, a thrifty wife.
But oh! the he’rt o’ a body bleedsFor favours sclarried on sinfu’ heids.Wait you a whilie! Ye needna thinkThey’ll no gang frae him wi’ cairds an’ drink!They’ll bring nae blessin’, they winna bide,For the warst sin, nee’bours, is pride, aye, pride!
Words in this poem
- winder v. i.
- To wither; to fail. Holland.
- causey n.
- A way or road rasid above the natural level of the ground, serving as a dry passage over wet or marshy ground. [OE. cauci, cauchie, OF. cauchie, F. chaussée, from LL. (via) calciata, fr calciare to make a road, either fr. L. calx lime, hence, to pave with limestone (cf. E]
- bawbee n.
- A halfpenny. [Spelt also baubee.] [Perh. corrupt. fr. halfpenny.]
- pretence n.
- The act of laying claim; the claim laid; assumption; pretension. [LL. praetensus, for L. praetentus, p. p. of praetendere. See Pretend, and cf. Tension.]
- whiles conj.
- During the time that; while. Chaucer. Fuller.
- kirk n.
- A church or the church, in the various senses of the word; esp., the Church of Scotland as distinguished from other reformed churches, or from the Roman Catholic Church. Jamieson. [Scot.; cf. Icel. kirkja, of Greek origin. See Church.]
- weel
- A kind of trap or snare for fish, made of twigs. Carew. [Prov. E. weel, weal, a wicker basket to catch eels; prob. akin to willow, and so called as made of willow twigs.]
- sinner n.
- One who has sinned; especially, one who has sinned without repenting; hence, a persistent and incorrigible transgressor; one condemned by the law of God.
- auld a.
- Old; as, Auld Reekie (old smoky), i. e., Edinburgh. [See Old.]
- 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,]
- bide v. i.
- To dwell; to inhabit; to abide; to stay. [OE. biden, AS. bidan; akin to OHG. bitan, Goth. beidan, Icel. bi; perh. orig., to wait with trust, and akin to bid. See Bid, v. t., and cf. Abide.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Pride 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, Pride, in Bonnie Joann, and Other Poems (1921), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #69484, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/jacob-bonnie-joann/pride.html, id L21938.
Form and metre
Pride is 36 lines in 6 stanzas of 6 lines each. The rhyme scheme is AABBCC, complete in 3 of its 6 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 74%).
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 AABBCC thatA · atA · peteB · streetB · cigarsC · carsC
- 2 AABBCC pastA · fastA · standB · handB · loupC · doupC
- 3 --AABB sense · pretence · skyA · byA · eatB · feetB
- 4 --AA-- gley · day · desairv'tA · stairv'tA · guidman · can
- 5 AABBCC guileA · whileA · setB · yetB · lifeC · wifeC
- 6 --AABB bleeds · heids · thinkA · drinkA · bideB · prideB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Did iver ye see the like o’ that? | 8 | ·/······ |
| The warld’s fair fashioned to winder at! | 9 | ···/˘·/˘· |
| Heuch--dinna tell me! Yon’s Fishie Pete | 9 | ········· |
| That cried the haddies in Ferry Street | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Set up wi’ his coats an’ his grand cigars | 10 | ········˘/ |
| In ane o’ they stinkin’ motor-cars! | 9 | ······/˘· |
| I mind the time (an’ it’s no far past) | 9 | ········· |
| When he wasna for fleein’ alang sae fast | 10 | ·········· |
| An’ doon i’ the causey his cairt wad stand | 10 | ····/˘···· |
| As he roared oot “Haddies!” below his hand; | 9 | ········· |
| Ye’d up wi’ yer windy an’ doon he’d loup | 10 | ····/˘···· |
| Frae the shaft o’ the cairt by the sheltie’s doup. | 10 | ·········· |
| Aye, muckle cheenges an’ little sense, | 9 | ·/˘···/˘· |
| A bawbee’s wut an’ a poond’s pretence! | 8 | ········ |
| For there’s him noo wi’ his neb to the sky | 10 | ·········· |
| I’ yon deil’s machinery swiggit by, | 9 | ···˘/˘··· |
| An’ me, that whiles gi’ed him a piece to eat, | 10 | ·········· |
| Tramps aye to the kirk on my ain twa feet. | 10 | ·········· |
| And, nee’bours, mind ye, the warld’s a-gley | 9 | ········· |
| Or we couldna see what we’ve seen the day, | 10 | ·········· |
| Guid fortune’s blate whaur she’s weel desairv’t | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| The sinner fu’ an’ the godly stairv’t, | 9 | ·/˘···/˘· |
| An’ fowk like me an’ my auld guidman | 9 | ········· |
| Jist wearied, daein’ the best we can! | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| I’ve kept my lips an’ my tongue frae guile | 9 | ········· |
| An’ kept mysel’ to mysel’ the while; | 9 | ········· |
| Agin a’ wastrels I’ve aye been set | 9 | ˘/······· |
| And I’m no for seekin’ to thole them yet; | 10 | ·········· |
| A grand example I’ve been through life, | 9 | ··˘/˘···· |
| A righteous liver, a thrifty wife. | 9 | ·/˘/˘·/˘· |
| But oh! the he’rt o’ a body bleeds | 9 | ······/˘· |
| For favours sclarried on sinfu’ heids. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Wait you a whilie! Ye needna think | 9 | ········· |
| They’ll no gang frae him wi’ cairds an’ drink! | 9 | ········· |
| They’ll bring nae blessin’, they winna bide, | 9 | ········· |
| For the warst sin, nee’bours, is pride, aye, pride! | 10 | ·········· |
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