Analysis of Young Bicham

Andrew Lang 1844 (Selkirk, Scottish Borders) – 1912 (Banchory)



In London city was Bicham born,
He longd strange countries for to see,
But he was taen by a savage Moor,
Who handld him right cruely.

For thro his shoulder he put a bore,
An thro the bore has pitten a tree,
And he's gard him draw the carts o wine,
Where horse and oxen had wont to be.

He's casten [him] in a dungeon deep,
Where he coud neither hear nor see;
He's shut him up in a prison strong,
An he's handld him right cruely.

O this Moor he had but ae daughter,
I wot her name was Shusy Pye;
She's doen her to the prison-house,
And she's calld young Bicham one word by.

'O hae ye ony lands or rents,
Or citys in your ain country,
Coud free you out of prison strong,
An coud maintain a lady free?'

O London city is my own,
An other citys twa or three,
Coud loose me out o prison strong,
An could maintain a lady free.'

O she has bribed her father's men
Wi meikle goud and white money,
She's gotten the key o the prison doors,
And she has set Young Bicham free.

She's gi'n him a loaf o good white bread,
But an a flask o Spanish wine,
An she bad him mind on the ladie's love
That sae kindly freed him out o pine.

'Go set your foot on good ship-board,
An haste you back to your ain country,
An before that seven years has an end,
Come back again, love, and marry me.'

It was long or seven years had an end
She longd fu sair her love to see;
She's set her foot on good ship-board,
An turnd her back on her ain country.

She's saild up, so has she down,
Till she came to the other side;
She's landed at Young Bicham's gates,
An I hop this day she sal be his bride.

'Is this Young Bicham's gates?' says she.
'Or is that noble prince within?'
'He's up the stair wi his bonny bride,
An monny a lord and lady wi him.'

'O has he taen a bonny bride,
An has he clean forgotten me?'
An sighing said that gay lady,
'I wish I were in my ain country!'

She's pitten her ban in her pocket,
An gin the porter guineas three;
Says, 'Take ye that, ye proud porter,
An bid the bridegroom speak to me.'

O whan the porter came up the stair,
He's fa'n low down upon his knee:
'Won up, won up, ye proud porter,
And what makes a' this courtesy?'

'O I've been porter at your gates
This mair nor seven years an three,
But there is a lady at them now
The like of whom I never did see.

'For on every finger she has a ring,
An on the mid-finger she has three,
An there's as meikle goud aboon her brow
As woud buy an earldom o lan to me.'

Then up it started Young Bicham,
An sware so loud by Our Lady,
'It can be nane but Shusy Pye
That has come oor the sea to me.'

O quickly ran he down the stair,
O fifteen steps he has made but three,
He's tane his bonny love in his arms
An a wot he kissd her tenderly.

'O hae you tane a bonny bride?
An hae you quite forsaken me?
An hae ye quite forgotten her
That gae you life an liberty?'

She's lookit oer her left shoulder
To hide the tears stood in her ee;
'Now fare thee well, Young Bicham,' she says,
'I'll strive to think nae mair on thee.'

'Take back your daughter, madam,' he says,
'An a double dowry I'll gie her wi;
For I maun marry my first true love,
That's done and suffered so much for me.'

He's tak his bonny love by the han,
And led her to yon fountain stane;
He's changed her name frae Shusy Pye,
An he's cald her his bonny love, Lady Jane.


Scheme ABXC XBDB XBEC FGXG XBEB XBEB XBXB XDHD IBJB JBIB XKLK BXKM KBBB XBFB NBFB LBOB XBOB MBGB NBXB KBFB FBPB PXHB XAGX
Poetic Form Quatrain  (70%)
Metre 01010111 11110111 111110101 11111 111101101 11011101 011110111 110101111 110100101 11110111 111100101 111111 111111110 1101111 11010101 01111111 1111111 1101110 11111101 11010101 11010111 1101111 11111101 11010101 11110101 11010110 1100110101 0111111 111011111 11011101 111111011 111011111 11111111 111111110 1011101111 110110101 1111101111 11110111 11011111 110110110 1111111 11110101 1101111 1111111111 1111111 11110101 110111101 110101011 11110101 11110101 11011110 111001110 11010010 11010101 11111110 1101111 110101101 11110111 11111110 01101100 11110111 11110111 111010111 011111011 11100101101 110110111 111101101 1111101111 1111011 111111010 1111111 11110111 11011101 101111111 111101011 101110100 11110101 11110101 11110100 11111100 11010110 11011001 11111111 11111111 111101011 1010101101 111101111 110101111 111101101 01011101 1101111 11101101101
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 3,180
Words 687
Sentences 30
Stanzas 23
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4
Lines Amount 92
Letters per line (avg) 26
Words per line (avg) 7
Letters per stanza (avg) 106
Words per stanza (avg) 29
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

3:30 min read
100

Andrew Lang

Andrew Richard Lang FRS CBE was a British scientist and crystallographer. more…

All Andrew Lang poems | Andrew Lang Books

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