The White Squall
On deck, beneath the awning,I dozing lay and yawning;It was the gray of dawning,Ere yet the sun arose;And above the funnel's roaring,And the fitful wind's deploring,I heard the cabin snoringWith universal nose.I could hear the passengers snorting--I envied their disporting--Vainly I was courtingThe pleasure of a doze!
So I lay, and wondered why lightCame not, and watched the twilight,And the glimmer of the skylight,That shot across the deck;And the binnacle pale and steady,And the dull glimpse of the dead-eye,And the sparks in fiery eddyThat whirled from the chimney neck.In our jovial floating prisonThere was sleep from fore to mizzen,And never a star had risenThe hazy sky to speck.
Strange company we harbored,We'd a hundred Jews to larboard,Unwashed, uncombed, unbarbered--Jews black, and brown, and gray;With terror it would seize ye,And make your souls uneasy,To see those Rabbis greasy,Who did naught but scratch and pray:Their dirty children puking--Their dirty saucepans cooking--Their dirty fingers hookingTheir swarming fleas away.
To starboard, Turks and Greeks were--Whiskered and brown their cheeks were--Enormous wide their breeks were,Their pipes did puff alway;Each on his mat allottedIn silence smoked and squatted,Whilst round their children trottedIn pretty, pleasant play.He can't but smile who tracesThe smiles on those brown faces,And the pretty, prattling gracesOf those small heathens gay.
And so the hours kept tolling,And through the ocean rollingWent the brave "Iberia" bowlingBefore the break of day--
When A SQUALL, upon a sudden,Came o'er the waters scudding;And the clouds began to gather,And the sea was lashed to lather,And the lowering thunder grumbled,And the lightning jumped and tumbled,And the ship, and all the ocean,Woke up in wild commotion.Then the wind set up a howling,And the poodle dog a yowling,And the cocks began a crowing,And the old cow raised a lowing,As she heard the tempest blowing;And fowls and geese did cackle,And the cordage and the tackleBegan to shriek and crackle;And the spray dashed o'er the funnels,And down the deck in runnels;And the rushing water soaks all,From the seamen in the fo'ksalTo the stokers whose black facesPeer out of their bed-places;And the captain he was bawling,And the sailors pulling, hauling,And the quarter-deck tarpaulingWas shivered in the squalling;And the passengers awaken,Most pitifully shaken;And the steward jumps up, and hastensFor the necessary basins.
Then the Greeks they groaned and quivered,And they knelt, and moaned, and shivered,As the plunging waters met them,And splashed and overset them;And they call in their emergenceUpon countless saints and virgins;And their marrowbones are bended,And they think the world is ended.
And the Turkish women for'ardWere frightened and behorror'd;And shrieking and bewildering,The mothers clutched their children;The men sung "Allah! Illah!Mashallah Bismillah!"As the warring waters doused themAnd splashed them and soused them,And they called upon the Prophet,And thought but little of it.
Then all the fleas in JewryJumped up and bit like fury;And the progeny of JacobDid on the main-deck wake up(I wot those greasy RabbinsWould never pay for cabins);And each man moaned and jabbered inHis filthy Jewish gaberdine,In woe and lamentation,And howling consternation.And the splashing water drenchesTheir dirty brats and wenches;And they crawl from bales and benchesIn a hundred thousand stenches.
This was the White Squall famous,Which latterly o'ercame us,And which all will well rememberOn the 28th September;When a Prussian captain of Lancers(Those tight-laced, whiskered prancers)Came on the deck astonished,By that wild squall admonished,And wondering cried, "Potztausend,Wie ist der Stürm jetzt brausend?"And looked at Captain Lewis,Who calmly stood and blew hisCigar in all the hustle,And scorned the tempest's tussle,And oft we've thought thereafterHow he beat the storm to laughter;For well he knew his vesselWith that vain wind could wrestle;And when a wreck we thought her,And doomed ourselves to slaughter,How gayly he fought her,And through the hubbub brought her,And as the tempest caught her,Cried, "GEORGE! SOME BRANDY-AND-WATER!"
