The Marriage Of Geraint Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis

Rhyme Scheme: ABCDBEFFFGHFIJBKFFFF LMFNFFOPQRFSFRTFUVWF SFFXFQRYRSFFZA2RFVIB 2VVFC2RFVRF D2BE2VFFFFF2FG2JVH2V IF VI2B2J2VRZIHVFLVVVZH QVK2VV L2M2FVVQRVR N2FO2RP2FFRVQ2R2VF S2T2FVVQ2RFVJF RS2U2NFFS2V2D2W2VB2D 2C2FRFFFFVFFX2C2FY2H FVVI FFFRV F

The brave Geraint a knight of Arthur's courtA
A tributary prince of Devon oneB
Of that great Order of the Table RoundC
Had married Enid Yniol's only childD
And loved her as he loved the light of HeavenB
And as the light of Heaven varies nowE
At sunrise now at sunset now by nightF
With moon and trembling stars so loved GeraintF
To make her beauty vary day by dayF
In crimsons and in purples and in gemsG
And Enid but to please her husband's eyeH
Who first had found and loved her in a stateF
Of broken fortunes daily fronted himI
In some fresh splendour and the Queen herselfJ
Grateful to Prince Geraint for service doneB
Loved her and often with her own white handsK
Arrayed and decked her as the loveliestF
Next after her own self in all the courtF
And Enid loved the Queen and with true heartF
Adored her as the stateliest and the bestF
And loveliest of all women upon earthL
And seeing them so tender and so closeM
Long in their common love rejoiced GeraintF
But when a rumour rose about the QueenN
Touching her guilty love for LancelotF
Though yet there lived no proof nor yet was heardF
The world's loud whisper breaking into stormO
Not less Geraint believed it and there fellP
A horror on him lest his gentle wifeQ
Through that great tenderness for GuinevereR
Had suffered or should suffer any taintF
In nature wherefore going to the KingS
He made this pretext that his princedom layF
Close on the borders of a territoryR
Wherein were bandit earls and caitiff knightsT
Assassins and all flyers from the handF
Of Justice and whatever loathes a lawU
And therefore till the King himself should pleaseV
To cleanse this common sewer of all his realmW
He craved a fair permission to departF
And there defend his marches and the KingS
Mused for a little on his plea but lastF
Allowing it the Prince and Enid rodeF
And fifty knights rode with them to the shoresX
Of Severn and they past to their own landF
Where thinking that if ever yet was wifeQ
True to her lord mine shall be so to meR
He compassed her with sweet observancesY
And worship never leaving her and grewR
Forgetful of his promise to the KingS
Forgetful of the falcon and the huntF
Forgetful of the tilt and tournamentF
Forgetful of his glory and his nameZ
Forgetful of his princedom and its caresA2
And this forgetfulness was hateful to herR
And by and by the people when they metF
In twos and threes or fuller companiesV
Began to scoff and jeer and babble of himI
As of a prince whose manhood was all goneB2
And molten down in mere uxoriousnessV
And this she gathered from the people's eyesV
This too the women who attired her headF
To please her dwelling on his boundless loveC2
Told Enid and they saddened her the moreR
And day by day she thought to tell GeraintF
But could not out of bashful delicacyV
While he that watched her sadden was the moreR
Suspicious that her nature had a taintF
-
At last it chanced that on a summer mornD2
They sleeping each by either the new sunB
Beat through the blindless casement of the roomE2
And heated the strong warrior in his dreamsV
Who moving cast the coverlet asideF
And bared the knotted column of his throatF
The massive square of his heroic breastF
And arms on which the standing muscle slopedF
As slopes a wild brook o'er a little stoneF2
Running too vehemently to break upon itF
And Enid woke and sat beside the couchG2
Admiring him and thought within herselfJ
Was ever man so grandly made as heV
Then like a shadow past the people's talkH2
And accusation of uxoriousnessV
Across her mind and bowing over himI
Low to her own heart piteously she saidF
-
'O noble breast and all puissant armsV
Am I the cause I the poor cause that menI2
Reproach you saying all your force is goneB2
I AM the cause because I dare not speakJ2
And tell him what I think and what they sayV
And yet I hate that he should linger hereR
I cannot love my lord and not his nameZ
Far liefer had I gird his harness on himI
And ride with him to battle and stand byH
