Helen of Kirconnell
I wish I were where Helen lies,Night and day on me she cries;O that I were where Helen lies,On fair Kirconnell lea!
Curst be the heart that thought the thought,And curst the hand that fired the shot,When in my arms burd Helen dropt,And died to succour me!
O think na ye my heart was sair,When my Love dropp’d and spak nae mair!There did she swoon wi’ meikle care,On fair Kirconnell lea.
As I went down the water side,None but my foe to be my guide,None but my foe to be my guide,On fair Kirconnell lea;
I lighted down my sword to draw,I hackèd him in pieces sma’,I hackèd him in pieces sma’,For her sake that died for me.
O Helen fair, beyond compare!I’ll mak a garland o’ thy hair,Shall bind my heart for evermair,Until the day I die!
O that I were where Helen lies!Night and day on me she cries;Out of my bed she bids me rise,Says, ‘Haste, and come to me!’
O Helen fair! O Helen chaste!If I were with thee, I’d be blest,Where thou lies low and taks thy rest,On fair Kirconnell lea.
I wish my grave were growing green,A winding-sheet drawn owre my e’en,And I in Helen’s arms lying,On fair Kirconnell lea.
I wish I were where Helen lies!Night and day on me she cries;And I am weary of the skies,For her sake that died for me.
Words in this poem
- curst a.
- Froward; malignant; mischievous; malicious; snarling. [SeeCurse.]
- succour v. t.
- tiono run to, or run to support; hence, to help or relieve when in difficulty, want, or distress; to assist and deliver from suffering; to relieve; as, to succor a besieged city. [OE. socouren, OF. sucurre, soucourre, secorre, F. secourir, L. succurrere, succursum, to run under, run to the aid of, help, succor; sub under + currere to run.]
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- 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,]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Helen of Kirconnell 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, Helen of Kirconnell, in Poems, text of Project Gutenberg ebook #66619, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/obev-anonymous-english/helen-of-kirconnell.html, id L15941.
Form and metre
Helen of Kirconnell is 40 lines in 10 stanzas of 4 lines each. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 90%). 99% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.4 syllables. 1 line ends 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 AAAB liesA · criesA · liesA · leaB
- 2 ---B thought · shot · dropt · meB
- 3 CCCB sairC · mairC · careC · leaB
- 4 DDDE sideD · guideD · guideD · leaE
- 5 ---E draw · sma · sma · meE
- 6 FFF- compareF · hairF · evermairF · die
- 7 GGGH liesG · criesG · riseG · meH
- 8 -IIH chaste · blestI · restI · leaH
- 9 JJ-K greenJ · e'enJ · lying · leaK
- 10 LLLK liesL · criesL · skiesL · meK
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 |
|---|---|---|
| I wish I were where Helen lies, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Night and day on me she cries; | 7 | ······· |
| O that I were where Helen lies, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| On fair Kirconnell lea! | 6 | ······ |
| Curst be the heart that thought the thought, | 8 | ········ |
| And curst the hand that fired the shot, | 8 | ·····/·· |
| When in my arms burd Helen dropt, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And died to succour me! | 6 | ···/˘· |
| O think na ye my heart was sair, | 8 | ········ |
| When my Love dropp’d and spak nae mair! | 8 | ········ |
| There did she swoon wi’ meikle care, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| On fair Kirconnell lea. | 6 | ······ |
| As I went down the water side, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| None but my foe to be my guide, | 8 | ········ |
| None but my foe to be my guide, | 8 | ········ |
| On fair Kirconnell lea; | 6 | ······ |
| I lighted down my sword to draw, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| I hackèd him in pieces sma’, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| I hackèd him in pieces sma’, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| For her sake that died for me. | 7 | ······· |
| O Helen fair, beyond compare! | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| I’ll mak a garland o’ thy hair, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Shall bind my heart for evermair, | 8 | ········ |
| Until the day I die! | 6 | ······ |
| O that I were where Helen lies! | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Night and day on me she cries; | 7 | ······· |
| Out of my bed she bids me rise, | 8 | ········ |
| Says, ‘Haste, and come to me!’ | 6 | ······ |
| O Helen fair! O Helen chaste! | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| If I were with thee, I’d be blest, | 8 | ········ |
| Where thou lies low and taks thy rest, | 8 | ········ |
| On fair Kirconnell lea. | 6 | ······ |
| I wish my grave were growing green, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| A winding-sheet drawn owre my e’en, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| And I in Helen’s arms lying, | 8 | ···/˘·/˘ |
| On fair Kirconnell lea. | 6 | ······ |
| I wish I were where Helen lies! | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Night and day on me she cries; | 7 | ······· |
| And I am weary of the skies, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| For her sake that died for me. | 7 | ······· |
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.