Granny Canty
"What maks ye sae canty, granny dear?Has some kin' body been for ye to speir?Ye luik as smilin an' fain an' willinAs gien ye had fun a bonny shillin!"
"Ye think I luik canty, my bonny man,Sittin watchin the last o' the sun sae gran'?Weel, an' I'm thinkin ye're no that wrang,For 'deed i' my hert there's a wordless sang!
"Ken ye the meanin o' canty, my dow?It's bein i' the humour o' singin, I trow!An' though nae sang ever crosses my lipsI'm aye like to sing whan anither sun dips.
"For the time, wee laddie, the time grows langSin' I saw the man wha's sicht was my sang--Yer gran'father, that's--an' the sun's last glimSays aye to me, 'Lass, ye're a mile nearer him!
"For he's hame afore me, an' lang's the road!He fain at my side wud hae timed his plod,But, eh, he was sent for, an' hurried awa!Noo, I'm thinkin he's harkin to hear my fit-fa'."
"But, grannie, yer face is sae lirkit an' thin,Wi' a doun-luikin nose an' an up-luikin chin,An' a mou clumpit up oot o' sicht atween,Like the witherin half o' an auld weary mune!"
"Hoot, laddie, ye needna glower yersel blin'!The body 'at loos, sees far throu the skin;An', believe me or no, the hoor's comin amainWhan ugly auld fowk 'ill be bonny again.
"For there is ane--an' it's no my dear man,Though I loo him as nane but a wife's hert can--The joy o' beholdin wha's gran' lovely faceTil mak me like him in a' 'at's ca'd grace.
"But what I am like I carena a straeSae lang as I'm his, an' what he wud hae!Be ye a guid man, John, an' ae day ye'll kenWhat maks granny canty yont four score an' ten."
Words in this poem 19
- canty a.
- Cheerful; sprightly; lively; merry.
- granny n.
- A grandmother; a grandam; familiarly, an old woman. Granny's bend, or Granny's knot (Naut.), a kind of insecure knot or hitch; a reef knot crossed the wrong way.
- speir v. i.
- To ask. See Spere.
- fain v. t.
- To be glad ; to wish or desire.
- bonny a.
- Handsome; beautiful; pretty; attractively lively and graceful. [OE. boni, prob. fr. F. bon, fem. bonne, good, fr. L. bonus good. See Bounty, and cf. Bonus, Boon.]
- weel
- A kind of trap or snare for fish, made of twigs. Carew. [Prov. E. weel, weal, a wicker basket to catch eels; prob. akin to willow, and so called as made of willow twigs.]
- wordless a.
- Not using words; not speaking; silent; speechless.
- humour n.
- Moisture, especially, the moisture or fluid of animal bodies, as the chyle, lymph, etc.; as, the humors of the eye, etc. [OE. humour, OF. humor, umor, F. humeur, L. humor, umor, moisture, fluid, fr. humere, umere, to be moist. See Humid.]
- trow v. i.
- To believe; to trust; to think or suppose. [OE. trowen, AS.treówan to trust, believe, fr. treów trust, treówe true, faithful. See True.]
- laddie n.
- A lad; a male sweetheart.
- glim n.
- Brightness; splendor.
- afore prep.
- Before (in all its senses).
- plod v. i.
- To travel slowly but steadily; to trudge. [Gf. Gael. plod a clod, a pool; also, to strike or pelt with a clod or clods.]
- atween adv.
- Between. Spenser. [See Atwain, and cf. Between.]
- auld a.
- Old; as, Auld Reekie (old smoky), i. e., Edinburgh. [See Old.]
- hoot v. i.
- To cry out or shout in contempt. [OE. hoten, houten, huten; cf. OSw. huta, Sw. huta ut to take one up sharply, fr. Sw. hut interj., begone! cf. also W. hwt off! off with it! away! hoot!]
- glower v. i.
- to look intently; to stare angrily or with a scowl. Thackeray. [Cf. Gloar.]
- loos n.
- Praise; fame; reputation. [OE. los, fr. OF. los, laus.]
- amain adv.
