A Western Wonder
Do you not know, not a fortnight ago,How they bragg'd of a Western Wonder?When a hundred and ten slew five thousand men,With the help of lightning and thunder?
There Hopton was slain, again and again,Or else my author did lie;With a new thanksgiving, for the dead who are living,To God, and his servant Chidleigh.
But now on which side was the miracle tried?I hope we at last are even;For Sir Ralph and his knaves are risen from their graves,To cudgel the clowns of Devon.
And there Stamford came, for his honour was lameOf the gout three months together;But it proved, when they fought, but a running gout,For his heels were lighter than ever.
For now he outruns his arms and his guns,And leaves all his money behind him;But they follow after; unless he take water,At Plymouth again they will find him.
What Reading hath cost, and Stamford hath lost,Goes deep in the sequestrations;These wounds will not heal, with your new great seal,Nor Jephson's declarations.
Now, Peters and Case, in your prayer and grace,Remember the new thanksgiving;Isaac and his wife, now dig for your life,Or shortly you'll dig for your living.
Words in this poem
- fortnight n.
- The space of fourteen days; two weeks. [Contr. fr. fourteen nights, our ancestors reckoning time by nights and winters; so, also, seven nights, sennight, a week.]
- thanksgiving n.
- The act of rending thanks, or expressing gratitude for favors or mercies.
- ralph n.
- A name sometimes given to the raven.
- honour n.
- Esteem due or paid to worth; high estimation; respect; consideration; reverence; veneration; manifestation of respect or reverence. [OE. honor, honour, onour, onur, OF. honor, onor, honur, onur, honour, onour, F. honneur, fr. L. honor, honos.]
- shortly adv.
- In a short or brief time or manner; soon; quickly. [AS. sceortlice.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
A Western Wonder is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poetical Works of Edmund Waller and Sir John Denham, Project Gutenberg ebook #12322; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Edmund Waller, A Western Wonder, in Poetical Works (1645–1668), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #12322, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/waller-denham/a-western-wonder.html, id L09156.
Form and metre
A Western Wonder is 28 lines in 7 stanzas of 4 lines each. The metre is anapaestic common measure, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 79%). 84% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 9.5 syllables. 12 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending.
See other poems in anapaestic common measure.
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 -A-A ago · wonderA · men · thunderA
- 5 -A-A guns · himA · water · himA
- 6 -A-A lost · sequestrationsA · seal · declarationsA
- 7 -A-A grace · thanksgivingA · life · livingA
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 anapaestic common measure. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Do you not know, not a fortnight ago, | 10 | ······/·˘/ |
| How they bragg'd of a Western Wonder? | 9 | ·····/˘/˘ |
| When a hundred and ten slew five thousand men, | 11 | ··/˘····/˘· |
| With the help of lightning and thunder? | 9 | ····/˘·/˘ |
| There Hopton was slain, again and again, | 10 | ·/˘··˘/·˘/ |
| Or else my author did lie; | 7 | ···/˘·· |
| With a new thanksgiving, for the dead who are living, | 13 | ····/˘·····/˘ |
| To God, and his servant Chidleigh. | 8 | ····/˘·· |
| But now on which side was the miracle tried? | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| I hope we at last are even; | 8 | ······/˘ |
| For Sir Ralph and his knaves are risen from their graves, | 12 | ·······/˘··· |
| To cudgel the clowns of Devon. | 8 | ·/˘···/˘ |
| And there Stamford came, for his honour was lame | 11 | ··/˘···/˘·· |
| Of the gout three months together; | 8 | ·····˘/˘ |
| But it proved, when they fought, but a running gout, | 11 | ········/˘· |
| For his heels were lighter than ever. | 9 | ····/˘·/˘ |
| For now he outruns his arms and his guns, | 10 | ···˘/····· |
| And leaves all his money behind him; | 9 | ····/˘··· |
| But they follow after; unless he take water, | 12 | ··/˘······/˘ |
| At Plymouth again they will find him. | 9 | ·/˘˘/···· |
| What Reading hath cost, and Stamford hath lost, | 10 | ·/˘···/˘·· |
| Goes deep in the sequestrations; | 8 | ·····˘/˘ |
| These wounds will not heal, with your new great seal, | 10 | ·········· |
| Nor Jephson's declarations. | 7 | ····˘/˘ |
| Now, Peters and Case, in your prayer and grace, | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Remember the new thanksgiving; | 8 | ˘/˘···/˘ |
| Isaac and his wife, now dig for your life, | 10 | /˘········ |
| Or shortly you'll dig for your living. | 9 | ·/˘····/˘ |
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