A Credo
For the sole edificationOf this decent congregation,Goodly people, by your grantI will sing a holy chant--I will sing a holy chant.If the ditty sound but oddly,'Twas a father, wise and godly,Sang it so long ago--Then sing as Martin Luther sang,As Doctor Martin Luther sang:"Who loves not wine, woman and song,He is a fool his whole life long!"
He, by custom patriarchal,Loved to see the beaker sparkle;And he thought the wine improved,Tasted by the lips he loved--By the kindly lips he loved.Friends, I wish this custom piousDuly were observed by us,To combine love, song, wine,And sing as Martin Luther sang,As Doctor Martin Luther sang:"Who loves not wine, woman and song,He is a fool his whole life long!"
Who refuses this our Credo,And who will not sing as we do,Were he holy as John Knox,I'd pronounce him heterodox!I'd pronounce him heterodox,And from out this congregation,With a solemn commination,Banish quick the heretic,Who will not sing as Luther sang,As Doctor Martin Luther sang:"Who loves not wine, woman and song,He is a fool his whole life long!"
Words in this poem
- edification n.
- The act of edifying, or the state of being edified; a building up, especially in a moral or spiritual sense; moral, intellectual, or spiritual improvement; instruction. [L. aedificatio: cf. F. édification. See Edify.]
- goodly a.
- Pleasant; agreeable; desirable. [OE. godlich, AS. g. See Good, and Like.]
- ditty n.
- A saying or utterance; especially, one that is short and frequently repeated; a theme. [OE. dite, OF. ditié, fr. L. dictatum, p. p. neut. of dictare to say often, dictate, compose. See Dictate, v. t.]
- oddly adv.
- In an odd manner; unevently.
- beaker n.
- A large drinking cup, with a wide mouth, supported on a foot or standard. [OE. biker; akin to Icel. bikarr, Sw. bägare, Dan. baeger, G. becher, It. bicchiere; -- all fr. LL. bicarium, prob. fr. Gr. wine jar, or perh. L. bacar wine vess]
- credo n.
- The creed, as sung or read in the Roman Catholic church. [L. See Creed.]
- heterodox n.
- An opinion opposed to some accepted standard. Sir T.
- commination n.
- A threat or threatening; a denunciation of punishment or vengeance. [L. comminatio, from comminary to threaten; com- + minari to threaten: cf. F. commination.]
- heretic n.
- One who holds to a heresy; one who believes some doctrine contrary to the established faith or prevailing religion. [L. haereticus, Gr. hérétique. See Heresy.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
A Credo is in the public domain. This text is taken from Ballads, Project Gutenberg ebook #2732; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: William Makepeace Thackeray, A Credo, in Ballads (1849–1855), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #2732, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/thackeray-ballads/a-credo.html, id L10367.
Form and metre
A Credo is 36 lines in 3 stanzas of 12 lines each. It is in rhyming couplets, 56% of the lines: octosyllabic couplets. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 86%). 96% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.8 syllables. 13 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 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 AABBBCC-DDEE edificationA · congregationA · grantB · chantB · chantB · oddlyC · godlyC · ago · sangD · sangD · songE · longE
- 2 AA-BBCC-DDEE patriarchalA · sparkleA · improved · lovedB · lovedB · piousC · usC · wine · sangD · sangD · songE · longE
- 3 --AAABB-CCDD credo · do · knoxA · heterodoxA · heterodoxA · congregationB · comminationB · heretic · sangC · sangC · songD · longD
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 |
|---|---|---|
| For the sole edification | 8 | ····˘˘/˘ |
| Of this decent congregation, | 8 | ··/˘·˘/˘ |
| Goodly people, by your grant | 7 | /˘/˘··· |
| I will sing a holy chant-- | 7 | ····/˘· |
| I will sing a holy chant. | 7 | ····/˘· |
| If the ditty sound but oddly, | 8 | ··/˘··/˘ |
| 'Twas a father, wise and godly, | 8 | ··/˘··/˘ |
| Sang it so long ago-- | 6 | ····˘/ |
| Then sing as Martin Luther sang, | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| As Doctor Martin Luther sang: | 8 | ·/˘/˘/˘· |
| "Who loves not wine, woman and song, | 8 | ····/˘·· |
| He is a fool his whole life long!" | 8 | ········ |
| He, by custom patriarchal, | 8 | ··/˘·˘/˘ |
| Loved to see the beaker sparkle; | 8 | ····/˘/˘ |
| And he thought the wine improved, | 8 | ·····˘/˘ |
| Tasted by the lips he loved-- | 8 | /˘·····˘ |
| By the kindly lips he loved. | 8 | ··/˘···˘ |
| Friends, I wish this custom pious | 8 | ····/˘/˘ |
| Duly were observed by us, | 8 | /˘·˘/˘·· |
| To combine love, song, wine, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| And sing as Martin Luther sang, | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| As Doctor Martin Luther sang: | 8 | ·/˘/˘/˘· |
| "Who loves not wine, woman and song, | 8 | ····/˘·· |
| He is a fool his whole life long!" | 8 | ········ |
| Who refuses this our Credo, | 9 | ·˘/˘·/˘/˘ |
| And who will not sing as we do, | 8 | ········ |
| Were he holy as John Knox, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| I'd pronounce him heterodox! | 8 | ·˘/··˘˘· |
| I'd pronounce him heterodox, | 8 | ·˘/··˘˘· |
| And from out this congregation, | 8 | ·····˘/˘ |
| With a solemn commination, | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| Banish quick the heretic, | 7 | /˘··/˘˘ |
| Who will not sing as Luther sang, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| As Doctor Martin Luther sang: | 8 | ·/˘/˘/˘· |
| "Who loves not wine, woman and song, | 8 | ····/˘·· |
| He is a fool his whole life long!" | 8 | ········ |
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