John Lackland
A WICKED man is bad enough on earth;But O the baleful lustre of a chiefOnce pledged in tyranny! O star of dearthDarkly illumining a nation’s grief!How many men have worn thee on their brows!Alas for them and us! God’s precious giftOf gracious dispensation got by theft—The damning form of false unholy vows!The thief of God and man must have his fee:And thou, John Lackland, despicable prince—Basest of England’s banes before or since!Thrice traitor, coward, thief! O thou shalt beThe historic warning, trampled and abhorr’dWho dared to steal and stain the symbols of the Lord!
Words in this poem
- lustre n.
- A period of five years; a lustrum. [L. lustrum: cf. F. lustre.]
- dearth n.
- Scarcity which renders dear; want; lack; specifically, lack of food on account of failure of crops; famine. [OE. derthe, fr. dere. See Dear.]
- damning a.
- That damns; damnable; as, damning evidence of guilt.
- unholy a.
- Not holy; unhallowed; not consecrated; hence, profane; wicked; impious.
- shalt
- 2d per. sing. of Shall.
- historic a.
- Of or pertaining to history, or the record of past events; as, an historical poem; the historic page. [L. historicus, Gr. historique. See History.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
John Lackland 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, John Lackland, in Poems, Volume I (1851–1862), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #1381, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/meredith-poems/john-lackland.html, id L13128.
Form and metre
John Lackland is 14 lines in a single stanza. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 91%). 92% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.2 syllables. 36% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See 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 ABABC--CDEEDFF earthA · chiefB · dearthA · griefB · browsC · gift · theft · vowsC · feeD · princeE · sinceE · beD · abhorr'dF · lordF
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 |
|---|---|---|
| A WICKED man is bad enough on earth; | 10 | ·/˘···˘/·· |
| But O the baleful lustre of a chief | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| Once pledged in tyranny! O star of dearth | 10 | ···/˘˘···· |
| Darkly illumining a nation’s grief! | 10 | /˘·····/˘· |
| How many men have worn thee on their brows! | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Alas for them and us! God’s precious gift | 10 | ˘/·····/˘· |
| Of gracious dispensation got by theft— | 10 | ·/˘·˘/˘··· |
| The damning form of false unholy vows! | 10 | ·/˘···˘/˘· |
| The thief of God and man must have his fee: | 10 | ·········· |
| And thou, John Lackland, despicable prince— | 10 | ·····˘/˘˘· |
| Basest of England’s banes before or since! | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Thrice traitor, coward, thief! O thou shalt be | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| The historic warning, trampled and abhorr’d | 11 | ·˘/˘/˘/˘·˘/ |
| Who dared to steal and stain the symbols of the Lord! | 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.