The Troopship
At early morning, clear and cold,Still in her English harbour layThe long, white ship: while winter goldShone pale upon her outward way.
Slowly she moved, slowly she stirred,Stately and slow, she went away:Sounds of farewell, the harbour heard;Music on board began to play.
Old, homely airs were thine, great ship!Breaking from laughter into tears:And through them all good fellowshipSpoke of a trust beyond all fears.
Still, as the gray mists gathered round,Embracing thee, concealing thine;Still, faintly from the Outward BoundCame melodies of Auld Lang Syne.
Oh, sad to part! Oh, brave to goBetween the Piers of Hercules,And through the seas of fame, and soMeet eastern sun on eastern seas!
O richly laden! swiftly bear,And surely, thy two thousand men;Till round them burn the Indian air:And English lips will hail them then.
Words in this poem
- harbour n.
- A station for rest and entertainment; a place of security and comfort; a refuge; a shelter. [OE herbor, herberwe, herberge, Icel. herbergi (cf. OHG. heriberga), orig., a shelter for soldiers; herr army + bjarga to save, help, defend; akin to AS. here ar]
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- homely a.
- Belonging to, or having the characteristics of, home; domestic; familiar; intimate. [From Home, n.]
- spoke n.
- The radius or ray of a wheel; one of the small bars which are inserted in the hub, or nave, and which serve to support the rim or felly. [OE. spoke, spake, AS, spaca; akin to D. speek, LG. speke, OHG. speihha, G. speiche. sq. root170. Cf. Spike a nail.]
- auld a.
- Old; as, Auld Reekie (old smoky), i. e., Edinburgh. [See Old.]
- syne adv.
- Afterwards; since; ago. R. of Brunne. [See Since.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Troopship is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems, Project Gutenberg ebook #66520; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Lionel Johnson, The Troopship, in Poems (1895), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #66520, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/johnson-lionel-poems/the-troopship.html, id L12500.
Form and metre
The Troopship is 24 lines in 6 stanzas of 4 lines each. Every stanza rhymes ABAB. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 91%). 92% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.0 syllables. 25% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See 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 ABAB coldA · layB · goldA · wayB
- 2 ABAB stirredA · awayB · heardA · playB
- 3 ABAB shipA · tearsB · fellowshipA · fearsB
- 4 ABAB roundA · thineB · boundA · syneB
- 5 ABAB goA · herculesB · soA · seasB
- 6 ABAB bearA · menB · airA · thenB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| At early morning, clear and cold, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| Still in her English harbour lay | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| The long, white ship: while winter gold | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Shone pale upon her outward way. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Slowly she moved, slowly she stirred, | 8 | /˘··/˘·· |
| Stately and slow, she went away: | 8 | /˘····˘/ |
| Sounds of farewell, the harbour heard; | 8 | ···/·/˘· |
| Music on board began to play. | 8 | /˘··˘/·· |
| Old, homely airs were thine, great ship! | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Breaking from laughter into tears: | 8 | /˘·/˘··· |
| And through them all good fellowship | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Spoke of a trust beyond all fears. | 8 | ········ |
| Still, as the gray mists gathered round, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Embracing thee, concealing thine; | 8 | ˘/˘·˘/˘· |
| Still, faintly from the Outward Bound | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Came melodies of Auld Lang Syne. | 8 | ·/˘˘···· |
| Oh, sad to part! Oh, brave to go | 8 | ········ |
| Between the Piers of Hercules, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And through the seas of fame, and so | 8 | ········ |
| Meet eastern sun on eastern seas! | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| O richly laden! swiftly bear, | 8 | ·/˘/˘/˘· |
| And surely, thy two thousand men; | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Till round them burn the Indian air: | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And English lips will hail them then. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
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.