Our Lady of the Snows (Canadian Preferential Tariff, 1897)
A Nation spoke to a Nation,A Queen sent word to a Throne:‘Daughter am I in my mother’s house,But mistress in my own.The gates are mine to open,As the gates are mine to close,And I set my house in order,’Said our Lady of the Snows.
‘Neither with laughter nor weeping,Fear or the child’s amaze--Soberly under the White Man’s lawMy white men go their ways.Not for the Gentiles’ clamour--Insult or threat of blows--Bow we the knee to Baal,’Said our Lady of the Snows.
‘My speech is clean and single,I talk of common things--Words of the wharf and the market-placeAnd the ware the merchant brings:Favour to those I favour,But a stumbling-block to my foes.Many there be that hate us,’Said our Lady of the Snows.
‘I called my chiefs to councilIn the din of a troubled year;For the sake of a sign ye would not see,And a word ye would not hear.This is our message and answer;This is the path we chose:For we be also a people,’Said our Lady of the Snows.
‘Carry the word to my sisters--To the Queens of the East and the South.I have proven faith in the HeritageBy more than the word of the mouth.They that are wise may followEre the world’s war-trumpet blows,But I--I am first in the battle,’Said our Lady of the Snows.
A Nation spoke to a Nation,A Throne sent word to a Throne:‘Daughter am I in my mother’s house,But mistress in my own.The gates are mine to open,As the gates are mine to close,And I abide by my mother’s house,’Said our Lady of the Snows.
Words in this poem
- 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.]
- amaze v. t.
- To bewilder; to stupefy; to bring into a maze. [Pref. a- + maze.]
- soberly a.
- Grave; serious; solemn; sad.
- clamour n.
- A great outcry or vociferation; loud and continued shouting or exclamation. [OF. clamour, clamur, F. clameur, fr. L. clamor, fr. clamare to cry out. See Claim.]
- favour n.
- Kind regard; propitious aspect; countenance; friendly disposition; kindness; good will. [Written also favour.]
- heritage a.
- That which is inherited, or passes from heir to heir; inheritance. [OE. heritage, eritage, OF. heritage, eritage, F. héritage, fr. hériter to inherit, LL. heriditare. See Hereditable.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Our Lady of the Snows (Canadian Preferential Tariff, 1897) is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Five Nations, Volume I, Project Gutenberg ebook #60260; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Rudyard Kipling, Our Lady of the Snows (Canadian Preferential Tariff, 1897), in The Five Nations, Volume I (1903), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #60260, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/kipling-five-nations-1/our-lady-of-the-snows-canadian-preferential-tariff-1897.html, id L20244.
Form and metre
Our Lady of the Snows (Canadian Preferential Tariff, 1897) is 48 lines in 6 stanzas of 8 lines each. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 82%).
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 AA-AAB-B nationA · throneA · house · ownA · openA · closeB · order · snowsB
- 2 -A-A-B-B weeping · amazeA · law · waysA · clamour · blowsB · baal · snowsB
- 3 -A-A-B-B single · thingsA · place · bringsA · favour · foesB · us · snowsB
- 4 -A-A-B-B council · yearA · see · hearA · answer · choseB · people · snowsB
- 5 -A-A-B-B sisters · southA · heritage · mouthA · follow · blowsB · battle · snowsB
- 6 AABAACBC nationA · throneA · houseB · ownA · openA · closeC · houseB · snowsC
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 |
|---|---|---|
| A Nation spoke to a Nation, | 8 | ·/˘···/˘ |
| A Queen sent word to a Throne: | 7 | ······· |
| ‘Daughter am I in my mother’s house, | 9 | /˘····/˘· |
| But mistress in my own. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| The gates are mine to open, | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| As the gates are mine to close, | 7 | ······· |
| And I set my house in order,’ | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Said our Lady of the Snows. | 7 | ·//˘··· |
| ‘Neither with laughter nor weeping, | 8 | /˘·/˘·/˘ |
| Fear or the child’s amaze-- | 6 | ····˘/ |
| Soberly under the White Man’s law | 8 | /˘······ |
| My white men go their ways. | 6 | ······ |
| Not for the Gentiles’ clamour-- | 7 | ···/·/˘ |
| Insult or threat of blows-- | 6 | ˘/···· |
| Bow we the knee to Baal,’ | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Said our Lady of the Snows. | 7 | ·//˘··· |
| ‘My speech is clean and single, | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| I talk of common things-- | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Words of the wharf and the market-place | 9 | ······/˘· |
| And the ware the merchant brings: | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Favour to those I favour, | 7 | /˘···/˘ |
| But a stumbling-block to my foes. | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| Many there be that hate us,’ | 6 | /····· |
| Said our Lady of the Snows. | 7 | ·//˘··· |
| ‘I called my chiefs to council | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| In the din of a troubled year; | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| For the sake of a sign ye would not see, | 10 | ·········· |
| And a word ye would not hear. | 7 | ······· |
| This is our message and answer; | 8 | ··//˘·/˘ |
| This is the path we chose: | 6 | ······ |
| For we be also a people,’ | 8 | ···/˘·/˘ |
| Said our Lady of the Snows. | 7 | ·//˘··· |
| ‘Carry the word to my sisters-- | 8 | /˘····/˘ |
| To the Queens of the East and the South. | 9 | ········· |
| I have proven faith in the Heritage | 9 | ··/˘···/˘ |
| By more than the word of the mouth. | 8 | ········ |
| They that are wise may follow | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Ere the world’s war-trumpet blows, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| But I--I am first in the battle,’ | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| Said our Lady of the Snows. | 7 | ·//˘··· |
| A Nation spoke to a Nation, | 8 | ·/˘···/˘ |
| A Throne sent word to a Throne: | 7 | ······· |
| ‘Daughter am I in my mother’s house, | 9 | /˘····/˘· |
| But mistress in my own. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| The gates are mine to open, | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| As the gates are mine to close, | 7 | ······· |
| And I abide by my mother’s house,’ | 9 | ··˘/··/˘· |
| Said our Lady of the Snows. | 7 | ·//˘··· |
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