The Three Beggars
'Though to my feathers in the wet,I have stood here from break of day,I have not found a thing to eatFor only rubbish comes my way.Am I to live on lebeen-lone?'Muttered the old crane of Gort.'For all my pains on lebeen-lone.'
King Guari walked amid his courtThe palace-yard and river-sideAnd there to three old beggars said:'You that have wandered far and wideCan ravel out what's in my head.Do men who least desire get most,Or get the most who most desire?'A beggar said: 'They get the mostWhom man or devil cannot tire,And what could make their muscles tautUnless desire had made them so.'But Guari laughed with secret thought,'If that be true as it seems true,One of you three is a rich man,For he shall have a thousand poundsWho is first asleep, if but he canSleep before the third noon sounds.'And thereon merry as a bird,With his old thoughts King Guari wentFrom river-side and palace-yardAnd left them to their argument.'And if I win,' one beggar said,'Though I am old I shall persuadeA pretty girl to share my bed';The second: 'I shall learn a trade';The third: 'I'll hurry to the courseAmong the other gentlemen,And lay it all upon a horse';The second: 'I have thought again:A farmer has more dignity.'One to another sighed and cried:The exorbitant dreams of beggary,That idleness had borne to pride,Sang through their teeth from noon to noon;And when the second twilight broughtThe frenzy of the beggars' moonThey closed their blood-shot eyes for naught.One beggar cried: 'You're shamming sleep.'And thereupon their anger grewTill they were whirling in a heap.
They'd mauled and bitten the night throughOr sat upon their heels to rail,And when old Guari came and stoodBefore the three to end this tale,They were commingling lice and blood.'Time's up,' he cried, and all the threeWith blood-shot eyes upon him stared.'Time's up,' he cried, and all the threeFell down upon the dust and snored.
'Maybe I shall be lucky yet,Now they are silent,' said the crane.'Though to my feathers in the wetI've stood as I were made of stoneAnd seen the rubbish run about,It's certain there are trout somewhereAnd maybe I shall take a troutIf but I do not seem to care.'
Words in this poem
- amid prep.
- In the midst or middle of; surrounded or encompassed by; among. [OE. amidde, amiddes, on midden, AS. on middan, in the middle, fr. midde the middle. The s is an adverbial ending, originally marking the genitive; the t is a la]
- ravel v. t.
- To separate or undo the texture of; to take apart; to untwist; to unweave or unknit; -- often followed by out; as, to ravel a twist; to ravel out a sticking. [. ravelen, D. rafelen, akin to LG. rebeln, rebbeln, reffeln.]
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
- thereon adv.
- On that or this. [AS. . See There, and On.]
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- thereupon adv.
- Upon that or this; thereon.
- somewhere adv.
- In some place unknown or not specified; in one place or another.
- maybe adv.
- Perhaps; possibly; peradventure. [For it may be.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Three Beggars is in the public domain. This text is taken from Responsibilities, and other poems, Project Gutenberg ebook #36865; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: W. B. Yeats, The Three Beggars, in Responsibilities (1914), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #36865, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/yeats-responsibilities/the-three-beggars.html, id L04561.
Form and metre
The Three Beggars is 64 lines in 4 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 88%). 93% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.2 syllables. 8 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 36% 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-AB-B wet · dayA · eat · wayA · loneB · gort · loneB
- 2 -ABAB-C-CD-D-EFEF-G-GHIHIJKJK-L-LMNMNO-O court · sideA · saidB · wideA · headB · most · desireC · most · tireC · tautD · so · thoughtD · true · manE · poundsF · canE · soundsF · bird · wentG · yard · argumentG · saidH · persuadeI · bedH · tradeI · courseJ · gentlemenK · horseJ · againK · dignity · criedL · beggary · prideL · noonM · broughtN · moonM · naughtN · sleepO · grew · heapO
- 3 -ABABC-C- through · railA · stoodB · taleA · bloodB · threeC · stared · threeC · snored
- 4 A-A-BCBC yetA · crane · wetA · stone · aboutB · somewhereC · troutB · careC
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 |
|---|---|---|
| 'Though to my feathers in the wet, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| I have stood here from break of day, | 8 | ········ |
| I have not found a thing to eat | 8 | ········ |
| For only rubbish comes my way. | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| Am I to live on lebeen-lone?' | 8 | ········ |
| Muttered the old crane of Gort. | 7 | /˘····· |
| 'For all my pains on lebeen-lone.' | 8 | ········ |
| King Guari walked amid his court | 9 | ····˘˘/·· |
| The palace-yard and river-side | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| And there to three old beggars said: | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| 'You that have wandered far and wide | 9 | ···/˘˘··· |
| Can ravel out what's in my head. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Do men who least desire get most, | 9 | ····˘/˘·· |
| Or get the most who most desire?' | 9 | ······˘/˘ |
| A beggar said: 'They get the most | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Whom man or devil cannot tire, | 9 | ···/˘/˘/˘ |
| And what could make their muscles taut | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Unless desire had made them so.' | 9 | ··˘/˘···· |
| But Guari laughed with secret thought, | 9 | ····˘·/˘· |
| 'If that be true as it seems true, | 8 | ········ |
| One of you three is a rich man, | 8 | ········ |
| For he shall have a thousand pounds | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Who is first asleep, if but he can | 9 | ···˘/···· |
| Sleep before the third noon sounds.' | 7 | ······· |
| And thereon merry as a bird, | 8 | ·˘//˘··· |
| With his old thoughts King Guari went | 8 | ········ |
| From river-side and palace-yard | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| And left them to their argument. | 8 | ·····/˘˘ |
| 'And if I win,' one beggar said, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| 'Though I am old I shall persuade | 8 | ······˘/ |
| A pretty girl to share my bed'; | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| The second: 'I shall learn a trade'; | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| The third: 'I'll hurry to the course | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Among the other gentlemen, | 8 | ···/˘/˘˘ |
| And lay it all upon a horse'; | 8 | ········ |
| The second: 'I have thought again: | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| A farmer has more dignity.' | 8 | ·/˘··/˘˘ |
| One to another sighed and cried: | 9 | ··˘/˘·˘·· |
| The exorbitant dreams of beggary, | 10 | ·˘/˘˘··/˘˘ |
| That idleness had borne to pride, | 8 | ·/˘˘···· |
| Sang through their teeth from noon to noon; | 8 | ········ |
| And when the second twilight brought | 8 | ···/˘/·· |
| The frenzy of the beggars' moon | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| They closed their blood-shot eyes for naught. | 9 | ··˘······ |
| One beggar cried: 'You're shamming sleep.' | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| And thereupon their anger grew | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
| Till they were whirling in a heap. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| They'd mauled and bitten the night through | 9 | ··˘·/˘··· |
| Or sat upon their heels to rail, | 8 | ········ |
| And when old Guari came and stood | 8 | ········ |
| Before the three to end this tale, | 8 | ········ |
| They were commingling lice and blood. | 9 | ··˘/˘˘··· |
| 'Time's up,' he cried, and all the three | 8 | ········ |
| With blood-shot eyes upon him stared. | 9 | ········˘ |
| 'Time's up,' he cried, and all the three | 8 | ········ |
| Fell down upon the dust and snored. | 9 | ········˘ |
| 'Maybe I shall be lucky yet, | 8 | /˘···/˘· |
| Now they are silent,' said the crane. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| 'Though to my feathers in the wet | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| I've stood as I were made of stone | 8 | ········ |
| And seen the rubbish run about, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| It's certain there are trout somewhere | 8 | ·/˘···/· |
| And maybe I shall take a trout | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| If but I do not seem to care.' | 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.