'Poor Honest Men' (A.D. 1800)
Your jar of VirginnyWill cost you a guineaWhich you reckon too much by five shillings or ten;But light your churchwardenAnd judge it according,When I've told you the troubles of poor honest men!
From the Capes of the Delaware,As you are well aware,We sail with tobacco for England--but then,Our own British cruisers,They watch us come through, sirs,And they press half a score of us poor honest men!
Or if by quick sailing(Thick weather prevailing)We leave them behind (as we do now and then)We are sure of a gun fromEach frigate we run from,Which is often destruction to poor honest men!
Broadsides the AtlanticWe tumble short-handed,With shot-holes to plug and new canvas to bend,And off the Azores,Dutch, Dons and MonsieursAre waiting to terrify poor honest men.
Napoleon's embargoIs laid on all cargoWhich comfort or aid to King George may intend;And since roll, twist and leaf,Of all comforts is chief,They try for to steal it from poor honest men!
With no heart for fight,We take refuge in flightBut fire as we run, our retreat to defend,Until our stern-chasersCut up her fore-braces,And she flies up the wind from us poor honest men!
Twix' the Forties and Fifties,South-eastward the drift is,And so, when we think we are making Land's End,Alas! it is UshantWith half the King's Navy,Blockading French ports against poor honest men!
But they may not quit station(Which is our salvation),So swiftly we stand to the Nor'ard again;And finding the tail ofA homeward-bound convoy,We slip past the Scillies like poor honest men.
Twix' the Lizard and Dover,We hand our stuff over,Though I may not inform how we do it, nor when.But a light on each quarterLow down on the waterIs well understanded by poor honest men!
Even then we have dangers,From meddlesome strangers,Who spy on our business and are not contentTo take a smooth answer,Except with a handspike ...And they say they are murdered by poor honest men!
To be drowned or be shotIs our natural lot,Why should we, moreover, be hanged in the end--After all our great painsFor to dangle in chainsAs though we were smugglers, not poor honest men?
Words in this poem
- churchwarden n.
- One of the officers (usually two) in an Episcopal church, whose duties vary in different dioceses, but always include the provision of what is necessary for the communion service.
- delaware n.
- An American grape, with compact bunches of small, amber-colored berries, sweet and of a good flavor.
- terrify v. t.
- To make terrible. [L. terrere to frighten + -fy: cf. F. terrifier, L. terrificare. See Terrific, and -fy.]
- embargo n.
- An edict or order of the government prohibiting the departure of ships of commerce from some or all of the ports within its dominions; a prohibition to sail. [Sp., fr. embargar to arrest, restrain; pref. em- (L. in) + Sp. barra bar, akin to F. barre bar. See Bar.]
- intend v. t.
- To stretch' to extend; to distend. [OE. entenden to be attentive, F. entendre, fr. L. intendre, intentum, and intensum, to intend, attend, stretch out, extend; pref. in- in + tendere to stretch, s]
- homeward a.
- Being in the direction of home; as, the homeward way.
- convoy v. t.
- To accompany for protection, either by sea or land; to attend for protection; to escort; as, a frigate convoys a merchantman. [F. convoyer, OF. conveier, convoier. See Convey.]
- handspike n.
- A bar or lever, generally of wood, used in a windlass or capstan, for heaving anchor, and, in modified forms, for various purposes.
- dangle v. i.
- To hang loosely, or with a swinging or jerking motion. [Akin to Dan. dangle, dial. Sw. dangla, Dan. dingle, Sw. dingla, Icel. dingla; perh. from E. ding.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
'Poor Honest Men' (A.D. 1800) 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, 'Poor Honest Men' (A.D. 1800), in Songs from Books (1912), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #15529, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/kipling-songs-from-books/poor-honest-men-a-d-1800.html, id L20335.
Form and metre
'Poor Honest Men' (A.D. 1800) is 66 lines in 11 stanzas of 6 lines each. The metre is anapaestic dimeter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 83%).
See other poems in anapaestic dimeter.
