San Stefano (A Ballad of the Bold Menelaus)
It was morning at St. Helen's, in the great and gallant days,And the sea beneath the sun glittered wide,When the frigate set her courses, all a-shimmer in the haze,And she hauled her cable home and took the tide.She'd a right fighting company, three hundred men and more,Nine and forty guns in tackle running free;And they cheered her from the shore for her colours at the fore,When the bold Menelaus put to sea.
She'd a right fighting company, three hundred men and moreNine and forty guns in tackle running free;And they cheered her from the shore for her colours at the fire,When the bold Menelaus put to sea.
She was clear of Monte Cristo, she was heading for the land,When she spied a pennant red and white and blue;They were foemen, and they knew it, and they'd half a league in hand,But she flung aloft her royals and she flew.
She was nearer, nearer, nearer, they were caught beyond a doubt,But they slipped her, into Orbetello Bay,And the lubbers gave a shout as they paid their cables out,With the guns grinning round them where they lay.
Now Sir Peter was a captain of a famous fighting race,Son and grandson of an admiral was he;And he looked upon the batteries, he looked upon the chase,And he heard the shout that echoed out to sea.And he called across the decks, "Ay! the cheering might be lateIf they kept it till the Menelaus runs;Bid the master and his mate heave the lead and lay her straightFor the prize lying yonder by the guns."
When the summer moon was setting, into Orbetello BayCame the Menelaus gliding like a ghost;And her boats were manned in silence, and in silence pulled away,And in silence every gunner took his post.With a volley from her broadside the citadel she woke,And they hammered back like heroes all the night;But before the morning broke she had vanished through the smokeWith her prize upon her quarter grappled tight.
It was evening at St. Helen's, in the great and gallant time,And the sky behind the down was flushing far;And the flags were all a-flutter, and the bells were all a-chime,When the frigate cast her anchor off the bar.She'd a right fighting company, three hundred men and more,Nine and forty guns in tackle running free;And they cheered her from the shore for her colours at the fore,When the bold Menelaus came from sea.
She'd a right fighting company, three hundred men and more,Nine and forty guns in tackle running free;And they cheered her from the shore for her colours at the fore,When the bold Menelaus came from sea.
Words in this poem
- shimmer v. i.
- To shine with a tremulous or intermittent light; to shine faintly; to gleam; to glisten; to glimmer. [OE. schimeren, AS. scimerian; akin to scimian, sciman, to glitter, D. schemeren, G. schimmern, Dan. skimre, Sw. skimra, AS. scima a light, brightness, Icel. ski]
- monte n.
- A favorite gambling game among Spaniards, played with dice or cards. [Sp., lit., mountain, hence, the stock of cards remaining after laying out a certain number, fr. L. mons, montis, mountain.]
- heading n.
- The act or state of one who, or that which, heads; formation of a head.
- yonder adv.
- At a distance, but within view. [OE. yonder, ýonder; cf. OD. ginder, Goth. jaindr there. Yond, adv.]
- ghost n.
- The spirit; the soul of man. [OE. gast, gost, soul, spirit, AS. gast breath, spirit, soul; akin to OS. g spirit, soul, D. geest, G. geist, and prob. to E. gaze, ghastly.]
- gunner n.
- One who works a gun, whether on land or sea; a cannoneer.
- broadside n.
- The side of a ship above the water line, from the bow to the quarter.
- broke v. i.
- To transact business for another. Brome. [See Broker, and cf. Brook.]
- chime n.
- The harmonious sound of bells, or of musical instruments. [OE. chimbe, prop., cymbal, OF. cymbe, cymble, in a dialectic form, chymble, F. cymbale, L. cymbalum, fr. Gr. Cymbal.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
San Stefano (A Ballad of the Bold Menelaus) is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems: New and Old, Project Gutenberg ebook #24405; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Henry John Newbolt, San Stefano (A Ballad of the Bold Menelaus), in Poems: New and Old (1912), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #24405, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/newbolt-poems/san-stefano-a-ballad-of-the-bold-menelaus.html, id L11387.
Form and metre
San Stefano (A Ballad of the Bold Menelaus) is 48 lines in 8 stanzas. The rhyme scheme is ABABCDCD, complete in 4 of its 8 stanzas. The metre is iambic heptameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 83%). 93% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 12.3 syllables. 10% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in iambic heptameter.
