The Head of Bran the Blest IV
Crimson-footed, like the stork,From great ruts of slaughter,Warriors of the Golden TorqueCross the lifting water.Princes seven, enchaining hands,Bear the live head homeward.Lo! it speaks, and still commands:Gazing out far foamward.
Fiery words of lightning senseDown the hollows thunder;Forest hostels know not whenceComes the speech, and wonder.City-Castles, on the steep,Where the faithful SevenHouse at midnight, hear, in sleep,Laughter under heaven.
Lilies, swimming on the mere,In the castle shadow,Under draw their heads, and FearWalks the misty meadow.Tremble not! it is not DeathPledging dark espousal:’Tis the Head of endless breath,Challenging carousal!
Brim the horn! a health is drunk,Now, that shall keep going:Life is but the pebble sunk;Deeds, the circle growing!Fill, and pledge the Head of Bran!While his lead they follow,Long shall heads in Britain planSpeech Death cannot swallow!
Words in this poem
- torque n.
- A collar or neck chain, usually twisted, especially as worn by ancient barbaric nations, as the Gauls, Germans, and Britons. [L. torques a twisted neck chain, fr. torquere to twist.]
- homeward a.
- Being in the direction of home; as, the homeward way.
- espousal n.
- The act of espousing or betrothing; especially, in the plural, betrothal; plighting of the troths; a contract of marriage; sometimes, the marriage ceremony. [OF. espousailles, pl., F. épousailles, L. sponsalia, fr. sponsalis belonging to betrothal or espousal. See Espouse, and cf. Sponsal, Spousal.]
- carousal n.
- A jovial feast or festival; a drunken revel; a carouse. [See Carouse, but also cf. F. carrousel tilt.]
- 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 IV 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 IV, 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-iv.html, id L13184.
Form and metre
The Head of Bran the Blest IV is 32 lines in 4 stanzas of 8 lines each. Every stanza rhymes ABABCDCD. The metre is trochaic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 94%). 97% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 6.6 syllables. 13 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 22% 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 ABABCDCD storkA · slaughterB · torqueA · waterB · handsC · homewardD · commandsC · foamwardD
- 2 ABABCDCD senseA · thunderB · whenceA · wonderB · steepC · sevenD · sleepC · heavenD
- 3 ABABCDCD mereA · shadowB · fearA · meadowB · deathC · espousalD · breathC · carousalD
- 4 ABABCDCD drunkA · goingB · sunkA · growingB · branC · followD · planC · swallowD
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Crimson-footed, like the stork, | 7 | /˘/˘··· |
| From great ruts of slaughter, | 6 | ····/˘ |
| Warriors of the Golden Torque | 8 | /˘˘··/˘· |
| Cross the lifting water. | 6 | ··/˘/˘ |
| Princes seven, enchaining hands, | 8 | /˘/˘···· |
| Bear the live head homeward. | 6 | ····/˘ |
| Lo! it speaks, and still commands: | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| Gazing out far foamward. | 6 | /˘···· |
| Fiery words of lightning sense | 8 | /˘˘··/˘· |
| Down the hollows thunder; | 6 | ··/˘/˘ |
| Forest hostels know not whence | 7 | /˘/˘··· |
| Comes the speech, and wonder. | 6 | ····/˘ |
| City-Castles, on the steep, | 7 | /˘/˘··· |
| Where the faithful Seven | 6 | ··/˘/˘ |
| House at midnight, hear, in sleep, | 7 | ··/···· |
| Laughter under heaven. | 6 | /˘··/˘ |
| Lilies, swimming on the mere, | 7 | /˘/˘··· |
| In the castle shadow, | 6 | ··/˘/· |
| Under draw their heads, and Fear | 7 | ······· |
| Walks the misty meadow. | 6 | ··/˘/· |
| Tremble not! it is not Death | 7 | /˘····· |
| Pledging dark espousal: | 6 | /˘·˘/˘ |
| ’Tis the Head of endless breath, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Challenging carousal! | 6 | /˘˘˘/˘ |
| Brim the horn! a health is drunk, | 7 | ······· |
| Now, that shall keep going: | 6 | ····/˘ |
| Life is but the pebble sunk; | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Deeds, the circle growing! | 6 | ··/˘/˘ |
| Fill, and pledge the Head of Bran! | 7 | ······· |
| While his lead they follow, | 6 | ····/˘ |
| Long shall heads in Britain plan | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Speech Death cannot swallow! | 6 | ··/˘/˘ |
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.