The Song of Courtesy
WHEN Sir Gawain was led to his bridal-bed,By Arthur’s knights in scorn God-sped:—How think you he felt?O the bride withinWas yellow and dry as a snake’s old skin;Loathly as sin!Scarcely faceable,Quite unembraceable;With a hog’s bristle on a hag’s chin!—Gentle Gawain felt as should we,Little of Love’s soft fire knew he:But he was the Knight of Courtesy.
When that evil lady he lay besideBade him turn to greet his bride,What think you he did?O, to spare her pain,And let not his loathing her loathliness vainMirror too plain,Sadly, sighingly,Almost dyingly,Turned he and kissed her once and again.Like Sir Gawain, gentles, should we?Silent, all! But for pattern agreeThere’s none like the Knight of Courtesy.
Sir Gawain sprang up amid laces and curls:Kisses are not wasted pearls:—What clung in his arms?O, a maiden flower,Burning with blushes the sweet bride-bower,Beauty her dower!Breathing perfumingly;Shall I live bloomingly,Said she, by day, or the bridal hour?Thereat he clasped her, and whispered he,Thine, rare bride, the choice shall be.Said she, Twice blest is Courtesy!
Of gentle Sir Gawain they had no sport,When it was morning in Arthur’s court;What think you they cried?Now, life and eyes!This bride is the very Saint’s dream of a prize,Fresh from the skies!See ye not, CourtesyIs the true Alchemy,Turning to gold all it touches and tries?Like the true knight, so may weMake the basest that there beBeautiful by Courtesy!
Words in this poem
- loathly adv.
- Unwillingly; reluctantly.
- bade
- A form of the pat tense of Bid.
- sadly adv.
- Wearily; heavily; firmly.
- dyingly adv.
- In a dying manner; as if at the point of death. Beau. & Fl.
- amid prep.
- In the midst or middle of; surrounded or encompassed by; among. [OE. amidde, amiddes, on midden, AS. on middan, in the middle, fr. midde the middle. The s is an adverbial ending, originally marking the genitive; the t is a la]
- clung a.
- Wasted away; shrunken. [Prop. p. p. fr. OE. clingen to wither. See Cling, v. i.]
- 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,]
- bloomingly adv.
- In a blooming manner.
- thereat adv.
- At that place; there.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Song of Courtesy 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 Song of Courtesy, in Poems, Volume I (1851–1862), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #1381, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/meredith-poems/the-song-of-courtesy.html, id L13176.
Form and metre
The Song of Courtesy is 48 lines in 4 stanzas of 12 lines each. This poem did not settle on a metre of its own; the book it comes from is in iambic tetrameter. 88% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.3 syllables. 11 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 15% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in iambic 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 AA-BBBCCBDD- bedA · spedA · felt · withinB · skinB · sinB · faceableC · unembraceableC · chinB · weD · heD · courtesy
- 2 AA-BBB--BCC- besideA · brideA · did · painB · vainB · plainB · sighingly · dyingly · againB · weC · agreeC · courtesy
- 3 AA-BB-CCBDD- curlsA · pearlsA · arms · flowerB · bowerB · dower · perfuminglyC · bloominglyC · hourB · heD · beD · courtesy
- 4 AA-BBBC-BDDC sportA · courtA · cried · eyesB · prizeB · skiesB · courtesyC · alchemy · triesB · weD · beD · courtesyC
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 tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| WHEN Sir Gawain was led to his bridal-bed, | 11 | ··/˘····/˘· |
| By Arthur’s knights in scorn God-sped:— | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| How think you he felt? | 5 | ····· |
| O the bride within | 5 | ····· |
| Was yellow and dry as a snake’s old skin; | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Loathly as sin! | 4 | /˘·· |
| Scarcely faceable, | 5 | /˘··· |
| Quite unembraceable; | 6 | ······ |
| With a hog’s bristle on a hag’s chin!— | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| Gentle Gawain felt as should we, | 8 | /˘/˘···· |
| Little of Love’s soft fire knew he: | 9 | /˘···/˘·· |
| But he was the Knight of Courtesy. | 9 | ······/˘˘ |
| When that evil lady he lay beside | 10 | ··/˘/˘···/ |
| Bade him turn to greet his bride, | 7 | ······· |
| What think you he did? | 5 | ····· |
| O, to spare her pain, | 5 | ····· |
| And let not his loathing her loathliness vain | 11 | ····/˘·/˘˘· |
| Mirror too plain, | 4 | /˘·· |
| Sadly, sighingly, | 5 | /˘··· |
| Almost dyingly, | 5 | /·/˘˘ |
| Turned he and kissed her once and again. | 10 | ·˘······˘/ |
| Like Sir Gawain, gentles, should we? | 8 | ··/˘/˘·· |
| Silent, all! But for pattern agree | 9 | /˘···/˘˘/ |
| There’s none like the Knight of Courtesy. | 9 | ······/˘˘ |
| Sir Gawain sprang up amid laces and curls: | 11 | ·/˘··˘//˘·· |
| Kisses are not wasted pearls:— | 7 | /˘··/˘· |
| What clung in his arms? | 5 | ····· |
| O, a maiden flower, | 6 | ··/˘/˘ |
| Burning with blushes the sweet bride-bower, | 10 | /˘·/˘···/˘ |
| Beauty her dower! | 4 | /˘·· |
| Breathing perfumingly; | 6 | /˘···· |
| Shall I live bloomingly, | 6 | ···/˘˘ |
| Said she, by day, or the bridal hour? | 10 | ······/˘/˘ |
| Thereat he clasped her, and whispered he, | 10 | ˘/··˘··/˘· |
| Thine, rare bride, the choice shall be. | 7 | ······· |
| Said she, Twice blest is Courtesy! | 8 | ·····/˘˘ |
| Of gentle Sir Gawain they had no sport, | 10 | ·/˘·/˘···· |
| When it was morning in Arthur’s court; | 9 | ···/˘·/˘· |
| What think you they cried? | 5 | ····· |
| Now, life and eyes! | 4 | ···· |
| This bride is the very Saint’s dream of a prize, | 11 | ····/˘····· |
| Fresh from the skies! | 4 | ···· |
| See ye not, Courtesy | 6 | ···/˘˘ |
| Is the true Alchemy, | 6 | ···/˘˘ |
| Turning to gold all it touches and tries? | 10 | /˘····/˘·· |
| Like the true knight, so may we | 7 | ······· |
| Make the basest that there be | 7 | ······· |
| Beautiful by Courtesy! | 7 | /˘˘·/˘˘ |
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.