The First Chantey
Mine was the woman to me, darkling I found her;Haling her dumb from the camp, took her and bound her.Hot rose her tribe on our track ere I had proved her;Hearing her laugh in the gloom, greatly I loved her.
Swift through the forest we ran; none stood to guard us,Few were my people and far; then the flood barred us --Him we call Son of the Sea, sullen and swollen.Panting we waited the death, stealer and stolen.
Yet ere they came to my lance laid for the slaughter,Lightly she leaped to a log lapped in the water;Holding on high and apart skins that arrayed her,Called she the God of the Wind that He should aid her.
Life had the tree at that word (Praise we the Giver!)Otter-like left he the bank for the full river.Far fell their axes behind, flashing and ringing,Wonder was on me and fear -- yet she was singing!
Low lay the land we had left. Now the blue bound us,Even the Floor of the Gods level around us.Whisper there was not, nor word, shadow nor showing,Till the light stirred on the deep, glowing and growing.
Then did He leap to His place flaring from under,He the Compeller, the Sun, bared to our wonder.Nay, not a league from our eyes blinded with gazing,Cleared He the gate of the world, huge and amazing!
This we beheld (and we live) -- the Pit of the Burning!Then the God spoke to the tree for our returning;Back to the beach of our flight, fearless and slowly,Back to our slayers went he: but we were holy.
Men that were hot in that hunt, women that followed,Babes that were promised our bones, trembled and wallowed:Over the necks of the Tribe crouching and fawning --Prophet and priestess we came back from the dawning!
Words in this poem
- darkling a.
- Becoming dark or gloomy; frowing.
- sullen a.
- Lonely; solitary; desolate. Wyclif (Job iii. 14). [OE. solein, solain, lonely, sullen; through Old French fr. (assumed) LL. solanus solitary, fr. L. solus alone. See Sole, a.]
- stealer n.
- One who steals; a thief.
- giver n.
- One who gives; a donor; a bestower; a grantor; one who imparts or distributes.
- compeller n.
- One who compels or constrains.
- amazing a.
- Causing amazement; very wonderful; as, amazing grace.
- 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.]
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- priestess n.
- A woman who officiated in sacred rites among pagans. Abp.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The First Chantey is in the public domain. This text is taken from Verses 1889-1896, Project Gutenberg ebook #323; 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 First Chantey, in Verses 1889–1896 (1889–1896), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #323, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/kipling-verses/the-first-chantey.html, id L16808.
Form and metre
The First Chantey is 32 lines in 8 stanzas of 4 lines each. The rhyme scheme is AABB, complete in 7 of its 8 stanzas. The metre is dactylic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 72%). 83% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 11.9 syllables. 20 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending.
See other poems in dactylic 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 AAAA herA · herA · herA · herA
- 2 AABB usA · usA · swollenB · stolenB
- 3 AABB slaughterA · waterA · herB · herB
- 4 AABB giverA · riverA · ringingB · singingB
- 5 AABB usA · usA · showingB · growingB
- 6 AABB underA · wonderA · gazingB · amazingB
- 7 AABB burningA · returningA · slowlyB · holyB
- 8 AABB followedA · wallowedA · fawningB · dawningB
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 dactylic tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Mine was the woman to me, darkling I found her; | 12 | ···/˘··/˘··· |
| Haling her dumb from the camp, took her and bound her. | 12 | ············ |
| Hot rose her tribe on our track ere I had proved her; | 12 | ·····/······ |
| Hearing her laugh in the gloom, greatly I loved her. | 12 | /˘·····/˘··· |
| Swift through the forest we ran; none stood to guard us, | 12 | ···/˘······· |
| Few were my people and far; then the flood barred us -- | 12 | ···/˘······· |
| Him we call Son of the Sea, sullen and swollen. | 12 | ·······/˘·/˘ |
| Panting we waited the death, stealer and stolen. | 12 | /˘·/˘··/˘·/˘ |
| Yet ere they came to my lance laid for the slaughter, | 12 | ··········/˘ |
| Lightly she leaped to a log lapped in the water; | 12 | /˘········/˘ |
| Holding on high and apart skins that arrayed her, | 12 | /˘···˘/··˘/· |
| Called she the God of the Wind that He should aid her. | 12 | ············ |
| Life had the tree at that word (Praise we the Giver!) | 12 | ··········/˘ |
| Otter-like left he the bank for the full river. | 12 | /˘········/˘ |
| Far fell their axes behind, flashing and ringing, | 12 | ···/˘··/˘·/˘ |
| Wonder was on me and fear -- yet she was singing! | 12 | /˘········/˘ |
| Low lay the land we had left. Now the blue bound us, | 12 | ············ |
| Even the Floor of the Gods level around us. | 11 | /·····/˘··· |
| Whisper there was not, nor word, shadow nor showing, | 12 | /˘·····/··/˘ |
| Till the light stirred on the deep, glowing and growing. | 11 | ·······/˘·/ |
| Then did He leap to His place flaring from under, | 12 | ·······/˘··· |
| He the Compeller, the Sun, bared to our wonder. | 12 | ··˘/˘····//˘ |
| Nay, not a league from our eyes blinded with gazing, | 12 | ·····/·/˘·/˘ |
| Cleared He the gate of the world, huge and amazing! | 12 | ·········˘/˘ |
| This we beheld (and we live) -- the Pit of the Burning! | 13 | ··˘/·······/˘ |
| Then the God spoke to the tree for our returning; | 12 | ········/˘/˘ |
| Back to the beach of our flight, fearless and slowly, | 12 | ·····/·/˘·/˘ |
| Back to our slayers went he: but we were holy. | 12 | ··//˘·····/˘ |
| Men that were hot in that hunt, women that followed, | 12 | ·······/˘·/˘ |
| Babes that were promised our bones, trembled and wallowed: | 12 | ···/˘/·/˘·/˘ |
| Over the necks of the Tribe crouching and fawning -- | 11 | ······/˘·/˘ |
| Prophet and priestess we came back from the dawning! | 12 | /˘·/˘·····/˘ |
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.