Laurel · Edward Thomas · Poems

The Gallows

Edward Thomas (1878–1917) · 1917

iambic tetrameter · 32 lines · from Poems

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THERE was a weasel lived in the sunWith all his family,Till a keeper shot him with his gunAnd hung him up on a tree,Where he swings in the wind and rain,In the sun and in the snow,Without pleasure, without pain,On the dead oak tree bough.

There was a crow who was no sleeper,But a thief and a murdererTill a very late hour; and this keeperMade him one of the things that were,To hang and flap in rain and wind,In the sun and in the snow.There are no more sins to be sinnedOn the dead oak tree bough.

There was a magpie, too,Had a long tongue and a long tail;He could both talk and do--But what did that avail?He, too, flaps in the wind and rainAlongside weasel and crow,Without pleasure, without pain,On the dead oak tree bough.

And many other beastsAnd birds, skin, bone and feather,Have been taken from their feastsAnd hung up there together,To swing and have endless leisureIn the sun and in the snow,Without pain, without pleasure,On the dead oak tree bough.

Words in this poem

sleeper n.
One who sleeps; a slumberer; hence, a drone, or lazy person.

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

About this text

The Gallows is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems, Project Gutenberg ebook #22423; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.

Cite as: Edward Thomas, The Gallows, in Poems (1917), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #22423, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/thomas-edward-poems/the-gallows.html, id L08185.

Form and metre

The Gallows is 32 lines in 4 stanzas of 8 lines each. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 77%). 96% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.3 syllables. 9 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 28% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.

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. 1 A-A-B-B- sunA · family · gunA · tree · rainB · snow · painB · bough
  2. 2 A-A-B-B- sleeperA · murderer · keeperA · were · windB · snow · sinnedB · bough
  3. 3 ABABC-C- tooA · tailB · doA · availB · rainC · crow · painC · bough
  4. 4 ABABC-C- beastsA · featherB · feastsA · togetherB · leisureC · snow · pleasureC · bough
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.

LineSyl.Stress
THERE was a weasel lived in the sun10···/˘·˘···
With all his family,6···/˘˘
Till a keeper shot him with his gun9··/˘·····
And hung him up on a tree,7·······
Where he swings in the wind and rain,8········
In the sun and in the snow,7·······
Without pleasure, without pain,7··/˘···
On the dead oak tree bough.6······
There was a crow who was no sleeper,9·······/˘
But a thief and a murderer8·····/˘˘
Till a very late hour; and this keeper11··/˘·/˘··/˘
Made him one of the things that were,8········
To hang and flap in rain and wind,8········
In the sun and in the snow.7·······
There are no more sins to be sinned9········˘
On the dead oak tree bough.6······
There was a magpie, too,6···/··
Had a long tongue and a long tail;8········
He could both talk and do--6······
But what did that avail?6····˘/
He, too, flaps in the wind and rain8········
Alongside weasel and crow,7˘///˘··
Without pleasure, without pain,7··/˘···
On the dead oak tree bough.6······
And many other beasts6·/˘/˘·
And birds, skin, bone and feather,7·····/˘
Have been taken from their feasts7··/˘···
And hung up there together,7····˘/˘
To swing and have endless leisure8····/˘/˘
In the sun and in the snow,7·······
Without pain, without pleasure,7·····/˘
On the dead oak tree bough.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.

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