Laurel · Christina Rossetti · Goblin Market and Other Poems

A Royal Princess

iambic heptameter · rhyming couplets · 108 lines · from Goblin Market and Other Poems

I, a princess, king-descended, decked with jewels, gilded, drest,Would rather be a peasant with her baby at her breast,For all I shine so like the sun, and am purple like the west.

Two and two my guards behind, two and two before,Two and two on either hand, they guard me evermore;Me, poor dove, that must not coo--eagle that must not soar.

All my fountains cast up perfumes, all my gardens growScented woods and foreign spices, with all flowers in blowThat are costly, out of season as the seasons go.

All my walls are lost in mirrors, whereupon I traceSelf to right hand, self to left hand, self in every place,Self-same solitary figure, self-same seeking face.

Then I have an ivory chair high to sit upon,Almost like my father's chair, which is an ivory throne;There I sit uplift and upright, there I sit alone.

Alone by day, alone by night, alone days without end;My father and my mother give me treasures, search and spend--O my father! O my mother! have you ne'er a friend?

As I am a lofty princess, so my father isA lofty king, accomplished in all kingly subtilties,Holding in his strong right hand world-kingdoms' balances.

He has quarrelled with his neighbours, he has scourged his foes;Vassal counts and princes follow where his pennon goes,Long-descended valiant lords whom the vulture knows,

On whose track the vulture swoops, when they ride in stateTo break the strength of armies and topple down the great:Each of these my courteous servant, none of these my mate.

My father counting up his strength sets down with equal penSo many head of cattle, head of horses, head of men;These for slaughter, these for breeding, with the how and when.

Some to work on roads, canals; some to man his ships;Some to smart in mines beneath sharp overseers' whips;Some to trap fur-beasts in lands where utmost winter nips.

Once it came into my heart, and whelmed me like a flood,That these too are men and women, human flesh and blood;Men with hearts and men with souls, though trodden down like mud.

Our feasting was not glad that night, our music was not gay:On my mother's graceful head I marked a thread of grey,My father frowning at the fare seemed every dish to weigh.

I sat beside them sole princess in my exalted place,My ladies and my gentlemen stood by me on the dais:A mirror showed me I look old and haggard in the face;

It showed me that my ladies all are fair to gaze upon,Plump, plenteous-haired, to every one love's secret lore is known,They laugh by day, they sleep by night; ah me, what is a throne?

The singing men and women sang that night as usual,The dancers danced in pairs and sets, but music had a fall,A melancholy windy fall as at a funeral.

Amid the toss of torches to my chamber back we swept;My ladies loosed my golden chain; meantime I could have weptTo think of some in galling chains whether they waked or slept.

I took my bath of scented milk, delicately waited on,They burned sweet things for my delight, cedar and cinnamon,They lit my shaded silver lamp, and left me there alone.

A day went by, a week went by. One day I heard it said:'Men are clamouring, women, children, clamouring to be fed;Men like famished dogs are howling in the streets for bread.'

So two whispered by my door, not thinking I could hear,Vulgar naked truth, ungarnished for a royal ear;Fit for cooping in the background, not to stalk so near.

But I strained my utmost sense to catch this truth, and mark:'There are families out grazing like cattle in the park.''A pair of peasants must be saved even if we build an ark.'

A merry jest, a merry laugh, each strolled upon his way;One was my page, a lad I reared and bore with day by day;One was my youngest maid as sweet and white as cream in May.

Other footsteps followed softly with a weightier tramp;Voices said: 'Picked soldiers have been summoned from the campTo quell these base-born ruffians who make free to howl and stamp.'

'Howl and stamp?' one answered: 'They made free to hurl a stoneAt the minister's state coach, well aimed and stoutly thrown.''There's work then for the soldiers, for this rank crop must be mown.'

'One I saw, a poor old fool with ashes on his head,Whimpering because a girl had snatched his crust of bread:Then he dropped; when some one raised him, it turned out he was dead.'