And when, its force expended,The harmless storm was ended,And as the sunrise splendidCame blushing o'er the sea;I thought, as day was breaking,My little girls were waking,And smiling, and makingA prayer at home for me.
Words in this poem 33
- awning n.
- A rooflike cover, usually of canvas, extended over or before any place as a shelter from the sun, rain, or wind. [Origin uncertain: cf. F. auvent awing, or Pers. awan, awang, anything suspended, or LG. havening a place sheltered from wind and weather, E. haven.]
- fitful a.
- Full of fits; irregularly variable; impulsive and unstable. [From 7th Fit.]
- wondered a.
- Having performed wonders; able to perform wonderful things.
- skylight n.
- A window placed in the roof of a building, in the ceiling of a room, or in the deck of a ship, for the admission of light from above.
- binnacle n.
- A case or box placed near the helmsman, containing the compass of a ship, and a light to show it at night. Totten. [For bittacle, corrupted (perh. by influence of bin) fr. Pg. bitacola binnacle, fr. L. habitaculum dwelling place, fr. habitare to dwell. See Habit, and cf. Bitt]
- chimney n.
- A fireplace or hearth. Sir W. Raleigh.
- jovial a.
- Of or pertaining to the god, or the planet, Jupiter. [F., fr. L. Jovialis pertaining to Jove. The planet Jupiter was thought to make those born under it joyful or jovial. See Jove.]
- 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.]
- hazy a.
- Thick with haze; somewhat obscured with haze; not clear or transparent. [From Haze, n.]
- unwashed a.
- Not washed or cleansed; filthy; unclean.
- whiskered a.
- Formed into whiskers; furnished with whiskers; having or wearing whiskers.
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- poodle n.
- A breed of dogs having curly hair, and often showing remarkable intelligence in the performance of tricks. [G. pudel.]
- lowing n.
- The calling sound made by cows and other bovine animals.
- cackle v. i.
- To make a sharp, broken noise or cry, as a hen or goose does. [OE. cakelen; cf. LG. kakeln, D. kakelen, G. gackeln, gackern; all of imitative origin. Cf. Gagle, Cake to cackle.]
- quivered a.
- Furnished with, or carrying, a quiver.
- overset v. t.
- To turn or tip (anything) over from an upright, or a proper, position so that it lies upon its side or bottom upwards; to upset; as, to overset a chair, a coach, a ship, or a building.
- emergence n.
- The act of rising out of a fluid, or coming forth from envelopment or concealment, or of rising into view; sudden uprisal or appearance.
- countless a.
- Incapable of being counted; not ascertainable; innumerable.
- bewildering a.
- Causing bewilderment or great perplexity; as, bewildering difficulties.
- allah n.
- The name of the Supreme Being, in use among the Arabs and the Mohammedans generally. [contr. fr. the article al the + ilah God.]
- bismillah interj.
- An adjuration or exclamation common among the Mohammedans. [Arabic, in the name of God!]
- jewry n.
- Judea; also, a district inhabited by Jews; a Jews' quarter. [OE. Jewerie, OF. Juierie, F. Juiverie.]
- gaberdine n.
- A coarse frock or loose upper garment formerly worn by Jews; a mean dress. [Sp. gabardina; cf. It. gavardina, OF. galvardine, calvardine, gavardine, galeverdine; perh. akin to Sp. & OF. gaban a sort of cloak or coat for rainy weather, F]
- consternation n.
- Amazement or horror that confounds the faculties, and incapacitates for refletion; terror, combined with amaxement; dismay. [L. consternatio, fr. consternare to overome, perplex, an accessory form of consternere to trow down, prostrate; con + sternere to spread out, throw down: cf. F.]
- crawl v. i.
- To move slowly by drawing the body along the ground, as a worm; to move slowly on hands and kness; to creep. [Dan. kravle, or Icel. krafla, to paw, scrabble with the hands; akin to Sw. kr to crawl; cf. LG. krabbeln, D. krabbelen to scratch.]
- latterly adv.
- Lately; of late; recently; at a later, as distinguished from a former, period.
