The Bell Buoy
They christened my brother of old--And a saintly name he bears--They gave him his place to holdAt the head of the belfry-stairs,Where the minster-towers standAnd the breeding kestrels cry.Would I change with my brother a league inland?(Shoal! ’Ware shoal!) Not I!
In the flush of the hot June prime,O’er smooth flood-tides afire,I hear him hurry the chimeTo the bidding of checked Desire;Till the sweated ringers tireAnd the wild bob-majors die.Could I wait for my turn in the godly choir?(Shoal! ’Ware shoal!) Not I!
When the smoking scud is blown,When the greasy wind-rack lowers,Apart and at peace and alone,He counts the changeless hours.He wars with darkling Powers(I war with a darkling sea);Would he stoop to my work in the gusty mirk?(Shoal! ’Ware shoal!) Not he!
There was never a priest to pray,There was never a hand to toll,When they made me guard of the bay,And moored me over the shoal.I rock, I reel, and I roll--My four great hammers ply--Could I speak or be still at the Church’s will?(Shoal! ’Ware shoal!) Not I!
The landward marks have failed,The fog-bank glides unguessed,The seaward lights are veiled,The spent deep feigns her rest:But my ear is laid to her breast,I lift to the swell--I cry!Could I wait in sloth on the Church’s oath?(Shoal! ’Ware shoal!) Not I!
At the careless end of nightI thrill to the nearing screw;I turn in the nearing lightAnd I call to the drowsy crew;And the mud boils foul and blueAs the blind bow backs away.Will they give me their thanks if they clear the banks?(Shoal! ’Ware shoal!) Not they!
The beach-pools cake and skim,The bursting spray-heads freeze,I gather on crown and rimThe grey, grained ice of the seas,Where, sheathed from bitt to trees,The plunging colliers lie.Would I barter my place for the Church’s grace?(Shoal! ’Ware shoal!) Not I!
Through the blur of the whirling snow,Or the black of the inky sleet,The lanterns gather and grow,And I look for the homeward fleet.Rattle of block and sheet--‘Ready about--stand by!’Shall I ask them a fee ere they fetch the quay?(Shoal! ’Ware shoal!) Not I!
I dip and I surge and I swingIn the rip of the racing tide,By the gates of doom I sing,On the horns of death I ride.A ship-length overside,Between the course and the sand,Fretted and bound I bidePeril whereof I cry.Would I change with my brother a league inland?(Shoal! ’Ware shoal!) Not I!
Words in this poem 18
- saintly a.
- Like a saint; becoming a holy person.
- chime n.
- The harmonious sound of bells, or of musical instruments. [OE. chimbe, prop., cymbal, OF. cymbe, cymble, in a dialectic form, chymble, F. cymbale, L. cymbalum, fr. Gr. Cymbal.]
- scud v. i.
- To move swiftly; especially, to move as if driven forward by something. [Dan. skyde to shoot, shove, push, akin to skud shot, gunshot, a shoot, young bough, and to E. shoot. sq. root159. See Shoot.]
- changeless a.
- That can not be changed; constant; as, a changeless purpose.
- darkling a.
- Becoming dark or gloomy; frowing.
- gusty a.
- Subject to, or characterized by, gusts or squalls; windy; stormy; tempestuous.
- mirk a.
- Dark; gloomy; murky. Spenser. Mrs. Browning. [See Murky.]
- landward adv.
- Toward the land.
- seaward a.
- Directed or situated toward the sea. Donne.
- veiled a.
- Covered by, or as by, a veil; hidden.
- backs n.
- Among leather dealers, the thickest and stoutest tanned hides.
- bitt v. t.
- To put round the bitts; as, to bitt the cable, in order to fasten it or to slacken it gradually, which is called veering away. [See Bitts.]
- sleet n.
- The part of a mortar extending from the chamber to the trunnions.
- homeward a.
- Being in the direction of home; as, the homeward way.
- 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,]
- quay n.
- A mole, bank, or wharf, formed toward the sea, or at the side of a harbor, river, or other navigable water, for convenience in loading and unloading vessels. [F. quai. See Key quay.]
- 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.]
- whereof adv.
- Of which; of whom; formerly, also, with which; -- used relatively.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Bell Buoy 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, The Bell Buoy, in The Five Nations, Volume I (1903), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #60260, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/kipling-five-nations-1/the-bell-buoy.html, id L20224.
Form and metre
The Bell Buoy is 74 lines in 9 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 81%).
