Riding Together
For many, many days togetherThe wind blew steady from the East;For many days hot grew the weather,About the time of our Lady's Feast.
For many days we rode together,Yet met we neither friend nor foe;Hotter and clearer grew the weather,Steadily did the East wind blow.
We saw the trees in the hot, bright weather,Clear-cut, with shadows very black,As freely we rode on togetherWith helms unlaced and bridles slack.
And often as we rode together,We, looking down the green-bank'd stream,Saw flowers in the sunny weather,And saw the bubble-making bream.
And in the night lay down together,And hung above our heads the rood,Or watch'd night-long in the dewy weather,The while the moon did watch the wood.
Our spears stood bright and thick together,Straight out the banners stream'd behind,As we gallop'd on in the sunny weather,With faces turn'd towards the wind.
Down sank our threescore spears together,As thick we saw the pagans ride;His eager face in the clear fresh weather,Shone out that last time by my side.
Up the sweep of the bridge we dash'd together,It rock'd to the crash of the meeting spears,Down rain'd the buds of the dear spring weather,The elm-tree flowers fell like tears.
There, as we roll'd and writhed together,I threw my arms above my head,For close by my side, in the lovely weather,I saw him reel and fall back dead.
I and the slayer met together,He waited the death-stroke there in his place,With thoughts of death, in the lovely weather,Gapingly mazed at my madden'd face.
Madly I fought as we fought together;In vain: the little Christian bandThe pagans drown'd, as in stormy weather,The river drowns low-lying land.
They bound my blood-stain'd hands together,They bound his corpse to nod by my side:Then on we rode, in the bright March weather,With clash of cymbals did we ride.
We ride no more, no more together;My prison-bars are thick and strong,I take no heed of any weather,The sweet Saints grant I live not long.
Words in this poem
- rode n.
- Redness; complexion. [See Rud.]
- clearer n.
- One who, or that which, clears.
- sunny a.
- Of or pertaining to the sun; proceeding from, or resembling the sun; hence, shining; bright; brilliant; radiant.
- rood n.
- A representation in sculpture or in painting of the cross with Christ hanging on it. [AS. rr, D. roede rod, G. ruthe, rute, OHG. ruota. CF. Rod a measure.]
- slayer n.
- One who slays; a killer; a murderer; a destrroyer of life.
- madly adv.
- In a mad manner; without reason or understanding; wildly. [From Mad, a.]
- corpse n.
- A human body in general, whether living or dead; -- sometimes contemptuosly. [OF. cors (sometimes written corps), F. corps, L. corpus; akin to AS. hrif womb. See Midriff, and cf. Corse, Corselet, Corps, Cuerpo.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Riding Together is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Defence of Guenevere and Other Poems, Project Gutenberg ebook #22650; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: William Morris, Riding Together, in The Defence of Guenevere (1858), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #22650, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/morris-defence-guenevere/riding-together.html, id L07151.
Form and metre
Riding Together is 52 lines in 13 stanzas of 4 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABAB, complete in 12 of its 13 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 87%). 95% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 9.0 syllables. 26 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 6% 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 ABAB togetherA · eastB · weatherA · feastB
- 2 ABAB togetherA · foeB · weatherA · blowB
- 3 ABAB weatherA · blackB · togetherA · slackB
- 4 ABAB togetherA · streamB · weatherA · breamB
- 5 A-A- togetherA · rood · weatherA · wood
- 6 ABAB togetherA · behindB · weatherA · windB
- 7 ABAB togetherA · rideB · weatherA · sideB
- 8 ABAB togetherA · spearsB · weatherA · tearsB
- 9 ABAB togetherA · headB · weatherA · deadB
- 10 ABAB togetherA · placeB · weatherA · faceB
- 11 ABAB togetherA · bandB · weatherA · landB
- 12 ABAB togetherA · sideB · weatherA · rideB
- 13 ABAB togetherA · strongB · weatherA · longB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| For many, many days together | 9 | ·/˘/˘·˘/˘ |
| The wind blew steady from the East; | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| For many days hot grew the weather, | 9 | ·/˘····/˘ |
| About the time of our Lady's Feast. | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| For many days we rode together, | 9 | ·/˘···˘/˘ |
| Yet met we neither friend nor foe; | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Hotter and clearer grew the weather, | 9 | /˘·/˘··/˘ |
| Steadily did the East wind blow. | 8 | /˘˘····· |
| We saw the trees in the hot, bright weather, | 10 | ········/˘ |
| Clear-cut, with shadows very black, | 8 | ···/·/˘· |
| As freely we rode on together | 9 | ·/˘···˘/˘ |
| With helms unlaced and bridles slack. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And often as we rode together, | 9 | ·/˘···˘/˘ |
| We, looking down the green-bank'd stream, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Saw flowers in the sunny weather, | 9 | ·/˘··/˘/˘ |
| And saw the bubble-making bream. | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| And in the night lay down together, | 9 | ······˘/˘ |
| And hung above our heads the rood, | 9 | ····/˘··· |
| Or watch'd night-long in the dewy weather, | 10 | ······/˘/˘ |
| The while the moon did watch the wood. | 8 | ········ |
| Our spears stood bright and thick together, | 10 | /˘·····˘/˘ |
| Straight out the banners stream'd behind, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| As we gallop'd on in the sunny weather, | 11 | ··/˘···/˘/˘ |
| With faces turn'd towards the wind. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Down sank our threescore spears together, | 10 | ··/˘/˘·˘/˘ |
| As thick we saw the pagans ride; | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| His eager face in the clear fresh weather, | 10 | ·/˘·····/˘ |
| Shone out that last time by my side. | 8 | ········ |
| Up the sweep of the bridge we dash'd together, | 11 | ········˘/˘ |
| It rock'd to the crash of the meeting spears, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Down rain'd the buds of the dear spring weather, | 10 | ········/˘ |
| The elm-tree flowers fell like tears. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| There, as we roll'd and writhed together, | 9 | ······˘/˘ |
| I threw my arms above my head, | 8 | ········ |
| For close by my side, in the lovely weather, | 11 | ·······/˘/˘ |
| I saw him reel and fall back dead. | 8 | ········ |
| I and the slayer met together, | 9 | ···/˘·˘/˘ |
| He waited the death-stroke there in his place, | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| With thoughts of death, in the lovely weather, | 10 | ······/˘/˘ |
| Gapingly mazed at my madden'd face. | 9 | ········· |
| Madly I fought as we fought together; | 10 | /˘·····˘/˘ |
| In vain: the little Christian band | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| The pagans drown'd, as in stormy weather, | 10 | ·/˘···/˘/˘ |
| The river drowns low-lying land. | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| They bound my blood-stain'd hands together, | 9 | ······˘/˘ |
| They bound his corpse to nod by my side: | 9 | ········· |
| Then on we rode, in the bright March weather, | 10 | ········/˘ |
| With clash of cymbals did we ride. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| We ride no more, no more together; | 9 | ······˘/˘ |
| My prison-bars are thick and strong, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| I take no heed of any weather, | 9 | ·····/˘/˘ |
| The sweet Saints grant I live not long. | 8 | ········ |
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.