- hustle v. t.
- To shake together in confusion; to push, jostle, or crowd rudely; to handle roughly; as, to hustle a person out of a room. [D. hustelen to shake, fr. husten to shake. Cf. Hotchpotch.]
- tussle v. i.
- To struggle, as in sport; to scuffle; to struggle with. [See Tousle.]
- thereafter adv.
- After that; afterward. [AS. th\'d6ræfter after that. See There, and After.]
- wrestle v. i.
- To contend, by grappling with, and striving to trip or throw down, an opponent; as, they wrestled skillfully. [OE. wrestlen, wrastlen, AS. wr, freq. of wr to wrest; akin to OD. wrastelen to wrestle. See Wrest, v. t.]
- gayly adv.
- With mirth and frolic; merrily; blithely; gleefully.
- hubbub n.
- A loud noise of many confused voices; a tumult; uproar. [Cf. Whoobub, Whoop, Hoop, v. i.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The White Squall 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, The White Squall, in Ballads (1849–1855), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #2732, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/thackeray-ballads/the-white-squall.html, id L10333.
Form and metre
The White Squall is 146 lines in 11 verse paragraphs. 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 84%). 92% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.5 syllables. 96 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 24% 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 -AABCCCBDDDB awning · yawningA · dawningA · aroseB · roaringC · deploringC · snoringC · noseB · snortingD · disportingD · courtingD · dozeB
- 2 AAABC-CBD-DB lightA · twilightA · skylightA · deckB · steadyC · eye · eddyC · neckB · prisonD · mizzen · risenD · speckB
- 3 ---A---ABBBA harbored · larboard · unbarbered · grayA · ye · uneasy · greasy · prayA · pukingB · cookingB · hookingB · awayA
- 4 AAA-BBBCDDDC wereA · wereA · wereA · alway · allottedB · squattedB · trottedB · playC · tracesD · facesD · gracesD · gayC
- 5 AAA- tollingA · rollingA · bowlingA · day
- 6 --AABBCCDDEEEFFFGGF-HHIIIIJJKK sudden · scudding · gatherA · latherA · grumbledB · tumbledB · oceanC · commotionC · howlingD · yowlingD · crowingE · lowingE · blowingE · cackleF · tackleF · crackleF · funnelsG · runnelsG · allF · fo'ksal · facesH · placesH · bawlingI · haulingI · tarpaulingI · squallingI · awakenJ · shakenJ · hastensK · basinsK
- 7 AABB--CC quiveredA · shiveredA · themB · themB · emergence · virgins · bendedC · endedC
- 8 ----AABBCC for'ard · behorror'd · bewildering · children · illahA · bismillahA · themB · themB · prophetC · itC
- 9 ----AA--BB-CCC jewry · fury · jacob · up · rabbinsA · cabinsA · in · gaberdine · lamentationB · consternationB · drenches · wenchesC · benchesC · stenchesC
- 10 AABBCCDDEE--FFGGHHIJIIIJ famousA · usA · rememberB · septemberB · lancersC · prancersC · astonishedD · admonishedD · potztausendE · brausendE · lewis · his · hustleF · tussleF · thereafterG · laughterG · vesselH · wrestleH · herI · slaughterJ · herI · herI · herI · waterJ
- 11 AAABCCCB expendedA · endedA · splendidA · seaB · breakingC · wakingC · makingC · meB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| On deck, beneath the awning, | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| I dozing lay and yawning; | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| It was the gray of dawning, | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Ere yet the sun arose; | 6 | ····˘/ |
| And above the funnel's roaring, | 8 | ····/˘/˘ |
| And the fitful wind's deploring, | 8 | ··/˘·˘/˘ |
| I heard the cabin snoring | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| With universal nose. | 6 | ··˘/˘· |
| I could hear the passengers snorting-- | 9 | ····/˘˘/˘ |
| I envied their disporting-- | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| Vainly I was courting | 6 | /˘··/˘ |
| The pleasure of a doze! | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| So I lay, and wondered why light | 8 | ····/˘·· |
| Came not, and watched the twilight, | 8 | ····˘·/· |
