Analysis of Sir Raymond of the Castle
Mary Darby Robinson 1757 (England) – 1800 (England)
[The following little Poems are written after the Model of the Old English Ballads, and are inscribed to those who admire the simplicity of that kind of versification.]
NEAR GLARIS, on a mountain's side,
Beneath a shad'wy wood,
With walls of ivy compass'd round,
An ancient Castle stood.
By all rever'd, by all ador'd,
There dwelt a wealthy dame;
One peerless daughter bless'd her age,
A maid of spotless fame !
While one fair son, a gallant boy,
Whose VIRTUE was his shield,
Led on the dauntless sons of war,
Amidst the crimson'd field:
For o'er the land dissension reign'd
Full many a direful year,
And many a heart's best blood had stain'd
The proud oppressor's spear.
Young ELLA'S charms had spread her fame
O'er all the country wide;
And youths of high descent and brave,
Had sought her for their bride !
Amongst the rest SIR RAYMOND came,
Sprung from a princely race;
Right valiant in each warlike art,
And blest with ev'ry grace !
In tournaments renown'd afar,
For manly feats admir'd;
His brilliant fame, his bold exploits,
The damsel's bosom fir'd.
Her blushing cheek, her down-cast eye
Her secret flame confess'd;
The gallant RAYMOND'S circling arm,
The beauteous ELLA press'd.
From her fond mother's doating eyes
The radiant gem he bore;
The weeping maids and village swains
Beheld her charms no more.
Where the swift billows of the RHINE
Their shining curls disclose;
With many a gilded turret crown'd
His splendid Palace rose.
The festive scene had scarce began,
When near the Castle wall,
A messenger of warlike mein,
On RAYMOND'S name did call;
"Come forth thou valiant Knight," he said,
"Thy prowess quickly show,
With speed prepare thy lance and shield
To meet the dauntless foe:
"The blood of many a noble Swiss
Doth stain the country round,
And many a brave aspiring youth
Lies vanquish'd on the ground.
"The daring Chief, whose shining spear
With purple gore is dy'd;
Oh ! direful news, prepare to meet
THE BROTHER OF THY BRIDE."
Enrag'd, the haughty RAYMOND cried,
"Base wretch receive thy doom,
For thy bold errand thou shalt die
Within a dungeon's gloom."
Speechless the mournful ELLA stood,
Despair her heart did wound;
When from the echoing tow'r she heard,
Th' larum-bell's dreadful sound!
Her cold wan cheek, her quiv'ring lip,
Bespoke her soul's deep woe,
From her blue eye the crystal drop
In silent grief did flow,
"For shame, shake off those woman's tears,"
The frowning bridegroom cried,
"And know, SIR RAYMOND'S warlike breast
Disdains a timid bride.
"In vain you weep, ignoble dame,
Behold yon neighing steed;
My soldiers wait, my bosom burns
TO CONQUER or to BLEED."
Forth went the Knight;the frantic bride
To the high rampart flew;
With trembling knee she climb'd the wall,
Th' embattled plain to view.
On either side, by turns she thought
Proud vict'ry grac'd the field;
'Till vanquish'd by her BROTHER'S sword,
She saw her HUSBAND yield.
For refuge to his Castle gate,
The bleeding warrior flew;
And from the battlements on high,
His daring gauntlet threw !
Three days from dawn to setting sun,
The hardy soldiers stood,
'Till faint with toil, by famine press'd,
They saw their chief subdu'd.
"Oh! haste my page," SIR RAYMOND said,
"The captive youth set free,
And bid him to the conqu'rer's feet
This message bear from me.
"Treasures immense of massy gold,
Rich gems, and jewels rare,
As ransom will I freely give,
If he our lives will spare;
"If he consents, let garlands green
His peaceful brows adorn;
If hostile yet, beneath our walls,
Thrice sound his bugle horn."
Gaily he pass'd the outward gate;
But sadly he return'd;
His bugle horn he sounded thrice,
—No wreath his brows adorn'd.
"Thy gold" he cried " the conqu'ror scorns,
He claims thy forfeit LIFE,
Thy precious gems, and jewels rare,
He gives thy beauteous wife."
"Your lands are free, your soldiers too,
And for young ELLA'S sake
To prove his truth, the gen'rous chief
This solemn vow did make:"
"That whatsoe'er she holds most dear,
At morrow's dawn of day:
Her pages, to some distant place,
May safely bear away;"
Scheme A BCDC EFXF XGHG IJIJ FBXB FKXK XLXL MNXN XHKH AODO APAP QRGR XDXD JBSB BTMT CDLD XRXR XBNB FUXU BVPV XGEG WVMV ACNX QXSX XYXY AAXA WXXX XZYZ V1 X1 J2 K2 X Poetic Form Metre 010010101101001010110100101111010010011111 11010101 010111 1111011 110101 11011101 110101 11010101 011101 11110101 110111 1101111 01011 110010101 110011 010011111 0111 11011101 1010101 01110101 110111 01011101 110101 1100111 01111 01000101 1101010 1101111 011010 01010111 010101 01011001 01101 1011011 0100111 01010101 10111 10110101 110101 110010101 110101 01011101 110101 0100111 11111 11110111 110101 11011101 11011 011100101 110101 010010101 110101 01011101 110111 1110111 010111 01010101 110111 11110111 01011 10010101 010111 1101001111 1111101 0111011 10111 10110101 010111 11111101 01011 011111 010101 01110101 01111 11011101 110111 11010101 10111 110011101 11010111 11011111 11101 11010101 110101 11011101 0101001 01010011 110101 11111101 010101 11111101 111101 11111101 010111 0111011 110111 1001111 110101 11011101 1110111 1101111 110101 110101101 111101 10110101 110101 11011101 111101 1111011 111101 11010101 11111 11111101 011101 1111011 110111 111111 11111 01011101 110101 1 Closest metre Iambic tetrameter Characters 3,956 Words 699 Sentences 27 Stanzas 31 Stanza Lengths 1, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 5 Lines Amount 122 Letters per line (avg) 26 Words per line (avg) 6 Letters per stanza (avg) 101 Words per stanza (avg) 22 Font size:Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 3:41 min read
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"Sir Raymond of the Castle" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 14 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/26766/sir-raymond-of-the-castle>.
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