Canto Fourth: The Prophecy III
Together up the pass they sped:'What of the foeman?' Norman said.--'Varying reports from near and far;This certain,--that a band of warHas for two days been ready boune,At prompt command to march from Doune;King James the while, with princely powers,Holds revelry in Stirling towers.Soon will this dark and gathering cloudSpeak on our glens in thunder loud.Inured to bide such bitter bout,The warrior's plaid may bear it out;But, Norman, how wilt thou provideA shelter for thy bonny bride?''--'What! know ye not that Roderick's careTo the lone isle hath caused repairEach maid and matron of the clan,And every child and aged manUnfit for arms; and given his charge,Nor skiff nor shallop, boat nor barge,Upon these lakes shall float at large,But all beside the islet moor,That such dear pledge may rest secure?'--
Words in this poem
- foeman n.
- An enemy in war. [AS. fhman.]
- bide v. i.
- To dwell; to inhabit; to abide; to stay. [OE. biden, AS. bidan; akin to OHG. bitan, Goth. beidan, Icel. bi; perh. orig., to wait with trust, and akin to bid. See Bid, v. t., and cf. Abide.]
- bonny a.
- Handsome; beautiful; pretty; attractively lively and graceful. [OE. boni, prob. fr. F. bon, fem. bonne, good, fr. L. bonus good. See Bounty, and cf. Bonus, Boon.]
- lone n.
- A lane. See Loanin.
- isle v. t.
- To cause to become an island, or like an island; to surround or encompass; to island.
- skiff n.
- A small, light boat. [F. esquif, fr. OHG. skif, G. schiff. See Ship.]
- 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,]
- islet n.
- A little island. [OF. islette (cf. F. îlot), dim. of isle.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Canto Fourth: The Prophecy III is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Lady of the Lake, Project Gutenberg ebook #3011; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Walter Scott, Canto Fourth: The Prophecy III, in The Lady of the Lake (1810), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #3011, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/scott-lady-of-the-lake/canto-fourth-the-prophecy-iii.html, id L06646.
Form and metre
Canto Fourth: The Prophecy III is 23 lines in a single stanza. It is in rhyming couplets, 78% of the lines: octosyllabic couplets. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 90%). 94% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.1 syllables. 2 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 26% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in octosyllabic couplets, 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--BBCCDDEEFFGGHHIIIJJ spedA · saidA · far · war · bouneB · douneB · powersC · towersC · cloudD · loudD · boutE · outE · provideF · brideF · careG · repairG · clanH · manH · chargeI · bargeI · largeI · moorJ · secureJ
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Together up the pass they sped: | 8 | ˘/˘····· |
| 'What of the foeman?' Norman said.-- | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| 'Varying reports from near and far; | 8 | /˘˘/···· |
| This certain,--that a band of war | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Has for two days been ready boune, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| At prompt command to march from Doune; | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| King James the while, with princely powers, | 9 | ·····/˘/˘ |
| Holds revelry in Stirling towers. | 9 | ·/˘˘·/˘/˘ |
| Soon will this dark and gathering cloud | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Speak on our glens in thunder loud. | 8 | ··/··/˘· |
| Inured to bide such bitter bout, | 8 | ˘/···/˘· |
| The warrior's plaid may bear it out; | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| But, Norman, how wilt thou provide | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| A shelter for thy bonny bride?''-- | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| 'What! know ye not that Roderick's care | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| To the lone isle hath caused repair | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Each maid and matron of the clan, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And every child and aged man | 8 | ·/˘˘···· |
| Unfit for arms; and given his charge, | 8 | ˘/···/·· |
| Nor skiff nor shallop, boat nor barge, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Upon these lakes shall float at large, | 8 | ········ |
| But all beside the islet moor, | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
| That such dear pledge may rest secure?'-- | 8 | ······˘/ |
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.