Poems
Christmas knows a merry, merry place,Where he goes with fondest face,Brightest eye, brightest hair:Tell the Mermaid where is that one place,Where?
_Raleigh._
’Tis by Devon’s glorious halls,Whence, dear Ben, I come again:Bright of golden roofs and walls--El Dorado’s rare domain--Seem those halls when sunlight launchesShafts of gold thro’ leafless branches,Where the winter’s feathery mantle blanchesField and farm and lane.
CHORUS. Christmas knows a merry, merry place, &c.
_Drayton._
’Tis where Avon’s wood-sprites weaveThrough the boughs a lace of rime,While the bells of Christmas EveFling for Will the Stratford-chimeO’er the river-flags emboss’dRich with flowery runes of frost--O’er the meads where snowy tufts are toss’d--Strains of olden time.
CHORUS. Christmas knows a merry, merry place, &c.
_Shakespeare’s Friend._
’Tis, methinks, on any groundWhere our Shakespeare’s feet are set.There smiles Christmas, holly-crown’dWith his blithest coronet:Friendship’s face he loveth well:’Tis a countenance whose spellSheds a balm o’er every mead and dellWhere we used to fret.
CHORUS. Christmas knows a merry, merry place, &c.
_Heywood._
More than all the pictures, Ben,Winter weaves by wood or stream,Christmas loves our London, whenRise thy clouds of wassail-steam--Clouds like these, that, curling, takeForms of faces gone, and wakeMany a lay from lips we loved, and makeLondon like a dream.
CHORUS. Christmas knows a merry, merry place, &c.
_Ben Jonson._
Love’s old songs shall never die,Yet the new shall suffer proof:Love’s old drink of Yule brew IWassail for new love’s behoof.Drink the drink I brew, and singTill the berried branches swing,Till our song make all the Mermaid ring--Yea, from rush to roof.
FINALE.
Christmas loves this merry, merry place;Christmas saith with fondest face,Brightest eye, brightest hair:‘Ben, the drink tastes rare of sack and mace;Rare!’
Words in this poem
- mermaid n.
- A fabled marine creature, typically represented as having the upper part like that of a woman, and the lower like a fish; a sea nymph, sea woman, or woman fish. [AS. mere lake, sea. See Mere lake, and maid.]
- glorious a.
- Exhibiting attributes, qualities, or acts that are worthy of or receive glory; noble; praiseworthy; excellent; splendid; illustrious; inspiring admiration; as, glorious deeds. [OF. glorios, glorious, F. glorieux, fr. L. gloriosus. See Glory, n.]
- rime n.
- A rent or long aperture; a chink; a fissure; a crack. Sir T. [L. rima.]
- snowy a.
- White like snow.
- olden a.
- Old; ancient; as, the olden time.
- methinks v.
- It seems to me; I think. See Me. [AS. þyncan to seem, me þynceedh, me þuhte, OE. me thinketh, me thoughte; akin to G. dünken to seem, denken to think, and E. think. See Me, and Think.]
- dell n.
- A small, retired valley; a ravine. [AS. del, akin to E. dale; cf. D. delle, del, low ground. See Dale.]
- 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,]
- yule n.
- Christmas or Christmastide; the feast of the Nativity of our Savior. [OE. yol, ýol, AS. geól; akin to geóla December or January, Icel. jol Yule, Ylir the name of a winter month, Sw. jul Christmas, Dan. juul, Goth. jiuleis November]
- brew v. t.
- To boil or seethe; to cook. [OE. brewen, AS. breówan; akin to D. brouwen, OHG. priuwan, MHG. briuwen, br, G. brauen, Icel. brugga, Sw. brygga, Dan. brygge, and perh. to L. defrutum must boi]
- behoof n.
- Advantage; profit; benefit; interest; use. [OE. to bihove for the use of, AS. beh advantage, a word implied in beh necessary; akin to Sw. behof, Dan. behov, G. behuf, and E. heave, the root meaning to sei]
- berried a.
- Furnished with berries; consisting of a berry; baccate; as, a berried shrub.
- finale n.
- Close; termination; as: (a) (Mus.) The last movement of a symphony, sonata, concerto, or any instrumental composition. [It. See Final.]
- saith
- 3d pers. sing. pres. of Say.
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: Theodore Watts-dunton, Poems, (1836–1914), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #66619, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/obev-theodore-watts-dunton/wassail-chorus-at-the-mermaid-tavern.html, id L16251.
