Chillianwallah
CHILLANWALLAH, Chillanwallah!Where our brothers fought and bled,O thy name is natural musicAnd a dirge above the dead!Though we have not been defeated,Though we can’t be overcome,Still, whene’er thou art repeated,I would fain that grief were dumb.
Chillianwallah, Chillianwallah!’Tis a name so sad and strange,Like a breeze through midnight harpstringsRinging many a mournful change;But the wildness and the sorrowHave a meaning of their own—Oh, whereof no glad to-morrowCan relieve the dismal tone!
Chillianwallah, Chillianwallah!’Tis a village dark and low,By the bloody Jhelum riverBridged by the foreboding foe;And across the wintry waterHe is ready to retreat,When the carnage and the slaughterShall have paid for his defeat.
Chillianwallah, Chillianwallah!’Tis a wild and dreary plain,Strewn with plots of thickest jungle,Matted with the gory stain.There the murder-mouthed artillery,In the deadly ambuscade,Wrought the thunder of its treacheryOn the skeleton brigade.
Chillianwallah, Chillianwallah!When the night set in with rain,Came the savage plundering devilsTo their work among the slain;And the wounded and the dyingIn cold blood did share the doomOf their comrades round them lying,Stiff in the dead skyless gloom.
Chillianwallah, Chillianwallah!Thou wilt be a doleful chord,And a mystic note of mourningThat will need no chiming word;And that heart will leap with anguishWho may understand thee best;But the hopes of all will languishTill thy memory is at rest.
Words in this poem 16
- dirge n.
- A piece of music of a mournful character, to accompany funeral rites; a funeral hymn. [Contraction of Lat. dirige, direct thou (imperative of dirigere), the first word of a funeral hymn (Lat. transl. of Psalm v. 8) beginning, "Dirige, Domine, in c]
- fain v. t.
- To be glad ; to wish or desire.
- whereof adv.
- Of which; of whom; formerly, also, with which; -- used relatively.
- relieve v. t.
- To lift up; to raise again, as one who has fallen; to cause to rise. Piers Plowman. [OE. releven, F. relever to raise again, discharge, relieve, fr. L. relevare to lift up, raise, make light, relieve; pref. re- re- + levare to raise, fr. levis l]
- dismal a.
- Fatal; ill-omened; unlucky. [Formerly a noun; e. g., "I trow it was in the dismalle." Chaucer. Of uncertain origin; but perh. (as suggested by Skeat) from OF. disme, F. dîme, tithe, the phr]
- wintry a.
- Suitable to winter; resembling winter, or what belongs to winter; brumal; hyemal; cold; stormy; wintery. [AS. wintrig.]
- carnage n.
- Flesh of slain animals or men. [F. carnage, LL. carnaticum tribute of animals, flesh of animals, fr. L. caro, carnis, flesh. See Carnal.]
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
- defeat v. t.
- To undo; to disfigure; to destroy. [From F. défait, OF. desfait, p. p. ofe défaire, OF. desfaire, to undo; L. dis- + facere to do. See Feat, Fact, and cf. Disfashion.]
- dreary a.
- Sorrowful; distressful. [OE. dreori, dreri, AS. dreórig, sad; akin to G. traurig, and prob. to AS. dreósan to fall, Goth. driusan. Cf. Dross, Drear, Drizzle, Drowse.]
- jungle n.
- A dense growth of brushwood, grasses, reeds, vines, etc.; an almost impenetrable thicket of trees, canes, and reedy vegetation, as in India, Africa, Australia, and Brazil. [Hind. jangal desert, forest, jungle; Skr. ja desert.]
- gory a.
- Covered with gore or clotted blood. [From Gore.]
- artillery n.
- Munitions of war; implements for warfare, as slings, bows, and arrows. [OE. artilrie, OF. artillerie, arteillerie, fr. LL. artillaria, artilleria, machines and apparatus of all kinds used in war, vans laden with arms of any kind whi]
- ambuscade n.
- A lying in a wood, concealed, for the purpose of attacking an enemy by surprise. Hence: A lying in wait, and concealed in any situation, for a like purpose; a snare laid for an enemy; an ambush. [F. embuscade, fr. It. imboscata, or Sp. emboscada, fr. emboscar to ambush, fr. LL. imboscare. See Ambush, v. t.]
- brigade n.