- With might; with full force; vigorously; violently; exceedingly. [Pref. a- + main. See 2d Main, n.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Granny Canty is in the public domain. This text is taken from The poetical works of George MacDonald in two volumes — Volume 2, Project Gutenberg ebook #9984; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: George MacDonald, Granny Canty, in A Microcosm in Terza Rima, and Other Poems (1893), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #9984, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/macdonald-poems/granny-canty.html, id L22563.
Form and metre
Granny Canty is 36 lines in 9 stanzas of 4 lines each. It is in rhyming couplets, 67% of the lines: heroic couplets. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 72%).
See other poems in heroic couplets, other poems in iambic pentameter.
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 AABB dearA · speirA · willinB · shillinB
- 2 AABB manA · granA · wrangB · sangB
- 3 --AA dow · trow · lipsA · dipsA
- 4 AA-- langA · sangA · glim · him
- 6 AA-- thinA · chinA · atween · mune
- 7 --AA blin · skin · amainA · againA
- 8 AABB manA · canA · faceB · graceB
- 9 AABB straeA · haeA · kenB · tenB
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 iambic pentameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| "What maks ye sae canty, granny dear? | 9 | ····/˘/˘· |
| Has some kin' body been for ye to speir? | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Ye luik as smilin an' fain an' willin | 10 | ·········· |
| As gien ye had fun a bonny shillin!" | 10 | ······/˘·· |
| "Ye think I luik canty, my bonny man, | 10 | ····/˘·/˘· |
| Sittin watchin the last o' the sun sae gran'? | 11 | ··········· |
| Weel, an' I'm thinkin ye're no that wrang, | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| For 'deed i' my hert there's a wordless sang! | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| "Ken ye the meanin o' canty, my dow? | 10 | ······/˘·· |
| It's bein i' the humour o' singin, I trow! | 11 | ····/˘····· |
| An' though nae sang ever crosses my lips | 10 | ····/˘/˘·· |
| I'm aye like to sing whan anither sun dips. | 11 | ··········· |
| "For the time, wee laddie, the time grows lang | 10 | ····/˘···· |
| Sin' I saw the man wha's sicht was my sang-- | 10 | ·········· |
| Yer gran'father, that's--an' the sun's last glim | 10 | ·········· |
| Says aye to me, 'Lass, ye're a mile nearer him! | 11 | ········/˘· |
| "For he's hame afore me, an' lang's the road! | 10 | ···˘/····· |
| He fain at my side wud hae timed his plod, | 10 | ·········· |
| But, eh, he was sent for, an' hurried awa! | 11 | ·······/˘·· |
| Noo, I'm thinkin he's harkin to hear my fit-fa'." | 12 | ··/˘·/˘····· |
| "But, grannie, yer face is sae lirkit an' thin, | 11 | ··········· |
| Wi' a doun-luikin nose an' an up-luikin chin, | 12 | ············ |
| An' a mou clumpit up oot o' sicht atween, | 11 | ·········˘/ |
| Like the witherin half o' an auld weary mune!" | 12 | ·········/˘· |
| "Hoot, laddie, ye needna glower yersel blin'! | 10 | ·/˘···/··· |
| The body 'at loos, sees far throu the skin; | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| An', believe me or no, the hoor's comin amain | 12 | ·˘/·······˘/ |
| Whan ugly auld fowk 'ill be bonny again. | 11 | ·/˘····/˘˘/ |
| "For there is ane--an' it's no my dear man, | 10 | ·········· |
| Though I loo him as nane but a wife's hert can-- | 11 | ··········· |
| The joy o' beholdin wha's gran' lovely face | 11 | ········/˘· |
| Til mak me like him in a' 'at's ca'd grace. | 10 | ·········· |
| "But what I am like I carena a strae | 11 | ·······/˘·· |
| Sae lang as I'm his, an' what he wud hae! | 10 | ·········· |
| Be ye a guid man, John, an' ae day ye'll ken | 11 | ··········· |
| What maks granny canty yont four score an' ten." | 11 | ··/˘/˘····· |
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