Form and metre
Wassail Chorus at the Mermaid Tavern is 60 lines in 17 stanzas. The metre is trochaic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 91%). 95% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.0 syllables. 7 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 35% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in trochaic 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 AABAB placeA · faceA · hairB · placeA · whereB
- 3 ABAB-CCB hallsA · againB · wallsA · domainB · launches · branchesC · blanchesC · laneB
- 6 ABABCCCB weaveA · rimeB · eveA · chimeB · emboss'dC · frostC · toss'dC · timeB
- 9 ABABCCCB groundA · setB · crown'dA · coronetB · wellC · spellC · dellC · fretB
- 12 ABABCCCB benA · streamB · whenA · steamB · takeC · wakeC · makeC · dreamB
- 15 ABABCCCB dieA · proofB · iA · behoofB · singC · swingC · ringC · roofB
- 17 AABAB placeA · faceA · hairB · maceA · rareB
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 trochaic tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Christmas knows a merry, merry place, | 9 | /˘··/˘/˘· |
| Where he goes with fondest face, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Brightest eye, brightest hair: | 6 | /˘·/˘· |
| Tell the Mermaid where is that one place, | 9 | ··/······ |
| Where? | 1 | · |
| _Raleigh._ | 2 | /˘ |
| ’Tis by Devon’s glorious halls, | 8 | ··/˘/˘˘· |
| Whence, dear Ben, I come again: | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| Bright of golden roofs and walls-- | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| El Dorado’s rare domain-- | 7 | ·˘/˘·˘/ |
| Seem those halls when sunlight launches | 8 | ····/·/˘ |
| Shafts of gold thro’ leafless branches, | 8 | ····/˘/˘ |
| Where the winter’s feathery mantle blanches | 11 | ··/˘/˘˘/˘/˘ |
| Field and farm and lane. | 5 | ····· |
| CHORUS. Christmas knows a merry, merry place, &c. | 12 | /˘/˘··/˘/˘·· |
| _Drayton._ | 2 | /˘ |
| ’Tis where Avon’s wood-sprites weave | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Through the boughs a lace of rime, | 7 | ······· |
| While the bells of Christmas Eve | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Fling for Will the Stratford-chime | 7 | ····/˘· |
| O’er the river-flags emboss’d | 7 | ··/˘·˘/ |
| Rich with flowery runes of frost-- | 8 | ··/˘˘··· |
| O’er the meads where snowy tufts are toss’d-- | 9 | ····/˘··· |
| Strains of olden time. | 5 | ··/˘· |
| CHORUS. Christmas knows a merry, merry place, &c. | 12 | /˘/˘··/˘/˘·· |
| _Shakespeare’s Friend._ | 3 | /·· |
| ’Tis, methinks, on any ground | 7 | ·˘/·/˘· |
| Where our Shakespeare’s feet are set. | 8 | ·/˘/···· |
| There smiles Christmas, holly-crown’d | 7 | ··/˘/˘· |
| With his blithest coronet: | 7 | ··/˘/˘/ |
| Friendship’s face he loveth well: | 7 | /˘····· |
| ’Tis a countenance whose spell | 7 | ··/˘˘·· |
| Sheds a balm o’er every mead and dell | 10 | ····/˘˘··· |
| Where we used to fret. | 5 | ····· |
| CHORUS. Christmas knows a merry, merry place, &c. | 12 | /˘/˘··/˘/˘·· |
| _Heywood._ | 2 | /· |
| More than all the pictures, Ben, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Winter weaves by wood or stream, | 7 | /˘····· |
| Christmas loves our London, when | 8 | /˘·/˘/˘· |
| Rise thy clouds of wassail-steam-- | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Clouds like these, that, curling, take | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Forms of faces gone, and wake | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Many a lay from lips we loved, and make | 10 | /˘········ |
| London like a dream. | 5 | /˘··· |
| CHORUS. Christmas knows a merry, merry place, &c. | 12 | /˘/˘··/˘/˘·· |
| _Ben Jonson._ | 3 | ·/˘ |
| Love’s old songs shall never die, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Yet the new shall suffer proof: | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Love’s old drink of Yule brew I | 7 | ······· |
| Wassail for new love’s behoof. | 7 | /˘···˘/ |
| Drink the drink I brew, and sing | 7 | ······· |
| Till the berried branches swing, | 7 | ··/˘/˘· |
| Till our song make all the Mermaid ring-- | 10 | ·/˘····/·· |
| Yea, from rush to roof. | 5 | ····· |
| FINALE. | 3 | ˘/˘ |
| Christmas loves this merry, merry place; | 9 | /˘··/˘/˘· |
| Christmas saith with fondest face, | 7 | /˘··/˘· |
| Brightest eye, brightest hair: | 6 | /˘·/˘· |
| ‘Ben, the drink tastes rare of sack and mace; | 9 | ········· |
| Rare!’ | 1 | · |
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.