A Charm
Take of English earth as muchAs either hand may rightly clutch.In the taking of it breathePrayer for all who lie beneath.Not the great nor well-bespoke,But the mere uncounted folkOf whose life and death is noneReport or lamentation.Lay that earth upon thy heart,And thy sickness shall depart!
It shall sweeten and make wholeFevered breath and festered soul.It shall mightily restrainOver-busy hand and brain.It shall ease thy mortal strife'Gainst the immortal woe of life,Till thyself restored shall proveBy what grace the Heavens do move.
Take of English flowers these--Spring's full-faced primroses,Summer's wild wide-hearted rose,Autumn's wall-flower of the close,And, thy darkness to illume,Winter's bee-thronged ivy-bloom.Seek and serve them where they bideFrom Candlemas to Christmas-tide,For these simples, used aright,Can restore a failing sight.
These shall cleanse and purifyWebbed and inward-turning eye;These shall show thee treasure hid,Thy familiar fields amid;And reveal (which is thy need)Every man a King indeed!
Words in this poem
- rightly adv.
- Straightly; directly; in front. [AS. richtlice.]
- folk n.
- In Anglo-Saxon times, the people of a group of townships or villages; a community; a tribe. [AS. folc; akin to D. volk, OS. & OHG. folk, G. volk, Icel. f, Sw. & Dan. folk, Lith. pulkas crowd, and perh. to E. follow.]
- 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,]
- depart v. i.
- To part; to divide; to separate. [OE. departen to divide, part, depart, F. départir to divide, distribute, se départir to separate one's self, depart; pref. dé- (L. de) + partir to part, depart,]
- mightily adv.
- In a mighty manner; with might; with great earnestness; vigorously; powerfully. [From Mighty.]
- strife n.
- The act of striving; earnest endeavor. [OF. estrif. See Strive.]
- illume v. t.
- To throw or spread light upon; to make light or bright; to illuminate; to illumine. [Cf. F. illuminer. See Illuminate.]
- 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.]
- candlemas n.
- The second day of February, on which is celebrated the feast of the Purification of the Virgin Mary; -- so called because the candles for the altar or other sacred uses are blessed on that day. [AS. candelmæsse, candel candle _ mæsse mass.]
- aright adv.
- Rightly; correctly; in a right way or form; without mistake or crime; as, to worship God aright. [Pref. a- + right.]
- amid prep.
- In the midst or middle of; surrounded or encompassed by; among. [OE. amidde, amiddes, on midden, AS. on middan, in the middle, fr. midde the middle. The s is an adverbial ending, originally marking the genitive; the t is a la]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
A Charm is in the public domain. This text is taken from Songs from Books, Project Gutenberg ebook #15529; 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, A Charm, in Songs from Books (1912), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #15529, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/kipling-songs-from-books/a-charm.html, id L20288.
Form and metre
A Charm is 34 lines in 4 verse paragraphs. It is in rhyming couplets, 88% of the lines. The metre is trochaic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 86%).
See other poems in rhyming couplets, other poems in trochaic 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--BB--CC muchA · clutchA · breathe · beneath · bespokeB · folkB · none · lamentation · heartC · departC
- 2 AABBCCDD wholeA · soulA · restrainB · brainB · strifeC · lifeC · proveD · moveD
- 3 AABBCCDDEE theseA · primrosesA · roseB · closeB · illumeC · bloomC · bideD · tideD · arightE · sightE
- 4 AABBCC purifyA · eyeA · hidB · amidB · needC · indeedC
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 trochaic tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Take of English earth as much | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| As either hand may rightly clutch. | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| In the taking of it breathe | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Prayer for all who lie beneath. | 7 | ······· |
| Not the great nor well-bespoke, | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| But the mere uncounted folk | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Of whose life and death is none | 7 | ······· |
| Report or lamentation. | 7 | ˘/····· |
| Lay that earth upon thy heart, | 7 | ······· |
| And thy sickness shall depart! | 7 | ··/˘·˘/ |
| It shall sweeten and make whole | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Fevered breath and festered soul. | 8 | /˘˘··/˘· |
| It shall mightily restrain | 7 | ··/˘˘˘/ |
| Over-busy hand and brain. | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| It shall ease thy mortal strife | 7 | ····/˘· |
| 'Gainst the immortal woe of life, | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| Till thyself restored shall prove | 8 | ·˘/˘/˘·· |
| By what grace the Heavens do move. | 8 | ····/˘·· |
| Take of English flowers these-- | 7 | ··/˘/˘· |
| Spring's full-faced primroses, | 7 | ···˘/·˘ |
| Summer's wild wide-hearted rose, | 7 | /˘··/˘· |
| Autumn's wall-flower of the close, | 8 | /˘·/˘··· |
| And, thy darkness to illume, | 7 | ··/˘·˘/ |
| Winter's bee-thronged ivy-bloom. | 8 | /˘··˘/˘· |
| Seek and serve them where they bide | 7 | ······· |
| From Candlemas to Christmas-tide, | 8 | ·/˘˘·/˘· |
| For these simples, used aright, | 7 | ··/˘·˘/ |
| Can restore a failing sight. | 7 | ·˘/·/˘· |
| These shall cleanse and purify | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Webbed and inward-turning eye; | 8 | ·˘·/˘/˘· |
| These shall show thee treasure hid, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Thy familiar fields amid; | 7 | ·˘/˘·˘/ |
| And reveal (which is thy need) | 7 | ·˘/···· |
| Every man a King indeed! | 8 | /˘˘···˘/ |
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