The Widow at Windsor
'Ave you 'eard o' the Widow at WindsorWith a hairy gold crown on 'er 'ead?She 'as ships on the foam -- she 'as millions at 'ome,An' she pays us poor beggars in red.(Ow, poor beggars in red!)There's 'er nick on the cavalry 'orses,There's 'er mark on the medical stores --An' 'er troopers you'll find with a fair wind be'indThat takes us to various wars.(Poor beggars! -- barbarious wars!)Then 'ere's to the Widow at Windsor,An' 'ere's to the stores an' the guns,The men an' the 'orses what makes up the forcesO' Missis Victorier's sons.(Poor beggars! Victorier's sons!)
Walk wide o' the Widow at Windsor,For 'alf o' Creation she owns:We 'ave bought 'er the same with the sword an' the flame,An' we've salted it down with our bones.(Poor beggars! -- it's blue with our bones!)Hands off o' the sons o' the Widow,Hands off o' the goods in 'er shop,For the Kings must come down an' the Emperors frownWhen the Widow at Windsor says “Stop”!(Poor beggars! -- we're sent to say “Stop”!)Then 'ere's to the Lodge o' the Widow,From the Pole to the Tropics it runs --To the Lodge that we tile with the rank an' the file,An' open in form with the guns.(Poor beggars! -- it's always they guns!)
We 'ave 'eard o' the Widow at Windsor,It's safest to let 'er alone:For 'er sentries we stand by the sea an' the landWherever the bugles are blown.(Poor beggars! -- an' don't we get blown!)Take 'old o' the Wings o' the Mornin',An' flop round the earth till you're dead;But you won't get away from the tune that they playTo the bloomin' old rag over'ead.(Poor beggars! -- it's 'ot over'ead!)Then 'ere's to the sons o' the Widow,Wherever, 'owever they roam.'Ere's all they desire, an' if they requireA speedy return to their 'ome.(Poor beggars! -- they'll never see 'ome!)
Words in this poem
- windsor n.
- A town in Berkshire, England. Windsor bean. (Bot.) See under Bean.
- nick n.
- A notch cut into something; as: (a) A score for keeping an account; a reckoning. [Akin to Nock.]
- missis n.
- A mistress; a wife; -- so used by the illiterate. G. Eliot.
- wherever adv.
- At or in whatever place; wheresoever.
- flop v. t.
- To clap or strike, as a bird its wings, a fish its tail, etc.; to flap. [A variant of flap.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Widow at Windsor 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 Widow at Windsor, in Verses 1889–1896 (1889–1896), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #323, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/kipling-verses/the-widow-at-windsor.html, id L16750.
Form and metre
The Widow at Windsor is 45 lines in 3 stanzas of 15 lines each. The metre is anapaestic trimeter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 88%). 88% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 9.0 syllables. 8 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 16% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in anapaestic trimeter.
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 AB-BBCD-DDAECEE windsorA · eadB · ome · redB · redB · orsesC · storesD · be'ind · warsD · warsD · windsorA · gunsE · forcesC · sonsE · sonsE
- 2 -A-AABC-CCBD-DD windsor · ownsA · flame · bonesA · bonesA · widowB · shopC · frown · stopC · stopC · widowB · runsD · file · gunsD · gunsD
- 3 -A-AA-B-BB-C-CC windsor · aloneA · land · blownA · blownA · mornin · deadB · play · over'eadB · over'eadB · widow · roamC · require · omeC · omeC
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 trimeter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| 'Ave you 'eard o' the Widow at Windsor | 11 | /˘····/˘·/˘ |
| With a hairy gold crown on 'er 'ead? | 9 | ··/˘····· |
| She 'as ships on the foam -- she 'as millions at 'ome, | 12 | ········/˘·· |
| An' she pays us poor beggars in red. | 9 | ·····/˘·· |
| (Ow, poor beggars in red!) | 6 | ··/˘·· |
| There's 'er nick on the cavalry 'orses, | 9 | ·····/˘·· |
| There's 'er mark on the medical stores -- | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| An' 'er troopers you'll find with a fair wind be'ind | 11 | ··/˘······· |
| That takes us to various wars. | 8 | ····/˘˘· |
| (Poor beggars! -- barbarious wars!) | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| Then 'ere's to the Widow at Windsor, | 9 | ····/˘·/˘ |
| An' 'ere's to the stores an' the guns, | 8 | ········ |
| The men an' the 'orses what makes up the forces | 12 | ··········/˘ |
| O' Missis Victorier's sons. | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| (Poor beggars! Victorier's sons!) | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| Walk wide o' the Widow at Windsor, | 9 | ····/˘·/˘ |
| For 'alf o' Creation she owns: | 8 | ···˘/˘·· |
| We 'ave bought 'er the same with the sword an' the flame, | 13 | ·/˘·········· |
| An' we've salted it down with our bones. | 9 | ··/˘···/· |
| (Poor beggars! -- it's blue with our bones!) | 8 | ·/˘···/· |
| Hands off o' the sons o' the Widow, | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| Hands off o' the goods in 'er shop, | 8 | ········ |
| For the Kings must come down an' the Emperors frown | 11 | ········/˘· |
| When the Widow at Windsor says “Stop”! | 9 | ··/˘·/˘·· |
| (Poor beggars! -- we're sent to say “Stop”!) | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Then 'ere's to the Lodge o' the Widow, | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| From the Pole to the Tropics it runs -- | 9 | ·····/˘·· |
| To the Lodge that we tile with the rank an' the file, | 12 | ············ |
| An' open in form with the guns. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| (Poor beggars! -- it's always they guns!) | 8 | ·/˘·/··· |
| We 'ave 'eard o' the Widow at Windsor, | 11 | ·/˘···/˘·/˘ |
| It's safest to let 'er alone: | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| For 'er sentries we stand by the sea an' the land | 12 | ··/˘········ |
| Wherever the bugles are blown. | 8 | ˘/˘·/˘·· |
| (Poor beggars! -- an' don't we get blown!) | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Take 'old o' the Wings o' the Mornin', | 9 | ········· |
| An' flop round the earth till you're dead; | 8 | ········ |
| But you won't get away from the tune that they play | 12 | ····˘/······ |
| To the bloomin' old rag over'ead. | 9 | ········· |
| (Poor beggars! -- it's 'ot over'ead!) | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Then 'ere's to the sons o' the Widow, | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| Wherever, 'owever they roam. | 8 | ˘/˘····· |
| 'Ere's all they desire, an' if they require | 10 | ···˘/····/ |
| A speedy return to their 'ome. | 8 | ·/˘˘/··· |
| (Poor beggars! -- they'll never see 'ome!) | 8 | ·/˘·/˘·· |
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.