'After us the deluge,' was retorted with a laugh:'If bread's the staff of life, they must walk without a staff.''While I've a loaf they're welcome to my blessing and the chaff.'

These passed. The king: stand up. Said my father with a smile:'Daughter mine, your mother comes to sit with you awhile,She's sad to-day, and who but you her sadness can beguile?'

He too left me. Shall I touch my harp now while I wait,--(I hear them doubling guard below before our palace gate--)Or shall I work the last gold stitch into my veil of state;

Or shall my woman stand and read some unimpassioned scene,There's music of a lulling sort in words that pause between;Or shall she merely fan me while I wait here for the queen?

Again I caught my father's voice in sharp word of command:'Charge!' a clash of steel: 'Charge again, the rebels stand.Smite and spare not, hand to hand; smite and spare not, hand to hand.'

There swelled a tumult at the gate, high voices waxing higher;A flash of red reflected light lit the cathedral spire;I heard a cry for faggots, then I heard a yell for fire.

'Sit and roast there with your meat, sit and bake there with your bread,You who sat to see us starve,' one shrieking woman said:'Sit on your throne and roast with your crown upon your head.'

Nay, this thing will I do, while my mother tarrieth,I will take my fine spun gold, but not to sew therewith,I will take my gold and gems, and rainbow fan and wreath;

With a ransom in my lap, a king's ransom in my hand,I will go down to this people, will stand face to face, will standWhere they curse king, queen, and princess of this cursed land.

They shall take all to buy them bread, take all I have to give;I, if I perish, perish; they to-day shall eat and live;I, if I perish, perish; that's the goal I half conceive:

Once to speak before the world, rend bare my heart and showThe lesson I have learned which is death, is life, to know.I, if I perish, perish; in the name of God I go.

Words in this poem 21

princess n.: A female prince; a woman having sovereign power, or the rank of a prince. [F. princesse. See Prince, and cf. Princesse.]
evermore adv.: During eternity; always; forever; for an indefinite period; at all times; -- often used substantively with for.
whereupon adv.: Upon which; in consequence of which; after which.
uplift v. t.: To lift or raise aloft; to raise; to elevate; as, to uplift the arm; to uplift a rock.
pennon n.: A wing; a pinion. [Cf. Pinion.]
valiant a.: Vigorous in body; strong; powerful; as, a valiant fencer. [OE. valiant, F. vaillant, OF. vaillant, valant, originally p. pr. of OF. & F. valoir to be worth, L. valere to be strong. See Wield, and cf. Avail, Convalesce, ]
topple v. i.: To fall forward; to pitch or tumble down. [From Top summit.]
haggard a.: Wild or intractable; disposed to break away from duty; untamed; as, a haggard or refractory hawk. Shak [F. hagard; of German origin, and prop. meaning, of the hegde or woods, wild, untamed. See Hedge, 1st Haw, and -ard.]
amid prep.: In the midst or middle of; surrounded or encompassed by; among. [OE. amidde, amiddes, on midden, AS. on middan, in the middle, fr. midde the middle. The s is an adverbial ending, originally marking the genitive; the t is a la]
galling a.: Fitted to gall or chafe; vexing; harassing; irritating.
went n.: Course; way; path; journey; direction.
jest n.: A deed; an action; a gest. [OE. jeste, geste, deed, action, story, tale, OF. geste, LL. gesta, orig., exploits, neut. pl. from L. gestus, p. p. of gerere to bear, carry, accomplish, perfor]
quell v. t.: To take the life of; to kill. [OE. quellen to kill, AS. cwellan, causative of cwelan to die; akin to OHG. quellen to torment, Icel. kvelja. See Quail to cower.]
stoutly adv.: In a stout manner; lustily; boldly; obstinately; as, he stoutly defended himself.
mown p. p.: Cut down by mowing, as grass; deprived of grass by mowing; as, a mown field.
awhile adv.: For a while; for some time; for a short time. [Adj. a + while time, interval.]
sadness n.: Heaviness; firmness.
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,]
bake v. t.: To prepare, as food, by cooking in a dry heat, either in an oven or under coals, or on heated stone or metal; as, to bake bread, meat, apples.
therewith adv.: With that or this.
cursed a.: Deserving a curse; execrable; hateful; detestable; abominable.

Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.

About this text

A Royal Princess is in the public domain. This text is taken from Goblin Market, The Prince's Progress, and Other Poems, Project Gutenberg ebook #16950; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.

Cite as: Christina Rossetti, A Royal Princess, in Goblin Market and Other Poems (1862), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #16950, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/rossetti-goblin-market/a-royal-princess.html, id L04321.

Form and metre

A Royal Princess is 108 lines in 36 stanzas of 3 lines each. It is in rhyming couplets, 61% of the lines. The metre is iambic heptameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 86%). 95% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 13.3 syllables. 4 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 10% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.

See other poems in rhyming couplets, other poems in iambic heptameter.

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 AAA drest^A · breast^A · west^A
2 AAA before^A · evermore^A · soar^A
3 AAA grow^A · blow^A · go^A
4 AAA trace^A · place^A · face^A
5 -AA upon · throne^A · alone^A
6 AAA end^A · spend^A · friend^A
7 A-A is^A · subtilties · balances^A
8 AAA foes^A · goes^A · knows^A
9 AAA state^A · great^A · mate^A
10 AAA pen^A · men^A · when^A
11 AAA ships^A · whips^A · nips^A
12 AAA flood^A · blood^A · mud^A
13 AAA gay^A · grey^A · weigh^A
14 A-A place^A · dais · face^A
15 -AA upon · known^A · throne^A
16 AAA usual^A · fall^A · funeral^A
17 AAA swept^A · wept^A · slept^A
18 AAA on^A · cinnamon^A · alone^A
19 AAA said^A · fed^A · bread^A
20 AAA hear^A · ear^A · near^A
21 AAA mark^A · park^A · ark^A
22 AAA way^A · day^A · may^A
23 AAA tramp^A · camp^A · stamp^A
24 AAA stone^A · thrown^A · mown^A
25 AAA head^A · bread^A · dead^A
26 AAA laugh^A · staff^A · chaff^A
27 AAA smile^A · awhile^A · beguile^A
28 AAA wait^A · gate^A · state^A
29 AAA scene^A · between^A · queen^A
30 AAA command^A · stand^A · hand^A
31 A-A higher^A · spire · fire^A
32 AAA bread^A · said^A · head^A
33 AAA tarrieth^A · therewith^A · wreath^A
34 AAA hand^A · stand^A · land^A
35 AA- give^A · live^A · conceive
36 AAA show^A · know^A · go^A

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 heptameter. How this is done.