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 AAB--B virginnyA · guineaA · tenB · churchwarden · according · menB
- 2 AAB--B delawareA · awareA · thenB · cruisers · sirs · menB
- 3 AABCCB sailingA · prevailingA · thenB · fromC · fromC · menB
- 5 ---AA- embargo · cargo · intend · leafA · chiefA · men
- 6 AA---- fightA · flightA · defend · chasers · braces · men
- 7 AA---- fiftiesA · isA · end · ushant · navy · men
- 8 AAB--B stationA · salvationA · againB · of · convoy · menB
- 9 AAB--B doverA · overA · whenB · quarter · water · menB
- 10 AA---- dangersA · strangersA · content · answer · handspike · men
- 11 AA-BB- shotA · lotA · end · painsB · chainsB · men
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 anapaestic dimeter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Your jar of Virginny | 6 | ······ |
| Will cost you a guinea | 6 | ····/˘ |
| Which you reckon too much by five shillings or ten; | 12 | ··/˘····/˘·· |
| But light your churchwarden | 5 | ···/˘ |
| And judge it according, | 6 | ···˘/˘ |
| When I've told you the troubles of poor honest men! | 12 | ·····/˘··/˘· |
| From the Capes of the Delaware, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| As you are well aware, | 6 | ····˘/ |
| We sail with tobacco for England--but then, | 11 | ···˘/··/˘·· |
| Our own British cruisers, | 7 | /˘·/˘/˘ |
| They watch us come through, sirs, | 6 | ······ |
| And they press half a score of us poor honest men! | 12 | ·········/˘· |
| Or if by quick sailing | 6 | ····/˘ |
| (Thick weather prevailing) | 6 | ·/˘˘/˘ |
| We leave them behind (as we do now and then) | 11 | ··········· |
| We are sure of a gun from | 7 | ······· |
| Each frigate we run from, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Which is often destruction to poor honest men! | 12 | ··/˘˘/˘··/˘· |
| Broadsides the Atlantic | 6 | /··˘/˘ |
| We tumble short-handed, | 6 | ·/˘·/˘ |
| With shot-holes to plug and new canvas to bend, | 11 | ·······/˘·· |
| And off the Azores, | 5 | ···˘/ |
| Dutch, Dons and Monsieurs | 5 | ···˘/ |
| Are waiting to terrify poor honest men. | 11 | ·/˘·/˘··/˘· |
| Napoleon's embargo | 7 | ˘/˘˘˘/˘ |
| Is laid on all cargo | 6 | ····/· |
| Which comfort or aid to King George may intend; | 11 | ·/˘······˘/ |
| And since roll, twist and leaf, | 6 | ······ |
| Of all comforts is chief, | 6 | ··/˘·· |
| They try for to steal it from poor honest men! | 11 | ········/˘· |
| With no heart for fight, | 5 | ····· |
| We take refuge in flight | 6 | ··/˘·· |
| But fire as we run, our retreat to defend, | 11 | ·/···/˘/·˘/ |
| Until our stern-chasers | 7 | ··/˘·/˘ |
| Cut up her fore-braces, | 6 | ····/˘ |
| And she flies up the wind from us poor honest men! | 12 | ·········/˘· |
| Twix' the Forties and Fifties, | 7 | ··/˘·/˘ |
| South-eastward the drift is, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| And so, when we think we are making Land's End, | 11 | ·······/˘·· |
| Alas! it is Ushant | 6 | ˘/···· |
| With half the King's Navy, | 6 | ····/˘ |
| Blockading French ports against poor honest men! | 11 | ·/˘·····/˘· |
| But they may not quit station | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| (Which is our salvation), | 7 | ··/˘˘/˘ |
| So swiftly we stand to the Nor'ard again; | 11 | ·/˘······˘/ |
| And finding the tail of | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| A homeward-bound convoy, | 6 | ·/˘·/· |
| We slip past the Scillies like poor honest men. | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Twix' the Lizard and Dover, | 7 | ··/˘·/˘ |
| We hand our stuff over, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Though I may not inform how we do it, nor when. | 12 | ····˘/······ |
| But a light on each quarter | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Low down on the water | 6 | ····/˘ |
| Is well understanded by poor honest men! | 11 | ···˘/˘··/˘· |
| Even then we have dangers, | 7 | /˘···/˘ |
| From meddlesome strangers, | 6 | ·/˘˘/˘ |
| Who spy on our business and are not content | 11 | ···//˘···˘/ |
| To take a smooth answer, | 6 | ····/˘ |
| Except with a handspike ... | 6 | ····/˘ |
| And they say they are murdered by poor honest men! | 12 | ·····/˘··/˘· |
| To be drowned or be shot | 7 | ···˘··· |
| Is our natural lot, | 7 | ·/˘/˘˘· |
| Why should we, moreover, be hanged in the end-- | 11 | ···˘/˘····· |
| After all our great pains | 7 | ···/˘·· |
| For to dangle in chains | 6 | ··/˘·· |
| As though we were smugglers, not poor honest men? | 11 | ····/˘··/˘· |
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.