The Head of Bran the Blest II
‘Death’s my neighbour,’Quoth Bran the Blest;‘Christian labourBrings Christian rest.From the trunk severThe Head of Bran,That which neverHas bent to man!
‘That which neverTo men has bowedShall live everTo shame the shroud:Shall live everTo face the foe;Sever it, sever,And with one blow.
‘Be it written,That all I wroughtWas for Britain,In deed and thought:Be it written,That while I die,Glory to Britain!Is my last cry.
‘Glory to Britain!Death echoes me round.Glory to Britain!The world shall resound.Glory to Britain!In ruin and fall,Glory to Britain!Is heard over all.’
Words in this poem
- neighbour v. i.
- To dwell in the vicinity; to be a neighbor, or in the neighborhood; to be near.
- quoth v. t.
- Said; spoke; uttered; -- used only in the first and third persons in the past tenses, and always followed by its nominative, the word or words said being the object; as, quoth I. quoth he. [AS.cweedhan, imp cwæedh, pl. cwædon; akin to OS. queedhan, OHG. quethan, quedan, Icel. kveedha, Goth. qiþan. sq. root22. Cf. Bequeath.]
- 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,]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Head of Bran the Blest II 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, The Head of Bran the Blest II, in Poems, Volume I (1851–1862), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #1381, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/meredith-poems/the-head-of-bran-the-blest-ii.html, id L13182.
Form and metre
The Head of Bran the Blest II is 32 lines in 4 stanzas of 8 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABABACAC, complete in 3 of its 4 stanzas. The metre is iambic dimeter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 86%). 91% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 4.3 syllables. 15 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 25% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in iambic dimeter.
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 ABABCDCD neighbourA · blestB · labourA · restB · severC · branD · neverC · manD
- 2 ABABACAC neverA · bowedB · everA · shroudB · everA · foeC · severA · blowC
- 3 ABABACAC writtenA · wroughtB · britainA · thoughtB · writtenA · dieC · britainA · cryC
- 4 ABABACAC britainA · roundB · britainA · resoundB · britainA · fallC · britainA · allC
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 dimeter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| ‘Death’s my neighbour,’ | 4 | ··/˘ |
| Quoth Bran the Blest; | 4 | ···· |
| ‘Christian labour | 4 | /˘/· |
| Brings Christian rest. | 4 | ·/˘· |
| From the trunk sever | 5 | ···/˘ |
| The Head of Bran, | 4 | ···· |
| That which never | 4 | ··/˘ |
| Has bent to man! | 4 | ···· |
| ‘That which never | 4 | ··/˘ |
| To men has bowed | 4 | ···· |
| Shall live ever | 4 | ··/˘ |
| To shame the shroud: | 4 | ···· |
| Shall live ever | 4 | ··/˘ |
| To face the foe; | 4 | ···· |
| Sever it, sever, | 5 | /˘·/˘ |
| And with one blow. | 4 | ···· |
| ‘Be it written, | 4 | ··/˘ |
| That all I wrought | 4 | ···· |
| Was for Britain, | 4 | ··/˘ |
| In deed and thought: | 4 | ···· |
| Be it written, | 4 | ··/˘ |
| That while I die, | 4 | ···· |
| Glory to Britain! | 5 | /˘·/˘ |
| Is my last cry. | 4 | ···· |
| ‘Glory to Britain! | 5 | /˘·/˘ |
| Death echoes me round. | 5 | ·/˘·· |
| Glory to Britain! | 5 | /˘·/˘ |
| The world shall resound. | 5 | ····/ |
| Glory to Britain! | 5 | /˘·/˘ |
| In ruin and fall, | 5 | ·/˘·· |
| Glory to Britain! | 5 | /˘·/˘ |
| Is heard over all.’ | 5 | ····· |
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.