John Dory
As it fell on a holy-day,And upon a holy-tide-a,John Dory bought him an ambling nag,To Paris for to ride-a.
And when John Dory to Paris was come,A little before the gate-a,John Dory was fitted, the porter was wittedTo let him in thereat-a.
The first man that John Dory did meetWas good King John of France-a;John Dory could well of his courtesie,But fell downe in a trance-a.
‘A pardon, a pardon, my liege and my king,For my merry men and for me-a,And all the churls in merry England,I’le bring them all bound to thee-a.’
And Nichol was then a Cornish man,A little beside Bohyde-a,He mann’d him forth a good black barke,With fifty good oars of a side-a.
‘Run up, my boy, unto the maine top,And look what thou canst spy-a:’‘Who ho! who ho! a good ship I do see,I trow it be John Dory-a.’
They hoist their sailes, both top and top,The mizzen and all was tride-a,And every man stood to his lot,Whatever should betide-a.
The roring cannons then were plied,And dub-a-dub went the drum-a;The braying trumpets loud they criedTo courage both all and some-a.
The grappling-hooks were brought at length,The brown bill and the sword-a,John Dory at length, for all his strength,Was clapt fast under board-a.
Words in this poem
- dory n.
- A European fish. See Doree, and John Doree. [Named from 1st color, fr. F. dorée gilded, fr. dorer to gild, L. deaurare. See Deaurate, and cf. Aureole.]
- thereat adv.
- At that place; there.
- liege a.
- Sovereign; independent; having authority or right to allegiance; as, a liege lord. [OE. lige, lege, F. lige, LL. ligius, legius, liege, unlimited, complete, prob. of German origin; cf. G. ledig free from bonds and obstacles, MHG. ledec, ledic, ]
- trow v. i.
- To believe; to trust; to think or suppose. [OE. trowen, AS.treówan to trust, believe, fr. treów trust, treówe true, faithful. See True.]
- mizzen a.
- Hindmost; nearest the stern; as, the mizzen shrouds, sails, etc. [It. mezzana, fr. mezzano middle, fr. mezzo middle, half: cf. F. misaine foresail. See Mezzo.]
- betide v. t.
- To happen to; to befall; to come to ; as, woe betide the wanderer. [OE. bitiden; pref. bi-, be- + tiden, fr. AS. tidan, to happen, fr. tid time. See Tide.]
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- braying a.
- Making a harsh noise; blaring.
- trumpets n.
- A plant (Sarracenia flava) with long, hollow leaves.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
John Dory is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Oxford Book of Ballads, Project Gutenberg ebook #44593; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Arthur Quiller-Couch, John Dory, in The Oxford Book of Ballads (before 1800), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #44593, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/oxford-ballads/john-dory.html, id L08481.
Form and metre
John Dory is 36 lines in 9 stanzas of 4 lines each. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 80%). 92% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.4 syllables. 2 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 8% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
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 AA-A dayA · aA · nag · aA
- 2 -A-A come · aA · witted · aA
- 3 -A-A meet · aA · courtesie · aA
- 4 -A-A king · aA · england · aA
- 5 -A-A man · aA · barke · aA
- 6 -A-A top · aA · see · aA
- 7 -A-A top · aA · lot · aA
- 8 ABAB pliedA · aB · criedA · aB
- 9 ABAB lengthA · aB · strengthA · aB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| As it fell on a holy-day, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And upon a holy-tide-a, | 8 | ····/˘·· |
| John Dory bought him an ambling nag, | 9 | ·/˘···/˘· |
| To Paris for to ride-a. | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| And when John Dory to Paris was come, | 10 | ···/˘·/˘·· |
| A little before the gate-a, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| John Dory was fitted, the porter was witted | 12 | ·/˘·/˘·/˘·/˘ |
| To let him in thereat-a. | 7 | ····˘/· |
| The first man that John Dory did meet | 9 | ·····/˘·· |
| Was good King John of France-a; | 7 | ······· |
| John Dory could well of his courtesie, | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| But fell downe in a trance-a. | 7 | ······· |
| ‘A pardon, a pardon, my liege and my king, | 11 | ·/˘·/˘····· |
| For my merry men and for me-a, | 9 | ··/˘····· |
| And all the churls in merry England, | 9 | ·····/˘/˘ |
| I’le bring them all bound to thee-a.’ | 9 | ········· |
| And Nichol was then a Cornish man, | 9 | ·/˘···/˘· |
| A little beside Bohyde-a, | 8 | ·/˘·/··· |
| He mann’d him forth a good black barke, | 8 | ········ |
| With fifty good oars of a side-a. | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| ‘Run up, my boy, unto the maine top, | 9 | ········· |
| And look what thou canst spy-a:’ | 7 | ······· |
| ‘Who ho! who ho! a good ship I do see, | 10 | ·········· |
| I trow it be John Dory-a.’ | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| They hoist their sailes, both top and top, | 8 | ········ |
| The mizzen and all was tride-a, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| And every man stood to his lot, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Whatever should betide-a. | 7 | ·/˘·˘/· |
| The roring cannons then were plied, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And dub-a-dub went the drum-a; | 8 | ········ |
| The braying trumpets loud they cried | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| To courage both all and some-a. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| The grappling-hooks were brought at length, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| The brown bill and the sword-a, | 7 | ······· |
| John Dory at length, for all his strength, | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| Was clapt fast under board-a. | 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.