Poems
He that is down needs fear no fall,He that is low, no pride;He that is humble ever shallHave God to be his guide.
I am content with what I have,Little be it or much:And, Lord, contentment still I crave,Because Thou savest such.
Fullness to such a burden isThat go on pilgrimage:Here little, and hereafter bliss,Is best from age to age.
Words in this poem
- needs adv.
- Of necessity; necessarily; indispensably; -- often with must, and equivalent to of need. [Orig. gen. of need, used as an adverb. Cf. - wards.]
- 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,]
- crave v. t.
- To ask with earnestness or importunity; to ask with submission or humility; to beg; to entreat; to beseech; to implore. [AS. crafian; akin to Icel. krefia, Sw. kr, Dan. kr.]
- pilgrimage n.
- The journey of a pilgrim; a long journey; especially, a journey to a shrine or other sacred place. Fig., the journey of human life. [OE. pilgrimage, pelgrinage; cf. F. pèlerinage.]
- hereafter adv.
- In time to come; in some future time or state. [AS. hræfter.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Poems 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: John Bunyan, Poems, (1628–1688), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #66619, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/obev-john-bunyan/the-shepherd-boy-sings-in-the-valley-of-humiliat.html, id L16114.
Form and metre
The Shepherd Boy sings in the Valley of Humiliation is 12 lines in 3 stanzas of 4 lines each. The metre is common measure, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 85%). 93% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.0 syllables. 1 line ends on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 17% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in common measure.
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 -A-A fall · prideA · shall · guideA
- 2 ABAB haveA · muchB · craveA · suchB
- 3 -A-A is · pilgrimageA · bliss · ageA
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 common measure. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| He that is down needs fear no fall, | 8 | ········ |
| He that is low, no pride; | 6 | ······ |
| He that is humble ever shall | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Have God to be his guide. | 6 | ······ |
| I am content with what I have, | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| Little be it or much: | 6 | /˘···· |
| And, Lord, contentment still I crave, | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| Because Thou savest such. | 6 | ······ |
| Fullness to such a burden is | 8 | /˘···/˘· |
| That go on pilgrimage: | 6 | ···/˘˘ |
| Here little, and hereafter bliss, | 8 | ·/˘·˘/˘· |
| Is best from age to age. | 6 | ······ |
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.