Line	Syl.	Stress
I, a princess, king-descended, decked with jewels, gilded, drest,	15	··/˘·˘/˘··/˘/˘·
Would rather be a peasant with her baby at her breast,	14	·/˘··/˘··/˘···
For all I shine so like the sun, and am purple like the west.	15	··········/˘···
Two and two my guards behind, two and two before,	12	············
Two and two on either hand, they guard me evermore;	13	····/˘····/˘·
Me, poor dove, that must not coo--eagle that must not soar.	13	·······/˘····
All my fountains cast up perfumes, all my gardens grow	13	··/˘··˘/··/˘·
Scented woods and foreign spices, with all flowers in blow	14	/˘··/˘/˘··/˘··
That are costly, out of season as the seasons go.	13	··/˘··/˘··/˘·
All my walls are lost in mirrors, whereupon I trace	13	······/˘/˘/··
Self to right hand, self to left hand, self in every place,	14	··········/˘˘·
Self-same solitary figure, self-same seeking face.	13	··/˘·˘/˘··/˘·
Then I have an ivory chair high to sit upon,	13	····/˘˘······
Almost like my father's chair, which is an ivory throne;	14	/···/˘····/˘˘·
There I sit uplift and upright, there I sit alone.	13	···/˘·˘/···˘/
Alone by day, alone by night, alone days without end;	14	˘/··˘/··˘/····
My father and my mother give me treasures, search and spend--	14	·/˘··/˘··/˘···
O my father! O my mother! have you ne'er a friend?	13	··/˘··/˘·····
As I am a lofty princess, so my father is	13	····/˘/˘··/˘·
A lofty king, accomplished in all kingly subtilties,	14	·/˘·˘/˘˘··/˘··
Holding in his strong right hand world-kingdoms' balances.	13	/˘······/˘/˘˘
He has quarrelled with his neighbours, he has scourged his foes;	14	··/˘˘··/˘·····
Vassal counts and princes follow where his pennon goes,	13	/˘··/˘/˘··/˘·
Long-descended valiant lords whom the vulture knows,	12	·˘/˘/˘···/˘·
On whose track the vulture swoops, when they ride in state	12	····/˘······
To break the strength of armies and topple down the great:	13	·····/˘·/˘···
Each of these my courteous servant, none of these my mate.	14	····/˘˘/˘·····
My father counting up his strength sets down with equal pen	14	·/˘/˘······/˘·
So many head of cattle, head of horses, head of men;	14	·/˘··/˘··/˘···
These for slaughter, these for breeding, with the how and when.	13	··/˘··/˘·····
Some to work on roads, canals; some to man his ships;	12	·····˘/·····
Some to smart in mines beneath sharp overseers' whips;	13	·········˘/˘·
Some to trap fur-beasts in lands where utmost winter nips.	13	········/·/˘·
Once it came into my heart, and whelmed me like a flood,	14	·········˘····
That these too are men and women, human flesh and blood;	13	······/˘/˘···
Men with hearts and men with souls, though trodden down like mud.	13	········/˘···
Our feasting was not glad that night, our music was not gay:	14	//˘·····//˘···
On my mother's graceful head I marked a thread of grey,	14	··/˘/˘···˘····
My father frowning at the fare seemed every dish to weigh.	14	·/˘/˘····/˘···
I sat beside them sole princess in my exalted place,	14	··˘/··/˘··˘/˘·
My ladies and my gentlemen stood by me on the dais:	14	·/˘··/˘˘······
A mirror showed me I look old and haggard in the face;	14	·/˘······/˘···
It showed me that my ladies all are fair to gaze upon,	14	·····/˘·······
Plump, plenteous-haired, to every one love's secret lore is known,	15	·/˘˘··/˘··/˘···
They laugh by day, they sleep by night; ah me, what is a throne?	14	··············
The singing men and women sang that night as usual,	14	·/˘··/˘····/˘˘
The dancers danced in pairs and sets, but music had a fall,	14	·/˘······/˘···
A melancholy windy fall as at a funeral.	14	·/˘·˘/˘····/˘˘
Amid the toss of torches to my chamber back we swept;	14	˘/···/˘··/˘···
My ladies loosed my golden chain; meantime I could have wept	14	·/˘··/˘·/·····
To think of some in galling chains whether they waked or slept.	14	·····/˘·······
I took my bath of scented milk, delicately waited on,	14	·····/˘·/˘˘/˘·
They burned sweet things for my delight, cedar and cinnamon,	14	······˘//˘·/˘˘
They lit my shaded silver lamp, and left me there alone.	14	···/˘/˘·····˘/
A day went by, a week went by. One day I heard it said:	14	··············
'Men are clamouring, women, children, clamouring to be fed;	14	··/˘/˘/˘/˘˘···
