In a Castle
It is my lady's key, confided with much nice cunning, whisperingly.He enters on a sob of wind, which gutters the candles almost to swaling.The fire flutters and drops. Drip--hiss--the rain never stops.He shuts the door. The rushes fall again to stillness along the floor.Outside, the wind goes wailing.
Above, the coronet winks in the darkness. Drip--hiss--fall the raindrops.The arras blows out from the wall, and a door bangs in a far-off hall.
The candles swale. In the gale the moat below plunges and spatters.Will the lady lose courage and not come?
The rain claps on a loosened rafter.
He tears down the arras from before an inner chamber's bolted door.
The state bed shivers in the watery dawn. Drip--hiss--fall the raindrops.For the storm never stops.
On the velvet coverlet lie two bodies, stripped and fair in the cold,grey air. Drip--hiss--fall the blood-drops, for the bleeding never stops.The bodies lie quietly. At each side of the bed, on the floor, is a head.A man's on this side, a woman's on that, and the red blood oozes alongthe rush mat.
A wisp of paper is twisted carefully into the strands of the dead man's hair.It says, "My Lord: Your wife's paramour has paid with his lifefor the high favour."
Hark! In the passage is heard the clink of armour, the tread of a heavy man.The door bursts open and standing there, his thin hair waveringin the glare of steely daylight, is my Lord of Clair.
The velvet coverlet is sodden and wet, yet the roof beams are tight.Overhead, the coronet gleams with its blackened gold, winking and blinking.Among the rushes three corpses are growing cold.
In the castle church you may see them stand,Two sumptuous tombs on either handOf the choir, my Lord's and my Lady's, grandIn sculptured filigrees. And where the transepts of the church expand,A crusader, come from the Holy Land,Lies with crossed legs and embroidered band.The page's name became a brandFor shame. He was buried in crawling sand,After having been burnt by royal command.
Words in this poem 15
- whisperingly adv.
- In a whisper, or low voice; in a whispering manner; with whispers.
- drip v. i.
- To fall in drops; as, water drips from the eaves. [Akin to LG. drippen, Dan. dryppe, from a noun. See Drop.]
- stillness n.
- The quality or state of being still; quietness; silence; calmness; inactivity.
- arras n.
- Tapestry; a rich figured fabric; especially, a screen or hangings of heavy cloth with interwoven figures. [From Arras the capital of Artois, in the French Netherlands.]
- swale n.
- A valley or low place; a tract of low, and usually wet, land; a moor; a fen. [Cf. Icel. svalr cool, svala to cool.]
- claps v. t.
- Variant of Clasp
- rafter n.
- Originally, any rough and somewhat heavy piece of timber. Now, commonly, one of the timbers of a roof which are put on sloping, according to the inclination of the roof. See Illust. of Queen-post. [AS. ræfter; akin to E. raft, n. See Raft.]
- wisp n.
- A small bundle, as of straw or other like substance. [OE. wisp, wips; probably akin to D. & G. wisch, Icel. visk, and perhaps to L. virga a twig, rod. Cf. Verge a rod, Whisk, n.]
- favour n.
- Kind regard; propitious aspect; countenance; friendly disposition; kindness; good will. [Written also favour.]
- clink v. t.
- To cause to give out a slight, sharp, tinkling, sound, as by striking metallic or other sonorous bodies together. [OE. clinken; akin to G. klingen, D. klinken, SW. klinga, Dan. klinge; prob. of imitative origin. Cf. Clank, Clench, Click, v. i.]
- armour n.
- Defensive arms for the body; any clothing or covering worn to protect one's person in battle. [OE. armure, fr. F. armure, OF. armeure, fr. L. armatura. See Armature.]
- glare v. i.
- To shine with a bright, dazzling light. [OE. glaren, gloren; cf. AS. glær amber, LG. glaren to glow or burn like coals, D. gloren to glimmer; prob. akin to E. glass.]
- steely a.
- Made of steel; consisting of steel.
- daylight n.
- The light of day as opposed to the darkness of night; the light of the sun, as opposed to that of the moon or to artificial light.
- crusader n.
