The Seven Sisters; Or, the Solitude of Binnorie
I Seven Daughters had Lord Archibald,All children of one mother:You could not say in one short dayWhat love they bore each other.A garland, of seven lilies, wrought!Seven Sisters that together dwell;But he, bold Knight as ever fought,Their Father, took of them no thought,He loved the wars so well.Sing, mournfully, oh! mournfully,The solitude of Binnorie!
II Fresh blows the wind, a western wind,And from the shores of Erin,Across the wave, a Rover braveTo Binnorie is steering:Right onward to the Scottish strandThe gallant ship is borne;The warriors leap upon the land,And hark! the Leader of the bandHath blown his bugle horn.Sing, mournfully, oh! mournfully,The solitude of Binnorie.
III Beside a grotto of their own,With boughs above them closing,The Seven are laid, and in the shadeThey lie like fawns reposing.But now, upstarting with affrightAt noise of man and steed,Away they fly to left, to right--Of your fair household, Father-knight,Methinks you take small heed!Sing, mournfully, oh! mournfully,The solitude of Binnorie.
IV Away the seven fair Campbells fly,And, over hill and hollow,With menace proud, and insult loud,The youthful Rovers follow.Cried they, "Your Father loves to roam:Enough for him to findThe empty house when he comes home;For us your yellow ringlets comb,For us be fair and kind!"Sing, mournfully, oh! mournfully,The solitude of Binnorie.
V Some close behind, some side by side,Like clouds in stormy weather;They run, and cry, "Nay, let us die,And let us die together."A lake was near; the shore was steep;There never foot had been;They ran, and with a desperate leapTogether plunged into the deep,Nor ever more were seen.Sing, mournfully, oh! mournfully,The solitude of Binnorie.
VI The stream that flows out of the lake,As through the glen it rambles,Repeats a moan o'er moss and stone,For those seven lovely Campbells.Seven little Islands, green and bare,Have risen from out the deep:The fishers say, those sisters fair,By faeries all are buried there,And there together sleep.Sing, mournfully, oh! mournfully,The solitude of Binnorie.
Words in this poem
- dwell v. i.
- To delay; to linger. [OE. dwellen, dwelien, to err, linger, AS. dwellan to deceive, hinder, delay, dwelian to err; akin to Icel. dvelja to delay, tarry, Sw. dväljas to dwell, Dan. dv]
- erin n.
- An early, and now a poetic, name of Ireland. [Ir. Cf. Aryan.]
- rover n.
- One who practices robbery on the seas; a pirate. [D. roover a robber. See Rove, v. i.]
- steed n.
- A horse, especially a spirited horse for state of war; -- used chiefly in poetry or stately prose. [OE. stede, AS. steda a stud-horse, war horse, fr. stod a stud of breeding steeds; akin to G. stute a mare, Icel. stedda, sto, a stud. *163. See Stud of horses.]
- methinks v.
- It seems to me; I think. See Me. [AS. þyncan to seem, me þynceedh, me þuhte, OE. me thinketh, me thoughte; akin to G. dünken to seem, denken to think, and E. think. See Me, and Think.]
- desperate a.
- Without hope; given to despair; hopeless. [L. desperatus, p. p. of desperare. See Despair, and cf. Desperado.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Seven Sisters; Or, the Solitude of Binnorie is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Poetical Works of William Wordsworth — Volume 2 (of 8), Project Gutenberg ebook #12145; 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 Wordsworth, The Seven Sisters; Or, the Solitude of Binnorie, in The Poetical Works, Volume II (1798–1807), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #12145, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/wordsworth-vol2/the-seven-sisters-or-the-solitude-of-binnorie.html, id L17328.