Men like famished dogs are howling in the streets for bread.'	14	····˘··/˘·····
So two whispered by my door, not thinking I could hear,	14	··/˘˘····/˘···
Vulgar naked truth, ungarnished for a royal ear;	14	/˘/˘˘······/˘·
Fit for cooping in the background, not to stalk so near.	13	··/˘··/······
But I strained my utmost sense to catch this truth, and mark:	14	···˘·/········
'There are families out grazing like cattle in the park.'	14	··/˘˘·/˘·/˘···
'A pair of peasants must be saved even if we build an ark.'	14	···/˘···/·····
A merry jest, a merry laugh, each strolled upon his way;	14	·/˘··/˘·······
One was my page, a lad I reared and bore with day by day;	14	··············
One was my youngest maid as sweet and white as cream in May.	14	···/˘·········
Other footsteps followed softly with a weightier tramp;	14	/˘/·/˘˘/˘·····
Voices said: 'Picked soldiers have been summoned from the camp	14	/˘··˘/˘··/˘···
To quell these base-born ruffians who make free to howl and stamp.'	14	··············
'Howl and stamp?' one answered: 'They made free to hurl a stone	14	····/˘˘·······
At the minister's state coach, well aimed and stoutly thrown.'	14	··/˘˘····˘·/˘·
'There's work then for the soldiers, for this rank crop must be mown.'	14	·····/˘·······
'One I saw, a poor old fool with ashes on his head,	13	········/˘···
Whimpering because a girl had snatched his crust of bread:	14	/˘˘······˘····
Then he dropped; when some one raised him, it turned out he was dead.'	14	··············
'After us the deluge,' was retorted with a laugh:	13	····/˘·˘/˘···
'If bread's the staff of life, they must walk without a staff.'	13	·············
'While I've a loaf they're welcome to my blessing and the chaff.'	14	·····/˘··/˘···
These passed. The king: stand up. Said my father with a smile:	14	··˘······/˘···
'Daughter mine, your mother comes to sit with you awhile,	13	/˘··/˘·····˘/
She's sad to-day, and who but you her sadness can beguile?'	14	·········/˘·˘/
He too left me. Shall I touch my harp now while I wait,--	13	·············
(I hear them doubling guard below before our palace gate--)	14	···/˘·····//˘·
Or shall I work the last gold stitch into my veil of state;	14	··············
Or shall my woman stand and read some unimpassioned scene,	14	···/˘·········
There's music of a lulling sort in words that pause between;	14	·/˘··/˘·······
Or shall she merely fan me while I wait here for the queen?	14	···/˘·········
Again I caught my father's voice in sharp word of command:	14	˘/···/˘·····˘/
'Charge!' a clash of steel: 'Charge again, the rebels stand.	12	······˘/·/˘·
Smite and spare not, hand to hand; smite and spare not, hand to hand.'	14	··············
There swelled a tumult at the gate, high voices waxing higher;	15	···/˘····/˘/˘/˘
A flash of red reflected light lit the cathedral spire;	14	····˘/˘···˘/˘·
I heard a cry for faggots, then I heard a yell for fire.	15	·····/˘······/˘
'Sit and roast there with your meat, sit and bake there with your bread,	14	··············
You who sat to see us starve,' one shrieking woman said:	13	········/˘/˘·
'Sit on your throne and roast with your crown upon your head.'	13	·············
Nay, this thing will I do, while my mother tarrieth,	12	········/˘··
I will take my fine spun gold, but not to sew therewith,	13	···········˘/
I will take my gold and gems, and rainbow fan and wreath;	13	········/····
With a ransom in my lap, a king's ransom in my hand,	14	··/˘·····/˘···
I will go down to this people, will stand face to face, will stand	15	······/˘·······
Where they curse king, queen, and princess of this cursed land.	13	······/˘···˘·
They shall take all to buy them bread, take all I have to give;	14	··············
I, if I perish, perish; they to-day shall eat and live;	14	···/˘/˘·······
I, if I perish, perish; that's the goal I half conceive:	14	···/˘/˘·····˘/
Once to speak before the world, rend bare my heart and show	13	·············
The lesson I have learned which is death, is life, to know.	14	·/˘···˘·······
I, if I perish, perish; in the name of God I go.	14	···/˘/˘·······

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.

More by Christina Rossetti

Goblin Market and Other Poems