- One engaged in a crusade; as, the crusaders of the Middle Ages.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
In a Castle is in the public domain. This text is taken from Sword Blades and Poppy Seed, Project Gutenberg ebook #1020; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Amy Lowell, In a Castle, in Sword Blades and Poppy Seed (1914), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #1020, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/lowell-amy-sword-blades/in-a-castle.html, id L08235.
Form and metre
In a Castle is 36 lines in 11 stanzas. 77% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 13.2 syllables. 6 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 18% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
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 -A--A whisperingly · swalingA · stops · floor · wailingA
- 6 AA raindropsA · stopsA
- 11 AAAAAAAAA standA · handA · grandA · expandA · landA · bandA · brandA · sandA · commandA
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. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| It is my lady's key, confided with much nice cunning, whisperingly. | 18 | ···/˘·˘/˘···/˘/˘˘˘ |
| He enters on a sob of wind, which gutters the candles almost to swaling. | 19 | ·/˘······/˘·/˘/···· |
| The fire flutters and drops. Drip--hiss--the rain never stops. | 12 | ·//˘······/· |
| He shuts the door. The rushes fall again to stillness along the floor. | 17 | ·····/˘·˘/·/˘˘/·· |
| Outside, the wind goes wailing. | 7 | //···/˘ |
| Above, the coronet winks in the darkness. Drip--hiss--fall the raindrops. | 17 | ···/˘/···/˘····/· |
| The arras blows out from the wall, and a door bangs in a far-off hall. | 17 | ·/˘·············· |
| The candles swale. In the gale the moat below plunges and spatters. | 17 | ·/˘·········/˘·/˘ |
| Will the lady lose courage and not come? | 10 | ··/˘·/˘··· |
| The rain claps on a loosened rafter. | 10 | ·····/˘˘/˘ |
| He tears down the arras from before an inner chamber's bolted door. | 17 | ····/˘····/˘/˘/˘· |
| The state bed shivers in the watery dawn. Drip--hiss--fall the raindrops. | 16 | ···/˘··/˘·····/· |
| For the storm never stops. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| On the velvet coverlet lie two bodies, stripped and fair in the cold, | 17 | ··/˘/˘˘··/˘······ |
| grey air. Drip--hiss--fall the blood-drops, for the bleeding never stops. | 14 | ··········/˘/· |
| The bodies lie quietly. At each side of the bed, on the floor, is a head. | 18 | ·/˘·/˘············ |
| A man's on this side, a woman's on that, and the red blood oozes along | 18 | ······/˘······/˘˘/ |
| the rush mat. | 3 | ··· |
| A wisp of paper is twisted carefully into the strands of the dead man's hair. | 19 | ···/˘·/˘/˘········· |
| It says, "My Lord: Your wife's paramour has paid with his life | 14 | ······/˘˘····· |
| for the high favour." | 5 | ···/˘ |
| Hark! In the passage is heard the clink of armour, the tread of a heavy man. | 19 | ···/˘·····/˘····/˘· |
| The door bursts open and standing there, his thin hair wavering | 14 | ···/˘·/˘····/˘ |
| in the glare of steely daylight, is my Lord of Clair. | 13 | ····/˘/······ |
| The velvet coverlet is sodden and wet, yet the roof beams are tight. | 17 | ·/˘/˘˘·/˘········ |
| Overhead, the coronet gleams with its blackened gold, winking and blinking. | 18 | /˘/·/˘/···/˘·/˘·/˘ |
| Among the rushes three corpses are growing cold. | 11 | ···/˘·/˘·/· |
| In the castle church you may see them stand, | 10 | ··/˘······ |
| Two sumptuous tombs on either hand | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Of the choir, my Lord's and my Lady's, grand | 10 | ··/····/˘· |
| In sculptured filigrees. And where the transepts of the church expand, | 16 | ·/˘/˘·········˘/ |
| A crusader, come from the Holy Land, | 10 | ·˘/˘···/˘· |
| Lies with crossed legs and embroidered band. | 10 | ···˘··˘/˘· |
| The page's name became a brand | 8 | ·/˘·˘/·· |
| For shame. He was buried in crawling sand, | 10 | ····/˘·/˘· |
| After having been burnt by royal command. | 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.