Edward, Edward
‘Why does your brand sae drop wi’ blude,Edward, Edward?Why does your brand sae drop wi’ blude,And why sae sad gang ye, O?’‘O I hae kill’d my hawk sae gude,Mither, mither;O I hae kill’d my hawk sae gude,And I had nae mair but he, O.’
‘Your hawk’s blude was never sae red,Edward, Edward;Your hawk’s blude was never sae red,My dear son, I tell thee, O.’‘O I hae kill’d my red-roan steed,Mither, mither;O I hae kill’d my red-roan steed,That erst was sae fair and free, O.’
‘Your steed was auld, and ye hae got mair,Edward, Edward;Your steed was auld, and ye hae got mair;Some other dule ye dree, O.’‘O I hae kill’d my father dear,Mither, mither;O I hae kill’d my father dear,Alas, and wae is me, O!’
‘And whatten penance will ye dree for that,Edward, Edward?Whatten penance will ye dree for that?My dear son, now tell me, O.’‘I’ll set my feet in yonder boat,Mither, mither;I’ll set my feet in yonder boat,And I’ll fare over the sea, O.’
‘And what will ye do wi’ your tow’rs and your ha’,Edward, Edward?And what will ye do wi’ your tow’rs and your ha’,That were sae fair to see, O?’‘I’ll let them stand till they doun fa’,Mither, mither;I’ll let them stand till they doun fa’,For here never mair maun I be, O.’
‘And what will ye leave to your bairns and your wife,Edward, Edward?And what will ye leave to your bairns and your wife,When ye gang owre the sea, O?’‘The warld’s room: let them beg through life,Mither, mither;The warld’s room: let them beg through life;For them never mair will I see, O.’
‘And what will ye leave to your ain mither dear.Edward, Edward?And what will ye leave to your ain mither dear,My dear son, now tell me, O?’‘The curse of hell frae me sall ye bear,Mither, mither;The curse of hell frae me sall ye bear:Sic counsels ye gave to me, O!’
Words in this poem
- steed n.
- A horse, especially a spirited horse for state of war; -- used chiefly in poetry or stately prose. [OE. stede, AS. steda a stud-horse, war horse, fr. stod a stud of breeding steeds; akin to G. stute a mare, Icel. stedda, sto, a stud. *163. See Stud of horses.]
- auld a.
- Old; as, Auld Reekie (old smoky), i. e., Edinburgh. [See Old.]
- dree v. i.
- To be able to do or endure.
- yonder adv.
- At a distance, but within view. [OE. yonder, ýonder; cf. OD. ginder, Goth. jaindr there. Yond, adv.]
- sall n.
- An East Indian timber tree (Shorea robusta), much used for building purposes. It is of a light brown color, close-grained, and durable. [Hind. s\'bel, Skr. ç\'bela.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Edward, Edward is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Oxford Book of English Verse, 1250-1900, Project Gutenberg ebook #66619; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Anonymous, Edward, Edward, in Poems, text of Project Gutenberg ebook #66619, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/obev-anonymous-english/edward-edward.html, id L15928.
Form and metre
Edward, Edward is 56 lines in 7 stanzas of 8 lines each. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 71%). 100% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.3 syllables. 7 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending.