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 daysA · wideB · hazeA · tideB · moreC · freeD · foreC · seaD
- 2 -A-A more · freeA · fire · seaA
- 3 ABAB landA · blueB · handA · flewB
- 4 ABAB doubtA · bayB · outA · layB
- 5 ABABCDCD raceA · heB · chaseA · seaB · lateC · runsD · straightC · gunsD
- 6 ABABCDCD bayA · ghostB · awayA · postB · wokeC · nightD · smokeC · tightD
- 7 ABABCDCD timeA · farB · chimeA · barB · moreC · freeD · foreC · seaD
- 8 ABAB moreA · freeB · foreA · seaB
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 heptameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| It was morning at St. Helen's, in the great and gallant days, | 15 | ··/˘··/˘····/˘· |
| And the sea beneath the sun glittered wide, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| When the frigate set her courses, all a-shimmer in the haze, | 15 | ··/˘··/˘··/˘··· |
| And she hauled her cable home and took the tide. | 11 | ····/˘····· |
| She'd a right fighting company, three hundred men and more, | 13 | ···/˘/˘·/˘··· |
| Nine and forty guns in tackle running free; | 11 | ··/˘··/˘/˘· |
| And they cheered her from the shore for her colours at the fore, | 14 | ·········/˘··· |
| When the bold Menelaus put to sea. | 9 | ········· |
| She'd a right fighting company, three hundred men and more | 13 | ···/˘/˘·/˘··· |
| Nine and forty guns in tackle running free; | 11 | ··/˘··/˘/˘· |
| And they cheered her from the shore for her colours at the fire, | 14 | ·········/˘··/ |
| When the bold Menelaus put to sea. | 9 | ········· |
| She was clear of Monte Cristo, she was heading for the land, | 15 | ····/˘/···/˘··· |
| When she spied a pennant red and white and blue; | 11 | ····/˘····· |
| They were foemen, and they knew it, and they'd half a league in hand, | 15 | ··············· |
| But she flung aloft her royals and she flew. | 11 | ···˘/·/˘··· |
| She was nearer, nearer, nearer, they were caught beyond a doubt, | 15 | ··/˘/˘/˘······· |
| But they slipped her, into Orbetello Bay, | 11 | ··········· |
| And the lubbers gave a shout as they paid their cables out, | 14 | ··/˘·······/˘· |
| With the guns grinning round them where they lay. | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Now Sir Peter was a captain of a famous fighting race, | 15 | ··/˘··/˘··/˘/˘· |
| Son and grandson of an admiral was he; | 10 | ··/···/˘·· |
| And he looked upon the batteries, he looked upon the chase, | 14 | ······/˘······ |
| And he heard the shout that echoed out to sea. | 11 | ······/˘··· |
| And he called across the decks, "Ay! the cheering might be late | 14 | ···˘/····/˘··· |
| If they kept it till the Menelaus runs; | 10 | ·········· |
| Bid the master and his mate heave the lead and lay her straight | 14 | ··/˘·········· |
| For the prize lying yonder by the guns." | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| When the summer moon was setting, into Orbetello Bay | 15 | ··/˘··/˘······· |
| Came the Menelaus gliding like a ghost; | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| And her boats were manned in silence, and in silence pulled away, | 15 | ······/˘··/˘·˘/ |
| And in silence every gunner took his post. | 11 | ··/˘/˘/˘··· |
| With a volley from her broadside the citadel she woke, | 14 | ··/˘··/··/˘··· |
| And they hammered back like heroes all the night; | 11 | ··/˘··/˘··· |
| But before the morning broke she had vanished through the smoke | 14 | ····/˘···/˘··· |
| With her prize upon her quarter grappled tight. | 11 | ······/˘/˘· |
| It was evening at St. Helen's, in the great and gallant time, | 15 | ··/˘··/˘····/˘· |
| And the sky behind the down was flushing far; | 11 | ········/˘· |
| And the flags were all a-flutter, and the bells were all a-chime, | 15 | ······/˘······· |
| When the frigate cast her anchor off the bar. | 11 | ··/˘··/˘··· |
| She'd a right fighting company, three hundred men and more, | 13 | ···/˘/˘·/˘··· |
| Nine and forty guns in tackle running free; | 11 | ··/˘··/˘/˘· |
| And they cheered her from the shore for her colours at the fore, | 14 | ·········/˘··· |
| When the bold Menelaus came from sea. | 9 | ········· |
| She'd a right fighting company, three hundred men and more, | 13 | ···/˘/˘·/˘··· |
| Nine and forty guns in tackle running free; | 11 | ··/˘··/˘/˘· |
| And they cheered her from the shore for her colours at the fore, | 14 | ·········/˘··· |
| When the bold Menelaus came from sea. | 9 | ········· |
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.