A Ballad Of Death Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis

Rhyme Scheme: ABBCDEFDEF GHHGIJKIJK LMMLNODNOD PDDPGOQGOR JIIJSOTSOT LJJLUVKWVK XPPYDTZDTZ A2PPA2B2EC2B2EC2 OJJOD2NE2NNE2 LDDLF2NNF2NN NNNNJIGIGJDLDL

Kneel down fair Love and fill thyself with tearsA
Girdle thyself with sighing for a girthB
Upon the sides of mirthB
Cover thy lips and eyelids let thine earsC
Be filled with rumour of people sorrowingD
Make thee soft raiment out of woven sighsE
Upon the flesh to cleaveF
Set pains therein and many a grievous thingD
And many sorrows after each his wiseE
For armlet and for gorget and for sleeveF
-
O Love's lute heard about the lands of deathG
Left hanged upon the trees that were thereinH
O Love and Time and SinH
Three singing mouths that mourn now underbreathG
Three lovers each one evil spoken ofI
O smitten lips wherethrough this voice of mineJ
Came softer with her praiseK
Abide a little for our lady's loveI
The kisses of her mouth were more than wineJ
And more than peace the passage of her daysK
-
O Love thou knowest if she were good to seeL
O Time thou shalt not find in any landM
Till cast out of thine handM
The sunlight and the moonlight fail from theeL
Another woman fashioned like as thisN
O Sin thou knowest that all thy shame in herO
Was made a goodly thingD
Yea she caught Shame and shamed him with her kissN
With her fair kiss and lips much lovelierO
Than lips of amorous roses in late springD
-
By night there stood over against my bedP
Queen Venus with a hood striped gold and blackD
Both sides drawn fully backD
From brows wherein the sad blood failed of redP
And temples drained of purple and full of deathG
Her curled hair had the wave of sea waterO
And the sea's gold in itQ
Her eyes were as a dove's that sickenethG
Strewn dust of gold she had shed over herO
And pearl and purple and amber on her feetR
-
Upon her raiment of dyed sendalineJ
Were painted all the secret ways of loveI
And covered things thereofI
That hold delight as grape flowers hold their wineJ
Red mouths of maidens and red feet of dovesS
And brides that kept within the bride chamberO
Their garment of soft shameT
And weeping faces of the wearied lovesS
That swoon in sleep and awake wearierO
With heat of lips and hair shed out like flameT
-
The tears that through her eyelids fell on meL
Made mine own bitter where they ran betweenJ
As blood had fallen thereinJ
She saying Arise lift up thine eyes and seeL
If any glad thing be or any goodU
Now the best thing is taken forth of usV
Even she to whom all praiseK
Was as one flower in a great multitudeW
One glorious flower of many and gloriousV
One day found gracious among many daysK
-
Even she whose handmaiden was Love to whomX
At kissing times across her stateliest bedP
Kings bowed themselves and shedP
Pale wine and honey with the honeycombY
And spikenard bruised for a burnt offeringD
Even she between whose lips the kiss becameT
As fire and frankincenseZ
Whose hair was as gold raiment on a kingD
Whose eyes were as the morning purged with flameT
Whose eyelids as sweet savour issuing thenceZ
-
Then I beheld and lo on the other sideA2
My lady's likeness crowned and robed and deadP
Sweet still but now not redP
Was the shut mouth whereby men lived and diedA2
And sweet but emptied of the blood's blue shadeB2
The great curled eyelids that withheld her eyesE
And sweet but like spoilt goldC2
The weight of colour in her tresses weighedB2
And sweet but as a vesture with new dyesE
The body that was clothed with love of oldC2
-
Ah that my tears filled all her woven hairO
And all the hollow bosom of her gownJ
Ah that my tears ran downJ
Even to the place where many kisses wereO
Even where her parted breast flowers have placeD2
Even where they are cloven apart who knows not thisN
Ah the flowers cleave apartE2
And their sweet fills the tender interspaceN
Ah the leaves grown thereof were things to kissN
Ere their fine gold was tarnished at the heartE2
-
Ah in the days when God did good to meL
Each part about her was a righteous thingD
Her mouth an almsgivingD
The glory of her garments charityL
The beauty of her bosom a good deedF2
In the good days when God kept sight of usN
Love lay upon her eyesN
And on that hair whereof the world takes heedF2
And all her body was more virtuousN
Than souls of women fashioned otherwiseN
-
Now ballad gather poppies in thine handsN
And sheaves of brier and many rusted sheavesN
Rain rotten in rank landsN
Waste marigold and late unhappy leavesN
And grass that fades ere any of it be mownJ
And when thy bosom is filled full thereofI
Seek out Death's face ere the light alterethG
And say My master that was thrall to LoveI
Is become thrall to DeathG
Bow down before him ballad sigh and groanJ
But make no sojourn in thy outgoingD
For haply it may beL
That when thy feet return at eveningD
Death shall come in with theeL

Algernon Charles Swinburne



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