Margaret’s Bridal Eve I
THE old grey mother she thrummed on her knee:There is a rose that’s ready;And which of the handsome young men shall it be?There’s a rose that’s ready for clipping.
My daughter, come hither, come hither to me:There is a rose that’s ready;Come, point me your finger on him that you see:There’s a rose that’s ready for clipping.
O mother, my mother, it never can be:There is a rose that’s ready;For I shall bring shame on the man marries me:There’s a rose that’s ready for clipping.
Now let your tongue be deep as the sea:There is a rose that’s ready;And the man’ll jump for you, right briskly will he:There’s a rose that’s ready for clipping.
Tall Margaret wept bitterly:There is a rose that’s ready;And as her parent bade did she:There’s a rose that’s ready for clipping.
O the handsome young man dropped down on his knee:There is a rose that’s ready;Pale Margaret gave him her hand, woe’s me!There’s a rose that’s ready for clipping.
Words in this poem
- 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,]
- clipping n.
- The act of embracing.
- bitterly adv.
- In a bitter manner.
- bade
- A form of the pat tense of Bid.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Margaret’s Bridal Eve I 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, Margaret’s Bridal Eve I, in Poems, Volume I (1851–1862), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #1381, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/meredith-poems/margaret-s-bridal-eve-i.html, id L13197.
Form and metre
Margaret’s Bridal Eve I is 24 lines in 6 stanzas of 4 lines each. The metre is anapaestic common measure, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 78%). 82% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 9.0 syllables. 13 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending.
See other poems in anapaestic common measure.
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- kneeA · ready · beA · clipping
- 2 A-A- meA · ready · seeA · clipping
- 3 A-A- beA · ready · meA · clipping
- 4 A-A- seaA · ready · heA · clipping
- 6 A-A- kneeA · ready · meA · clipping
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 common measure. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| THE old grey mother she thrummed on her knee: | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| There is a rose that’s ready; | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| And which of the handsome young men shall it be? | 11 | ····/˘····· |
| There’s a rose that’s ready for clipping. | 9 | ····/˘·/˘ |
| My daughter, come hither, come hither to me: | 11 | ·/˘·/˘·/˘·· |
| There is a rose that’s ready; | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Come, point me your finger on him that you see: | 11 | ····/˘····· |
| There’s a rose that’s ready for clipping. | 9 | ····/˘·/˘ |
| O mother, my mother, it never can be: | 10 | ·/˘·/˘·/·· |
| There is a rose that’s ready; | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| For I shall bring shame on the man marries me: | 11 | ········/˘· |
| There’s a rose that’s ready for clipping. | 9 | ····/˘·/˘ |
| Now let your tongue be deep as the sea: | 9 | ········· |
| There is a rose that’s ready; | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| And the man’ll jump for you, right briskly will he: | 11 | ·······/˘·· |
| There’s a rose that’s ready for clipping. | 9 | ····/˘·/˘ |
| Tall Margaret wept bitterly: | 8 | ·/˘˘·/˘˘ |
| There is a rose that’s ready; | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| And as her parent bade did she: | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| There’s a rose that’s ready for clipping. | 9 | ····/˘·/˘ |
| O the handsome young man dropped down on his knee: | 11 | ··/˘······· |
| There is a rose that’s ready; | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Pale Margaret gave him her hand, woe’s me! | 10 | ·/˘˘······ |
| There’s a rose that’s ready for clipping. | 9 | ····/˘·/˘ |
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