Form and metre
The Seven Sisters; Or, the Solitude of Binnorie is 66 lines in 6 stanzas of 11 lines each. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 92%). 98% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.6 syllables. 12 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 12% 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 -A-ABCBBC-- archibald · motherA · day · otherA · wroughtB · dwellC · foughtB · thoughtB · wellC · mournfully · binnorie
- 2 ----ABAAB-- wind · erin · brave · steering · strandA · borneB · landA · bandA · hornB · mournfully · binnorie
- 3 -A-ABCBBC-- own · closingA · shade · reposingA · affrightB · steedC · rightB · knightB · heedC · mournfully · binnorie
- 4 -A-ABCBBC-- fly · hollowA · loud · followA · roamB · findC · homeB · combB · kindC · mournfully · binnorie
- 5 -A-AB-BB--- side · weatherA · die · togetherA · steepB · been · leapB · deepB · seen · mournfully · binnorie
- 6 -A-ABCBBC-- lake · ramblesA · stone · campbellsA · bareB · deepC · fairB · thereB · sleepC · mournfully · binnorie
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 |
|---|---|---|
| I Seven Daughters had Lord Archibald, | 9 | ·//˘··/˘· |
| All children of one mother: | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| You could not say in one short day | 8 | ········ |
| What love they bore each other. | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| A garland, of seven lilies, wrought! | 8 | ·/˘·//˘· |
| Seven Sisters that together dwell; | 8 | //˘·˘/˘· |
| But he, bold Knight as ever fought, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Their Father, took of them no thought, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| He loved the wars so well. | 7 | ··˘···· |
| Sing, mournfully, oh! mournfully, | 8 | ········ |
| The solitude of Binnorie! | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| II Fresh blows the wind, a western wind, | 9 | ······/˘· |
| And from the shores of Erin, | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Across the wave, a Rover brave | 8 | ˘/···/˘· |
| To Binnorie is steering: | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Right onward to the Scottish strand | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| The gallant ship is borne; | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| The warriors leap upon the land, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| And hark! the Leader of the band | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Hath blown his bugle horn. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Sing, mournfully, oh! mournfully, | 8 | ········ |
| The solitude of Binnorie. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| III Beside a grotto of their own, | 9 | ·˘/·/···· |
| With boughs above them closing, | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| The Seven are laid, and in the shade | 8 | ·/······ |
| They lie like fawns reposing. | 7 | ····/·˘ |
| But now, upstarting with affright | 8 | ··/·˘·˘/ |
| At noise of man and steed, | 6 | ······ |
| Away they fly to left, to right-- | 8 | ˘/······ |
| Of your fair household, Father-knight, | 8 | ···/·/˘· |
| Methinks you take small heed! | 6 | ˘/···· |
| Sing, mournfully, oh! mournfully, | 8 | ········ |
| The solitude of Binnorie. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| IV Away the seven fair Campbells fly, | 9 | ·˘/·/·/˘· |
| And, over hill and hollow, | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| With menace proud, and insult loud, | 8 | ·/˘··/·· |
| The youthful Rovers follow. | 7 | ·/˘/˘/˘ |
| Cried they, "Your Father loves to roam: | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Enough for him to find | 6 | ˘/···· |
| The empty house when he comes home; | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| For us your yellow ringlets comb, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| For us be fair and kind!" | 6 | ······ |
| Sing, mournfully, oh! mournfully, | 8 | ········ |
| The solitude of Binnorie. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| V Some close behind, some side by side, | 9 | ········· |
| Like clouds in stormy weather; | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| They run, and cry, "Nay, let us die, | 8 | ········ |
| And let us die together." | 7 | ····˘/˘ |
| A lake was near; the shore was steep; | 8 | ········ |
| There never foot had been; | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| They ran, and with a desperate leap | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Together plunged into the deep, | 8 | ˘/˘····· |
| Nor ever more were seen. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Sing, mournfully, oh! mournfully, | 8 | ········ |
| The solitude of Binnorie. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| VI The stream that flows out of the lake, | 9 | ········· |
| As through the glen it rambles, | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Repeats a moan o'er moss and stone, | 8 | ˘/······ |
| For those seven lovely Campbells. | 8 | ··/˘/˘/˘ |
| Seven little Islands, green and bare, | 8 | //˘/˘··· |
| Have risen from out the deep: | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| The fishers say, those sisters fair, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| By faeries all are buried there, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| And there together sleep. | 6 | ··˘/˘· |
| Sing, mournfully, oh! mournfully, | 8 | ········ |
| The solitude of Binnorie. | 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.