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 ABABCDCD oldA · bearsB · holdA · stairsB · standC · cryD · inlandC · iD
- 2 A-ABBCBC primeA · afire · chimeA · desireB · tireB · dieC · choirB · iC
- 3 A-ABBC-C blownA · lowers · aloneA · hoursB · powersB · seaC · mirk · heC
- 4 ABABBC-C prayA · tollB · bayA · shoalB · rollB · plyC · will · iC
- 5 ABABBC-C failedA · unguessedB · veiledA · restB · breastB · cryC · oath · iC
- 6 ABABBC-C nightA · screwB · lightA · crewB · blueB · awayC · banks · theyC
- 7 ABABBC-C skimA · freezeB · rimA · seasB · treesB · lieC · grace · iC
- 8 ABABBCCC snowA · sleetB · growA · fleetB · sheetB · byC · quayC · iC
- 9 ABABBCBDCD swingA · tideB · singA · rideB · oversideB · sandC · bideB · cryD · inlandC · iD
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 |
|---|---|---|
| They christened my brother of old-- | 8 | ·/˘·/˘·· |
| And a saintly name he bears-- | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| They gave him his place to hold | 7 | ······· |
| At the head of the belfry-stairs, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Where the minster-towers stand | 6 | ··/˘/· |
| And the breeding kestrels cry. | 7 | ··/˘/˘· |
| Would I change with my brother a league inland? | 11 | ·····/˘··/· |
| (Shoal! ’Ware shoal!) Not I! | 5 | ····· |
| In the flush of the hot June prime, | 8 | ········ |
| O’er smooth flood-tides afire, | 6 | ····˘/ |
| I hear him hurry the chime | 7 | ···/˘·· |
| To the bidding of checked Desire; | 8 | ··/˘··˘/ |
| Till the sweated ringers tire | 7 | ··/˘/˘/ |
| And the wild bob-majors die. | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Could I wait for my turn in the godly choir? | 11 | ········/˘/ |
| (Shoal! ’Ware shoal!) Not I! | 5 | ····· |
| When the smoking scud is blown, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| When the greasy wind-rack lowers, | 8 | ··/˘··/˘ |
| Apart and at peace and alone, | 8 | ˘/····˘/ |
| He counts the changeless hours. | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| He wars with darkling Powers | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| (I war with a darkling sea); | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Would he stoop to my work in the gusty mirk? | 11 | ········/˘· |
| (Shoal! ’Ware shoal!) Not he! | 5 | ····· |
| There was never a priest to pray, | 7 | ··/···· |
| There was never a hand to toll, | 7 | ··/···· |
| When they made me guard of the bay, | 8 | ········ |
| And moored me over the shoal. | 6 | ······ |
| I rock, I reel, and I roll-- | 7 | ······· |
| My four great hammers ply-- | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Could I speak or be still at the Church’s will? | 11 | ········/˘· |
| (Shoal! ’Ware shoal!) Not I! | 5 | ····· |
| The landward marks have failed, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| The fog-bank glides unguessed, | 6 | ······ |
| The seaward lights are veiled, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| The spent deep feigns her rest: | 6 | ······ |
| But my ear is laid to her breast, | 8 | ········ |
| I lift to the swell--I cry! | 7 | ······· |
| Could I wait in sloth on the Church’s oath? | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| (Shoal! ’Ware shoal!) Not I! | 5 | ····· |
| At the careless end of night | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| I thrill to the nearing screw; | 7 | ····/˘· |
| I turn in the nearing light | 7 | ····/˘· |
| And I call to the drowsy crew; | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And the mud boils foul and blue | 7 | ······· |
| As the blind bow backs away. | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| Will they give me their thanks if they clear the banks? | 11 | ··········· |
| (Shoal! ’Ware shoal!) Not they! | 5 | ····· |
| The beach-pools cake and skim, | 6 | ······ |
| The bursting spray-heads freeze, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| I gather on crown and rim | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| The grey, grained ice of the seas, | 7 | ······· |
| Where, sheathed from bitt to trees, | 6 | ······ |
| The plunging colliers lie. | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| Would I barter my place for the Church’s grace? | 11 | ··/˘····/˘· |
| (Shoal! ’Ware shoal!) Not I! | 5 | ····· |
| Through the blur of the whirling snow, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Or the black of the inky sleet, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| The lanterns gather and grow, | 7 | ·/˘/˘·· |
| And I look for the homeward fleet. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Rattle of block and sheet-- | 6 | /˘···· |
| ‘Ready about--stand by!’ | 6 | /˘···· |
| Shall I ask them a fee ere they fetch the quay? | 11 | ··········· |
| (Shoal! ’Ware shoal!) Not I! | 5 | ····· |
| I dip and I surge and I swing | 8 | ········ |
| In the rip of the racing tide, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| By the gates of doom I sing, | 7 | ······· |
| On the horns of death I ride. | 7 | ······· |
| A ship-length overside, | 6 | ······ |
| Between the course and the sand, | 7 | ······· |
| Fretted and bound I bide | 6 | /˘···· |
| Peril whereof I cry. | 6 | /˘···· |
| Would I change with my brother a league inland? | 11 | ·····/˘··/· |
| (Shoal! ’Ware shoal!) Not I! | 5 | ····· |
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.