The Chances
I mind as 'ow the night afore that showUs five got talking,--we was in the know,"Over the top to-morrer; boys, we're for it,First wave we are, first ruddy wave; that's tore it.""Ah well," says Jimmy,--an' 'e's seen some scrappin'--"There ain't more nor five things as can 'appen;Ye get knocked out; else wounded--bad or cushy;Scuppered; or nowt except yer feeling mushy."
One of us got the knock-out, blown to chops.T'other was hurt, like, losin' both 'is props.An' one, to use the word of 'ypocrites,'Ad the misfortoon to be took by Fritz.Now me, I wasn't scratched, praise God Almighty(Though next time please I'll thank 'im for a blighty),But poor young Jim, 'e's livin' an' 'e's not;'E reckoned 'e'd five chances, an' 'e's 'ad;'E's wounded, killed, and pris'ner, all the lot--The ruddy lot all rolled in one. Jim's mad.
Words in this poem
- afore prep.
- Before (in all its senses).
- tore n.
- The dead grass that remains on mowing land in winter and spring. Mortimer. [Probably from the root of tear; cf. W. tór a break, cut, tóri to break, cut.]
- jimmy n.
- A short crowbar used by burglars in breaking open doors. [Cf. Jemmy.]
- mushy a.
- Soft like mush; figuratively, good-naturedly weak and effusive; weakly sentimental.
- chops n.
- The jaws; also, the fleshy parts about the mouth. [See Chop a jaw.]
- props n.
- A game of chance, in which four sea shells, each called a prop, are used instead of dice.
- thank n.
- A expression of gratitude; an acknowledgment expressive of a sense of favor or kindness received; obligation, claim, or desert, or gratitude; -- now generally used in the plural. [AS. Þanc, Þonc, thanks, favor, thought; akin to OS. thank favor, pleasure, thanks, D. & G. dank thanks, Icel. Þ\'94kk, Dan. tak, Sw. tack, Goth. Þagks thanks; -]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Chances is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems, Project Gutenberg ebook #1034; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Wilfred Owen, The Chances, in Poems (1920), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #1034, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/owen-poems/the-chances.html, id L04678.
Form and metre
The Chances is 18 lines in 2 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 87%). 98% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.4 syllables. 3 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 11% 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 AABB---- showA · knowA · itB · itB · scrappin · appen · cushy · mushy
- 2 AABBCCDEDE chopsA · propsA · ypocritesB · fritzB · almightyC · blightyC · notD · adE · lotD · madE
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 |
|---|---|---|
| I mind as 'ow the night afore that show | 10 | ······˘/·· |
| Us five got talking,--we was in the know, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| "Over the top to-morrer; boys, we're for it, | 10 | ·········· |
| First wave we are, first ruddy wave; that's tore it." | 11 | ·····/˘···· |
| "Ah well," says Jimmy,--an' 'e's seen some scrappin'-- | 11 | ···/˘······ |
| "There ain't more nor five things as can 'appen; | 10 | ·········· |
| Ye get knocked out; else wounded--bad or cushy; | 11 | ·····/˘··/˘ |
| Scuppered; or nowt except yer feeling mushy." | 11 | /˘·····/˘/˘ |
| One of us got the knock-out, blown to chops. | 10 | ·········· |
| T'other was hurt, like, losin' both 'is props. | 11 | ˘/˘········ |
| An' one, to use the word of 'ypocrites, | 10 | ·········· |
| 'Ad the misfortoon to be took by Fritz. | 10 | ·········· |
| Now me, I wasn't scratched, praise God Almighty | 11 | ···/˘···˘/˘ |
| (Though next time please I'll thank 'im for a blighty), | 11 | ··········· |
| But poor young Jim, 'e's livin' an' 'e's not; | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| 'E reckoned 'e'd five chances, an' 'e's 'ad; | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| 'E's wounded, killed, and pris'ner, all the lot-- | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| The ruddy lot all rolled in one. Jim's mad. | 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.