| And the glimmer of the skylight, | 8 | ··/˘··/· |
| That shot across the deck; | 6 | ··˘/·· |
| And the binnacle pale and steady, | 9 | ··/˘˘··/˘ |
| And the dull glimpse of the dead-eye, | 8 | ········ |
| And the sparks in fiery eddy | 9 | ····/˘˘/˘ |
| That whirled from the chimney neck. | 8 | ··˘··/˘· |
| In our jovial floating prison | 9 | ·//˘˘/˘/˘ |
| There was sleep from fore to mizzen, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| And never a star had risen | 8 | ·/˘···/˘ |
| The hazy sky to speck. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Strange company we harbored, | 8 | ·/˘˘·/˘˘ |
| We'd a hundred Jews to larboard, | 8 | ··/˘··/˘ |
| Unwashed, uncombed, unbarbered-- | 8 | ˘/˘····· |
| Jews black, and brown, and gray; | 6 | ······ |
| With terror it would seize ye, | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| And make your souls uneasy, | 7 | ····˘/˘ |
| To see those Rabbis greasy, | 7 | ···/·/˘ |
| Who did naught but scratch and pray: | 7 | ······· |
| Their dirty children puking-- | 7 | ·/˘/˘·· |
| Their dirty saucepans cooking-- | 7 | ·/˘/·/˘ |
| Their dirty fingers hooking | 7 | ·/˘/˘/˘ |
| Their swarming fleas away. | 6 | ·/˘·˘/ |
| To starboard, Turks and Greeks were-- | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| Whiskered and brown their cheeks were-- | 8 | /˘˘····· |
| Enormous wide their breeks were, | 7 | ˘/˘···· |
| Their pipes did puff alway; | 6 | ····/˘ |
| Each on his mat allotted | 7 | ····˘/˘ |
| In silence smoked and squatted, | 8 | ·/˘·˘·/˘ |
| Whilst round their children trotted | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| In pretty, pleasant play. | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| He can't but smile who traces | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| The smiles on those brown faces, | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| And the pretty, prattling graces | 8 | ··/˘/˘/˘ |
| Of those small heathens gay. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| And so the hours kept tolling, | 8 | ···/˘·/˘ |
| And through the ocean rolling | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| Went the brave "Iberia" bowling | 9 | ···˘/˘˘/˘ |
| Before the break of day-- | 6 | ······ |
| When A SQUALL, upon a sudden, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Came o'er the waters scudding; | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| And the clouds began to gather, | 8 | ···˘/·/˘ |
| And the sea was lashed to lather, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| And the lowering thunder grumbled, | 9 | ··/˘˘/˘/˘ |
| And the lightning jumped and tumbled, | 8 | ··/˘··/˘ |
| And the ship, and all the ocean, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Woke up in wild commotion. | 7 | ····˘/˘ |
| Then the wind set up a howling, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| And the poodle dog a yowling, | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| And the cocks began a crowing, | 8 | ···˘/·/˘ |
| And the old cow raised a lowing, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| As she heard the tempest blowing; | 8 | ····/˘/˘ |
| And fowls and geese did cackle, | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| And the cordage and the tackle | 8 | ··/˘··/˘ |
| Began to shriek and crackle; | 7 | ˘/···/˘ |
| And the spray dashed o'er the funnels, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| And down the deck in runnels; | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| And the rushing water soaks all, | 8 | ··/˘/˘·· |
| From the seamen in the fo'ksal | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| To the stokers whose black faces | 8 | ··/˘··/˘ |
| Peer out of their bed-places; | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| And the captain he was bawling, | 8 | ··/˘··/˘ |
| And the sailors pulling, hauling, | 8 | ··/˘/˘/˘ |
| And the quarter-deck tarpauling | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| Was shivered in the squalling; | 8 | ·/˘˘··/˘ |
