The Eve of Crecy
Gold on her head, and gold on her feet,And gold where the hems of her kirtle meet,And a golden girdle round my sweet;Ah! qu'elle est belle La Marguerite.
Margaret's maids are fair to see,Freshly dress'd and pleasantly;Margaret's hair falls down to her knee;Ah! qu'elle est belle La Marguerite.
If I were rich I would kiss her feet;I would kiss the place where the gold hems meet,And the golden girdle round my sweet:Ah! qu'elle est belle La Marguerite.
Ah me! I have never touch'd her hand;When the arriere-ban goes through the land,Six basnets under my pennon stand;Ah! qu'elle est belle La Marguerite.
And many an one grins under his hood:Sir Lambert du Bois, with all his men good,Has neither food nor firewood;Ah! qu'elle est belle La Marguerite.
If I were rich I would kiss her feet,And the golden girdle of my sweet,And thereabouts where the gold hems meet;Ah! qu'elle est belle La Marguerite.
Yet even now it is good to think,While my few poor varlets grumble and drinkIn my desolate hall, where the fires sink,Ah! qu'elle est belle La Marguerite.
Of Margaret sitting glorious there,In glory of gold and glory of hair,And glory of glorious face most fair;Ah! qu'elle est belle La Marguerite.
Likewise to-night I make good cheer,Because this battle draweth near:For what have I to lose or fear?Ah! qu'elle est belle La Marguerite.
For, look you, my horse is good to pranceA right fair measure in this war-dance,Before the eyes of Philip of France;Ah! qu'elle est belle La Marguerite.
And sometime it may hap, perdie,While my new towers stand up three and three,And my hall gets painted fair to see,Ah! qu'elle est belle La Marguerite.
That folks may say: Times change, by the rood,For Lambert, banneret of the wood,Has heaps of food and firewood;Ah! qu'elle est belle La Marguerite;
And wonderful eyes, too, under the hoodOf a damsel of right noble blood.St. Ives, for Lambert of the Wood!Ah! qu'elle est belle La Marguerite.
Words in this poem
- kirtle n.
- A garment varying in form and use at different times, and worn doth by men and women. [OE. kirtel, curtel, AS. cyrtel; skin to Icel. kyrtill, Sw. kjortel, Dan. kiortel, kiole.]
- belle n.
- A young lady of superior beauty and attractions; a handsome lady, or one who attracts notice in society; a fair lady. [F. belle, fem. of bel, beau, beautiful, fine. See Beau.]
- marguerite n.
- The daisy (Bellis perennis). The name is often applied also to the ox-eye daisy and to the China aster. [F., a pearl, a daisy. See Margarite.]
- pleasantly adv.
- In a pleasant manner.
- pennon n.
- A wing; a pinion. [Cf. Pinion.]
- thereabouts adv.
- Near that place. [The latter spelling is less proper, but more commonly used.]
- grumble v. i.
- To murmur or mutter with discontent; to make ill-natured complaints in a low voice and a surly manner. [Cf. LG. grummeln, grumman, D. grommelen, grommen, and F. grommeler, of German origin; cf. W. grwm, murmur, grumble, surly. sq. root35. Cf. Grum, Grim.]
- glorious a.
- Exhibiting attributes, qualities, or acts that are worthy of or receive glory; noble; praiseworthy; excellent; splendid; illustrious; inspiring admiration; as, glorious deeds. [OF. glorios, glorious, F. glorieux, fr. L. gloriosus. See Glory, n.]
- sometime adv.
- At a past time indefinitely referred to; once; formerly.
- folks n.
- In Anglo-Saxon times, the people of a group of townships or villages; a community; a tribe. [AS. folc; akin to D. volk, OS. & OHG. folk, G. volk, Icel. f, Sw. & Dan. folk, Lith. pulkas crowd, and perh. to E. follow.]
- 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.]
- banneret n.
- Originally, a knight who led his vassals into the field under his own banner; -- commonly used as a title of rank. [OE. baneret, OF. baneret, F. banneret; properly a dim. of OF. baniere. See Banner.]
- damsel n.
- A young person, either male or female, of noble or gentle extraction; as, Damsel Pepin; Damsel Richard, Prince of Wales. [OE. damosel, damesel, damisel, damsel, fr. OF. damoisele, damisele, gentlewoman, F. demoiselle young lady; cf. OF. damoisel young nobleman, F. damoiseau; fr. LL]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Eve of Crecy 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, The Eve of Crecy, in The Defence of Guenevere (1858), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #22650, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/morris-defence-guenevere/the-eve-of-crecy.html, id L07137.
Form and metre
The Eve of Crecy is 52 lines in 13 stanzas of 4 lines each. It is in rhyming couplets, 58% of the lines: heroic couplets. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 77%). 82% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 9.3 syllables. 1 line ends on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 6% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in heroic couplets, other poems in iambic pentameter.
