For a’ That
Is there, for honest poverty,That hangs his head, and a’ that?The coward slave, we pass him by,We dare be poor for a’ that;For a’ that, and a’ that,Our toils obscure, and a’ that;The rank is but the guinea’s stamp,The man’s the gowd for a’ that!
What though on hamely fare we dine,Wear hoddin-gray, and a’ that;Gie fools their silks, and knaves their wine,A man’s a man for a’ that!For a’ that, and a’ that,Their tinsel show, and a’ that;The honest man, though e’er sae poor,Is king o’ men for a’ that!
Ye see yon birkie ca’d a lord,Wha struts, and stares, and a’ that;Though hundreds worship at his word,He’s but a coof for a’ that;For a’ that, and a’ that,His riband, star, and a’ that,The man of independent mind,He looks and laughs at a’ that.
A prince can make a belted knight,A marquis, duke, and a’ that;But an honest man’s aboon his might.Guid faith he maunna fa’ that!For a’ that, and a’ that,Their dignities, and a’ that,The pith o’ sense, and pride o’ worth,Are higher rank than a’ that.
Then let us pray that come it may--As come it will for a’ that--That sense and worth, o’er a’ the earth,May bear the gree, and a’ that;For a’ that, and a’ that,It’s coming yet for a’ that,That man to man, the warld o’er,Shall brothers be for a’ that!
Words in this poem
- dine v. i.
- To eat the principal regular meal of the day; to take dinner. [F. dîner, OF. disner, LL. disnare, contr. fr. an assumed disjunare; dis- + an assumed junare (OF. juner) to fast, for L. jejunare, fr. jejunus fasting. See Jeju]
- birkie n.
- A lively or mettlesome fellow. [Jocular, Scot.] Burns.
- duke n.
- A leader; a chief; a prince. [F. duc, fr. L. dux, ducis, leader, commander, fr. ducere to lead; akin to AS. teón to draw; cf. AS. heretoga (here army) an army leader, general, G. herzog duke]
- aboon prep.
- and adv. Above.
- gree n.
- Good will; favor; pleasure; satisfaction; -- used esp. in such phrases as: to take in gree; to accept in gree; that is, to take favorably. [F. gré. See Grateful, and cf. Agree.]
- 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
For a’ That is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems Every Child Should Know The What-Every-Child-Should-Know-Library, Project Gutenberg ebook #16436; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Mary E. Burt, For a’ That, in Poems Every Child Should Know (1904), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #16436, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/poems-every-child/for-a-that.html, id L25248.
Form and metre
For a’ That is 40 lines in 5 stanzas of 8 lines each. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 90%).
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 -A-AAA-A poverty · thatA · by · thatA · thatA · thatA · stamp · thatA
- 2 ABABBB-B dineA · thatB · wineA · thatB · thatB · thatB · poor · thatB
- 3 -A-AAA-A lord · thatA · word · thatA · thatA · thatA · mind · thatA
- 4 ABABBB-B knightA · thatB · mightA · thatB · thatB · thatB · worth · thatB
- 5 -A-AAA-A may · thatA · earth · thatA · thatA · thatA · o'er · thatA
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Is there, for honest poverty, | 8 | ···/˘/˘˘ |
| That hangs his head, and a’ that? | 7 | ······· |
| The coward slave, we pass him by, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| We dare be poor for a’ that; | 7 | ······· |
| For a’ that, and a’ that, | 6 | ······ |
| Our toils obscure, and a’ that; | 8 | /˘·˘/··· |
| The rank is but the guinea’s stamp, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| The man’s the gowd for a’ that! | 7 | ······· |
| What though on hamely fare we dine, | 9 | ········· |
| Wear hoddin-gray, and a’ that; | 7 | ······· |
| Gie fools their silks, and knaves their wine, | 8 | ········ |
| A man’s a man for a’ that! | 7 | ······· |
| For a’ that, and a’ that, | 6 | ······ |
| Their tinsel show, and a’ that; | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| The honest man, though e’er sae poor, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Is king o’ men for a’ that! | 7 | ······· |
| Ye see yon birkie ca’d a lord, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Wha struts, and stares, and a’ that; | 7 | ······· |
| Though hundreds worship at his word, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| He’s but a coof for a’ that; | 7 | ······· |
| For a’ that, and a’ that, | 6 | ······ |
| His riband, star, and a’ that, | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| The man of independent mind, | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| He looks and laughs at a’ that. | 7 | ······· |
| A prince can make a belted knight, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| A marquis, duke, and a’ that; | 7 | ··/···· |
| But an honest man’s aboon his might. | 9 | ··/˘·˘/·· |
| Guid faith he maunna fa’ that! | 7 | ······· |
| For a’ that, and a’ that, | 6 | ······ |
| Their dignities, and a’ that, | 7 | ·/˘˘··· |
| The pith o’ sense, and pride o’ worth, | 8 | ········ |
| Are higher rank than a’ that. | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| Then let us pray that come it may-- | 8 | ········ |
| As come it will for a’ that-- | 7 | ······· |
| That sense and worth, o’er a’ the earth, | 8 | ········ |
| May bear the gree, and a’ that; | 7 | ······· |
| For a’ that, and a’ that, | 6 | ······ |
| It’s coming yet for a’ that, | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| That man to man, the warld o’er, | 7 | ······· |
| Shall brothers be for a’ that! | 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.