| And the passengers awaken, | 8 | ··/˘˘˘/˘ |
| Most pitifully shaken; | 7 | ·/˘˘˘/˘ |
| And the steward jumps up, and hastens | 9 | ··/˘···/˘ |
| For the necessary basins. | 8 | ··/˘·˘/˘ |
| Then the Greeks they groaned and quivered, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| And they knelt, and moaned, and shivered, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| As the plunging waters met them, | 8 | ··/˘/˘·· |
| And splashed and overset them; | 8 | ··˘·/˘˘· |
| And they call in their emergence | 8 | ·····˘/˘ |
| Upon countless saints and virgins; | 8 | ··/˘··/˘ |
| And their marrowbones are bended, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| And they think the world is ended. | 8 | ······/˘ |
| And the Turkish women for'ard | 8 | ··/˘/˘·· |
| Were frightened and behorror'd; | 8 | ·/˘˘···· |
| And shrieking and bewildering, | 8 | ·/˘·˘/˘˘ |
| The mothers clutched their children; | 8 | ·/˘·˘·/˘ |
| The men sung "Allah! Illah! | 7 | ···/˘·· |
| Mashallah Bismillah!" | 6 | ···˘/˘ |
| As the warring waters doused them | 8 | ··/˘/˘·· |
| And splashed them and soused them, | 8 | ··˘···˘· |
| And they called upon the Prophet, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| And thought but little of it. | 7 | ···/˘·· |
| Then all the fleas in Jewry | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Jumped up and bit like fury; | 8 | ·˘····/˘ |
| And the progeny of Jacob | 8 | ··/˘˘·/˘ |
| Did on the main-deck wake up | 7 | ······· |
| (I wot those greasy Rabbins | 7 | ···/˘·· |
| Would never pay for cabins); | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| And each man moaned and jabbered in | 8 | ········ |
| His filthy Jewish gaberdine, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| In woe and lamentation, | 7 | ······· |
| And howling consternation. | 7 | ·/˘·˘/˘ |
| And the splashing water drenches | 8 | ··/˘/˘/˘ |
| Their dirty brats and wenches; | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| And they crawl from bales and benches | 8 | ······/˘ |
| In a hundred thousand stenches. | 8 | ··/˘/˘/˘ |
| This was the White Squall famous, | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Which latterly o'ercame us, | 7 | ·/˘˘··· |
| And which all will well remember | 8 | ·····˘/˘ |
| On the 28th September; | 7 | ··//˘/˘ |
| When a Prussian captain of Lancers | 9 | ··/˘/˘·/˘ |
| (Those tight-laced, whiskered prancers) | 8 | ···˘/˘/˘ |
| Came on the deck astonished, | 8 | ····˘/˘˘ |
| By that wild squall admonished, | 8 | ····˘/˘˘ |
| And wondering cried, "Potztausend, | 8 | ·/˘˘···· |
| Wie ist der Stürm jetzt brausend?" | 7 | ······· |
| And looked at Captain Lewis, | 8 | ··˘·/˘/˘ |
| Who calmly stood and blew his | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| Cigar in all the hustle, | 7 | ˘/···/˘ |
| And scorned the tempest's tussle, | 8 | ··˘·/˘/˘ |
| And oft we've thought thereafter | 7 | ····˘/˘ |
| How he beat the storm to laughter; | 8 | ······/˘ |
| For well he knew his vessel | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| With that vain wind could wrestle; | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| And when a wreck we thought her, | 7 | ······· |
| And doomed ourselves to slaughter, | 8 | ··˘˘/·/˘ |
| How gayly he fought her, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| And through the hubbub brought her, | 7 | ···/˘·· |
| And as the tempest caught her, | 7 | ···/˘·· |
| Cried, "GEORGE! SOME BRANDY-AND-WATER!" | 8 | ···/˘·/˘ |
| And when, its force expended, | 7 | ····˘/˘ |
| The harmless storm was ended, | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| And as the sunrise splendid | 7 | ···/·/˘ |
| Came blushing o'er the sea; | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| I thought, as day was breaking, | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| My little girls were waking, | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| And smiling, and making | 6 | ·/˘·/˘ |
| A prayer at home for me. | 6 | ······ |
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.