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 AAAA feetA · meetA · sweetA · margueriteA
- 2 A-A- seeA · pleasantly · kneeA · marguerite
- 3 AAAA feetA · meetA · sweetA · margueriteA
- 4 AAA- handA · landA · standA · marguerite
- 5 AAA- hoodA · goodA · firewoodA · marguerite
- 6 AAAA feetA · sweetA · meetA · margueriteA
- 7 AAA- thinkA · drinkA · sinkA · marguerite
- 8 AAA- thereA · hairA · fairA · marguerite
- 9 AAA- cheerA · nearA · fearA · marguerite
- 10 AAA- pranceA · danceA · franceA · marguerite
- 11 -AA- perdie · threeA · seeA · marguerite
- 12 -AA- rood · woodA · firewoodA · marguerite
- 13 AAA- hoodA · bloodA · woodA · marguerite
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 pentameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Gold on her head, and gold on her feet, | 9 | ········· |
| And gold where the hems of her kirtle meet, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| And a golden girdle round my sweet; | 9 | ··/˘/˘··· |
| Ah! qu'elle est belle La Marguerite. | 10 | ···˘/···˘/ |
| Margaret's maids are fair to see, | 8 | /˘˘····· |
| Freshly dress'd and pleasantly; | 7 | /˘··/˘˘ |
| Margaret's hair falls down to her knee; | 9 | /˘˘······ |
| Ah! qu'elle est belle La Marguerite. | 10 | ···˘/···˘/ |
| If I were rich I would kiss her feet; | 9 | ········· |
| I would kiss the place where the gold hems meet, | 10 | ·········· |
| And the golden girdle round my sweet: | 9 | ··/˘/˘··· |
| Ah! qu'elle est belle La Marguerite. | 10 | ···˘/···˘/ |
| Ah me! I have never touch'd her hand; | 9 | ····/˘··· |
| When the arriere-ban goes through the land, | 9 | ··˘/····· |
| Six basnets under my pennon stand; | 9 | ······/˘· |
| Ah! qu'elle est belle La Marguerite. | 10 | ···˘/···˘/ |
| And many an one grins under his hood: | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Sir Lambert du Bois, with all his men good, | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Has neither food nor firewood; | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Ah! qu'elle est belle La Marguerite. | 10 | ···˘/···˘/ |
| If I were rich I would kiss her feet, | 9 | ········· |
| And the golden girdle of my sweet, | 9 | ··/˘/˘··· |
| And thereabouts where the gold hems meet; | 9 | ··˘/····· |
| Ah! qu'elle est belle La Marguerite. | 10 | ···˘/···˘/ |
| Yet even now it is good to think, | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| While my few poor varlets grumble and drink | 10 | ······/˘·· |
| In my desolate hall, where the fires sink, | 10 | ··/˘····/· |
| Ah! qu'elle est belle La Marguerite. | 10 | ···˘/···˘/ |
| Of Margaret sitting glorious there, | 10 | ·/˘˘/˘/˘˘· |
| In glory of gold and glory of hair, | 10 | ·/˘···/˘·· |
| And glory of glorious face most fair; | 10 | ·/˘·/˘˘··· |
| Ah! qu'elle est belle La Marguerite. | 10 | ···˘/···˘/ |
| Likewise to-night I make good cheer, | 8 | /······· |
| Because this battle draweth near: | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| For what have I to lose or fear? | 8 | ········ |
| Ah! qu'elle est belle La Marguerite. | 10 | ···˘/···˘/ |
| For, look you, my horse is good to prance | 9 | ········· |
| A right fair measure in this war-dance, | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| Before the eyes of Philip of France; | 9 | ·····/˘·· |
| Ah! qu'elle est belle La Marguerite. | 10 | ···˘/···˘/ |
| And sometime it may hap, perdie, | 8 | ·/····˘/ |
| While my new towers stand up three and three, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| And my hall gets painted fair to see, | 9 | ····/˘··· |
| Ah! qu'elle est belle La Marguerite. | 10 | ···˘/···˘/ |
| That folks may say: Times change, by the rood, | 9 | ········· |
| For Lambert, banneret of the wood, | 9 | ·/˘/˘˘··· |
| Has heaps of food and firewood; | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Ah! qu'elle est belle La Marguerite; | 10 | ···˘/···˘/ |
| And wonderful eyes, too, under the hood | 10 | ·/˘˘······ |
| Of a damsel of right noble blood. | 9 | ··/˘··/˘· |
| St. Ives, for Lambert of the Wood! | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Ah! qu'elle est belle La Marguerite. | 10 | ···˘/···˘/ |
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.