And watch his mightful hand striking great blowsV
At caitiffs and at wrongers of the worldF
Far better were I laid in the dark earthL
Not hearing any more his noble voiceV
Not to be folded more in these dear armsV
And darkened from the high light in his eyesV
Than that my lord through me should suffer shameZ
Am I so bold and could I so stand byH
And see my dear lord wounded in the strifeQ
And maybe pierced to death before mine eyesV
And yet not dare to tell him what I thinkK2
And how men slur him saying all his forceV
Is melted into mere effeminacyV
O me I fear that I am no true wife '-
-
Half inwardly half audibly she spokeL2
And the strong passion in her made her weepM2
True tears upon his broad and naked breastF
And these awoke him and by great mischanceV
He heard but fragments of her later wordsV
And that she feared she was not a true wifeQ
And then he thought 'In spite of all my careR
For all my pains poor man for all my painsV
She is not faithful to me and I see herR
Weeping for some gay knight in Arthur's hall '-
Then though he loved and reverenced her too muchN2
To dream she could be guilty of foul actF
Right through his manful breast darted the pangO2
That makes a man in the sweet face of herR
Whom he loves most lonely and miserableP2
At this he hurled his huge limbs out of bedF
And shook his drowsy squire awake and criedF
'My charger and her palfrey ' then to herR
'I will ride forth into the wildernessV
For though it seems my spurs are yet to winQ2
I have not fallen so low as some would wishR2
And thou put on thy worst and meanest dressV
And ride with me ' And Enid asked amazedF
'If Enid errs let Enid learn her fault '-
But he 'I charge thee ask not but obey '-
Then she bethought her of a faded silkS2
A faded mantle and a faded veilT2
And moving toward a cedarn cabinetF
Wherein she kept them folded reverentlyV
With sprigs of summer laid between the foldsV
She took them and arrayed herself thereinQ2
Remembering when first he came on herR
Drest in that dress and how he loved her in itF
And all her foolish fears about the dressV
And all his journey to her as himselfJ
Had told her and their coming to the courtF
-
For Arthur on the Whitsuntide beforeR
Held court at old Caerleon upon UskS2
There on a day he sitting high in hallU2
Before him came a forester of DeanN
Wet from the woods with notice of a hartF
Taller than all his fellows milky whiteF
First seen that day these things he told the KingS2
Then the good King gave order to let blowV2
His horns for hunting on the morrow mornD2
And when the King petitioned for his leaveW2
To see the hunt allowed it easilyV
So with the morning all the court were goneB2
But Guinevere lay late into the mornD2
Lost in sweet dreams and dreaming of her loveC2
For Lancelot and forgetful of the huntF
But rose at last a single maiden with herR
Took horse and forded Usk and gained the woodF
There on a little knoll beside it stayedF
Waiting to hear the hounds but heard insteadF
A sudden sound of hoofs for Prince GeraintF
Late also wearing neither hunting dressV
Nor weapon save a golden hilted brandF
Came quickly flashing through the shallow fordF
Behind them and so galloped up the knollX2
A purple scarf at either end whereofC2
There swung an apple of the purest goldF
Swayed round about him as he galloped upY2
To join them glancing like a dragon flyH
In summer suit and silks of holidayF
Low bowed the tributary Prince and sheV
Sweet and statelily and with all graceV
Of womanhood and queenhood answered himI
'Late late Sir Prince ' she said 'later than we '-
'Yea noble Queen ' he answered 'and so lateF
That I but come like you to see the huntF
Not join it ' 'Therefore wait with me ' she saidF
'For on this little knoll if anywhereR
There is good chance that we shall hear the houndsV
Here often they break covert at our feet '-
-
And while they listened for the distF

Alfred Lord Tennyson



Rate:
(3)



Poem topics: , Print This Poem , Rhyme Scheme

Submit Spanish Translation
Submit German Translation
Submit French Translation


Write your comment about The Marriage Of Geraint poem by Alfred Lord Tennyson


 

Recent Interactions*

This poem was read 24 times,

This poem was added to the favorite list by 0 members,

This poem was voted by 2 members.

(* Interactions only in the last 7 days)

New Poems

Popular Poets