- A body of troops, whether cavalry, artillery, infantry, or mixed, consisting of two or more regiments, under the command of a brigadier general. [F. brigade, fr. It. brigata troop, crew, brigade, originally, a contending troop, fr. briga trouble, quarrel. See Brigand.]
- languish v. i.
- To cause to dr Shak.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Chillianwallah is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems — Volume 1, Project Gutenberg ebook #1381; 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 Meredith, Chillianwallah, in Poems, Volume I (1851–1862), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #1381, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/meredith-poems/chillianwallah.html, id L13120.
Form and metre
Chillianwallah is 48 lines in 6 stanzas of 8 lines each. The metre is trochaic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 88%). 95% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.7 syllables. 17 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 29% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in trochaic 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 -A-ABCBC chillanwallah · bledA · music · deadA · defeatedB · overcomeC · repeatedB · dumbC
- 2 -A-ABCBC chillianwallah · strangeA · harpstrings · changeA · sorrowB · ownC · morrowB · toneC
- 3 -A-ABCBC chillianwallah · lowA · river · foeA · waterB · retreatC · slaughterB · defeatC
- 4 -A-A-B-B chillianwallah · plainA · jungle · stainA · artillery · ambuscadeB · treachery · brigadeB
- 5 -A-ABCBC chillianwallah · rainA · devils · slainA · dyingB · doomC · lyingB · gloomC
- 6 ----ABAB chillianwallah · chord · mourning · word · anguishA · bestB · languishA · restB
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 trochaic tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| CHILLANWALLAH, Chillanwallah! | 8 | ········ |
| Where our brothers fought and bled, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| O thy name is natural music | 9 | ····/˘˘/˘ |
| And a dirge above the dead! | 7 | ······· |
| Though we have not been defeated, | 8 | ·····˘/˘ |
| Though we can’t be overcome, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Still, whene’er thou art repeated, | 9 | ······˘/˘ |
| I would fain that grief were dumb. | 7 | ······· |
| Chillianwallah, Chillianwallah! | 8 | ········ |
| ’Tis a name so sad and strange, | 7 | ······· |
| Like a breeze through midnight harpstrings | 8 | ····/··· |
| Ringing many a mournful change; | 8 | /˘/˘·/˘· |
| But the wildness and the sorrow | 8 | ··/˘··/˘ |
| Have a meaning of their own— | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Oh, whereof no glad to-morrow | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Can relieve the dismal tone! | 7 | ·˘/·/˘· |
| Chillianwallah, Chillianwallah! | 8 | ········ |
| ’Tis a village dark and low, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| By the bloody Jhelum river | 8 | ··/˘··/˘ |
| Bridged by the foreboding foe; | 7 | ···˘/˘· |
| And across the wintry water | 8 | ·˘/·/˘/˘ |
| He is ready to retreat, | 7 | ··/˘·˘/ |
| When the carnage and the slaughter | 8 | ··/˘··/˘ |
| Shall have paid for his defeat. | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| Chillianwallah, Chillianwallah! | 8 | ········ |
| ’Tis a wild and dreary plain, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Strewn with plots of thickest jungle, | 8 | ····/˘/˘ |
| Matted with the gory stain. | 7 | /˘··/˘· |
| There the murder-mouthed artillery, | 10 | ··/˘·˘˘/˘˘ |
| In the deadly ambuscade, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Wrought the thunder of its treachery | 9 | ··/˘··/˘˘ |
| On the skeleton brigade. | 7 | ··/˘˘˘/ |
| Chillianwallah, Chillianwallah! | 8 | ········ |
| When the night set in with rain, | 7 | ······· |
| Came the savage plundering devils | 9 | ··/˘/˘˘/˘ |
| To their work among the slain; | 7 | ······· |
| And the wounded and the dying | 8 | ··/˘··/˘ |
| In cold blood did share the doom | 7 | ······· |
| Of their comrades round them lying, | 8 | ··/···/˘ |
| Stiff in the dead skyless gloom. | 6 | ······ |
| Chillianwallah, Chillianwallah! | 8 | ········ |
| Thou wilt be a doleful chord, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| And a mystic note of mourning | 8 | ··/˘··/˘ |
| That will need no chiming word; | 7 | ····/˘· |
| And that heart will leap with anguish | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Who may understand thee best; | 7 | ···˘/·· |
| But the hopes of all will languish | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Till thy memory is at rest. | 8 | ··/˘˘··· |
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