The King of England (June 24Th, 1902)
In that eclipse of noon when joy was hushedLike the bird's song beneath unnatural night,And Terror's footfall in the darkness crushedThe rose imperial of our delight,Then, even then, though no man cried "He comes,"And no man turned to greet him passing there,With phantom heralds challenging renownAnd silent-throbbing drumsI saw the King of England, hale and fair,Ride out with a great train through London town.
Unarmed he rode, but in his ruddy shieldThe lions bore the dint of many a lance,And up and down his mantle's azure fieldWere strewn the lilies plucked in famous France.Before him went with banner floating wideThe yeoman breed that served his honour best,And mixed with these his knights of noble blood;But in the place of prideHis admirals in billowy lines abreastConvoyed him close like galleons on the flood.
Full of a strength unbroken showed his faceAnd his brow calm with youth's unclouded dawn,But round his lips were lines of tenderer graceSuch as no hand but Time's hath ever drawn.Surely he knew his glory had no partIn dull decay, nor unto Death must bend,Yet surely too of lengthening shadows dreamedWith sunset in his heart,So brief his beauty now, so near the end,And now so old and so immortal seemed.
O King among the living, these shall hailSons of thy dust that shall inherit thee:O King of men that die, though we must failThy life is breathed from thy triumphant sea.O man that servest men by right of birth,Our hearts' content thy heart shall also keep,Thou too with us shalt one day lay thee downIn our dear native earth,Full sure the King of England, while we sleep,For ever rides abroad through London town.
Words in this poem
- footfall n.
- A setting down of the foot; a footstep; the sound of a footstep.
- unarmed a.
- Not armed or armored; having no arms or weapons. [Pref. un- not + armed.]
- rode n.
- Redness; complexion. [See Rud.]
- dint n.
- A blow; a stroke. [OE. dint, dent, dunt, a blow, AS. dynt; akin to Icel. dyntr a dint, dynta to dint, and perh. to L. fendere (in composition). Cf. 1st Dent, Defend.]
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- honour n.
- Esteem due or paid to worth; high estimation; respect; consideration; reverence; veneration; manifestation of respect or reverence. [OE. honor, honour, onour, onur, OF. honor, onor, honur, onur, honour, onour, F. honneur, fr. L. honor, honos.]
- billowy a.
- Of or pertaining to billows; swelling or swollen into large waves; full of billows or surges; resembling billows.
- 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,]
- shalt
- 2d per. sing. of Shall.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The King of England (June 24Th, 1902) 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, The King of England (June 24Th, 1902), in Poems: New and Old (1912), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #24405, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/newbolt-poems/the-king-of-england-june-24th-1902.html, id L11430.
Form and metre
The King of England (June 24Th, 1902) is 40 lines in 4 stanzas of 10 lines each. Every stanza rhymes ABABCDECDE. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 89%). 95% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 9.7 syllables. 40% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See 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 ABABCDECDE hushedA · nightB · crushedA · delightB · comesC · thereD · renownE · drumsC · fairD · townE
- 2 ABABCDECDE shieldA · lanceB · fieldA · franceB · wideC · bestD · bloodE · prideC · abreastD · floodE
- 3 ABABCDECDE faceA · dawnB · graceA · drawnB · partC · bendD · dreamedE · heartC · endD · seemedE
- 4 ABABCDECDE hailA · theeB · failA · seaB · birthC · keepD · downE · earthC · sleepD · townE
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 |
|---|---|---|
| In that eclipse of noon when joy was hushed | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| Like the bird's song beneath unnatural night, | 10 | ······˘/˘· |
| And Terror's footfall in the darkness crushed | 10 | ·/˘/···/˘· |
| The rose imperial of our delight, | 10 | ··˘/˘˘·/˘/ |
| Then, even then, though no man cried "He comes," | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| And no man turned to greet him passing there, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| With phantom heralds challenging renown | 10 | ·/˘/˘/˘˘˘/ |
| And silent-throbbing drums | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| I saw the King of England, hale and fair, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Ride out with a great train through London town. | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Unarmed he rode, but in his ruddy shield | 10 | ˘/·····/˘· |
| The lions bore the dint of many a lance, | 10 | ·/˘····/·· |
| And up and down his mantle's azure field | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| Were strewn the lilies plucked in famous France. | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Before him went with banner floating wide | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| The yeoman breed that served his honour best, | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| And mixed with these his knights of noble blood; | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| But in the place of pride | 6 | ······ |
| His admirals in billowy lines abreast | 10 | ·/˘·/˘˘·˘/ |
| Convoyed him close like galleons on the flood. | 10 | /····/˘··· |
| Full of a strength unbroken showed his face | 10 | ····˘/˘··· |
| And his brow calm with youth's unclouded dawn, | 10 | ·········· |
| But round his lips were lines of tenderer grace | 11 | ··········· |
| Such as no hand but Time's hath ever drawn. | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Surely he knew his glory had no part | 10 | /˘···/˘··· |
| In dull decay, nor unto Death must bend, | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| Yet surely too of lengthening shadows dreamed | 10 | ·/˘··/˘/·· |
| With sunset in his heart, | 6 | ·/···· |
| So brief his beauty now, so near the end, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| And now so old and so immortal seemed. | 10 | ······˘/˘· |
| O King among the living, these shall hail | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Sons of thy dust that shall inherit thee: | 10 | ······˘/˘· |
| O King of men that die, though we must fail | 10 | ·········· |
| Thy life is breathed from thy triumphant sea. | 10 | ······˘/˘· |
| O man that servest men by right of birth, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Our hearts' content thy heart shall also keep, | 10 | /·˘/···/˘· |
| Thou too with us shalt one day lay thee down | 10 | ·········· |
| In our dear native earth, | 7 | ·/˘·/˘· |
| Full sure the King of England, while we sleep, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| For ever rides abroad through London town. | 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.