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 AAABA-AB bludeA · edwardA · bludeA · oB · gudeA · mither · gudeA · oB
- 2 AAABC-CB redA · edwardA · redA · oB · steedC · mither · steedC · oB
- 3 A-ABC-CB mairA · edward · mairA · oB · dearC · mither · dearC · oB
- 4 A-ABC-CB thatA · edward · thatA · oB · boatC · mither · boatC · oB
- 5 A-ABC-CB haA · edward · haA · oB · faC · mither · faC · oB
- 6 A-ABA-AB wifeA · edward · wifeA · oB · lifeA · mither · lifeA · oB
- 7 A-ABC-CB dearA · edward · dearA · oB · bearC · mither · bearC · oB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| ‘Why does your brand sae drop wi’ blude, | 8 | ········ |
| Edward, Edward? | 4 | /˘/˘ |
| Why does your brand sae drop wi’ blude, | 8 | ········ |
| And why sae sad gang ye, O?’ | 7 | ······· |
| ‘O I hae kill’d my hawk sae gude, | 8 | ········ |
| Mither, mither; | 4 | ···· |
| O I hae kill’d my hawk sae gude, | 8 | ········ |
| And I had nae mair but he, O.’ | 8 | ········ |
| ‘Your hawk’s blude was never sae red, | 8 | ····/˘·· |
| Edward, Edward; | 4 | /˘/˘ |
| Your hawk’s blude was never sae red, | 8 | ····/˘·· |
| My dear son, I tell thee, O.’ | 7 | ······· |
| ‘O I hae kill’d my red-roan steed, | 8 | ········ |
| Mither, mither; | 4 | ···· |
| O I hae kill’d my red-roan steed, | 8 | ········ |
| That erst was sae fair and free, O.’ | 8 | ········ |
| ‘Your steed was auld, and ye hae got mair, | 9 | ········· |
| Edward, Edward; | 4 | /˘/˘ |
| Your steed was auld, and ye hae got mair; | 9 | ········· |
| Some other dule ye dree, O.’ | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| ‘O I hae kill’d my father dear, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Mither, mither; | 4 | ···· |
| O I hae kill’d my father dear, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Alas, and wae is me, O!’ | 7 | ˘/····· |
| ‘And whatten penance will ye dree for that, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Edward, Edward? | 4 | /˘/˘ |
| Whatten penance will ye dree for that? | 9 | ··/˘····· |
| My dear son, now tell me, O.’ | 7 | ······· |
| ‘I’ll set my feet in yonder boat, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Mither, mither; | 4 | ···· |
| I’ll set my feet in yonder boat, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And I’ll fare over the sea, O.’ | 8 | ········ |
| ‘And what will ye do wi’ your tow’rs and your ha’, | 11 | ··········· |
| Edward, Edward? | 4 | /˘/˘ |
| And what will ye do wi’ your tow’rs and your ha’, | 11 | ··········· |
| That were sae fair to see, O?’ | 7 | ······· |
| ‘I’ll let them stand till they doun fa’, | 8 | ········ |
| Mither, mither; | 4 | ···· |
| I’ll let them stand till they doun fa’, | 8 | ········ |
| For here never mair maun I be, O.’ | 9 | ··/˘····· |
| ‘And what will ye leave to your bairns and your wife, | 11 | ··········· |
| Edward, Edward? | 4 | /˘/˘ |
| And what will ye leave to your bairns and your wife, | 11 | ··········· |
| When ye gang owre the sea, O?’ | 7 | ······· |
| ‘The warld’s room: let them beg through life, | 8 | ········ |
| Mither, mither; | 4 | ···· |
| The warld’s room: let them beg through life; | 8 | ········ |
| For them never mair will I see, O.’ | 9 | ··/˘····· |
| ‘And what will ye leave to your ain mither dear. | 11 | ··········· |
| Edward, Edward? | 4 | /˘/˘ |
| And what will ye leave to your ain mither dear, | 11 | ··········· |
| My dear son, now tell me, O?’ | 7 | ······· |
| ‘The curse of hell frae me sall ye bear, | 9 | ········· |
| Mither, mither; | 4 | ···· |
| The curse of hell frae me sall ye bear: | 9 | ········· |
| Sic counsels ye gave to me, O!’ | 8 | ·/˘····· |
Notes from the edition 1
Quiller-Couch's glosses on the hard words, from The Oxford Book of English Verse, 1250–1900, chosen and edited by Arthur Quiller-Couch (Oxford, 1900; Project Gutenberg #66619)
- Stanza 1 dule ye dree] grief you suffer.
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.