Analysis of Ballad of Earl Haldan's Daughter



It was Earl Haldan's daughter,
She looked across the sea;
She looked across the water;
And long and loud laughed she:
'The locks of six princesses
Must be my marriage fee,
So hey bonny boat, and ho bonny boat!
Who comes a wooing me?'

It was Earl Haldan's daughter,
She walked along the sand;
When she was aware of a knight so fair,
Came sailing to the land.
His sails were all of velvet,
His mast of beaten gold,
And 'Hey bonny boat, and ho bonny boat!
Who saileth here so bold?'

'The locks of five princesses
I won beyond the sea;
I clipt their golden tresses,
To fringe a cloak for thee.
One handful yet is wanting,
But one of all the tale;
So hey bonny boat, and ho bonny boat!
Furl up thy velvet sail!'

He leapt into the water,
That rover young and bold;
He gript Earl Haldan's daughter,
He clipt her locks of gold:
'Go weep, go weep, proud maiden,
The tale is full to-day.
Now hey bonny boat, and ho bonny boat!
Sail Westward ho! away!'

From Westward Ho!


Scheme AbabcbDb Aexexfdf cbcbxgDg afafxhdh x
Poetic Form
Metre 111110 110101 1101010 010111 0111100 111101 1110101101 110101 111110 110101 1110110111 110101 1101110 111101 0110101101 11111 0111100 110101 1111010 110111 111110 111101 1110101101 111101 1101010 110101 111110 110111 1111110 011111 1110101101 110101 1101
Closest metre Iambic trimeter
Characters 951
Words 192
Sentences 14
Stanzas 5
Stanza Lengths 8, 8, 8, 8, 1
Lines Amount 33
Letters per line (avg) 22
Words per line (avg) 6
Letters per stanza (avg) 145
Words per stanza (avg) 37
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 26, 2023

57 sec read
133

Charles Kingsley

Charles Kingsley was a priest of the Church of England, a university professor, historian and novelist. more…

All Charles Kingsley poems | Charles Kingsley Books

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