The Courtship Of Miles Standish Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis
Rhyme Scheme: AB CDEFDGEHIJKLMEFNFOPE DQRFSBTRBUDTFDDVWFMJ XVVYZA2VKFVRB2F C2D2FFC2FA2BE2RRF2G2 F2 H2DRFF2F2I2VVFVFJ2DR DRK2K2 AL2 K2FRVRNF2F2VSVRRWM2R N2A2VVO2RRVVVRFV DDRK2M| I | A |
| MILES STANDISH | B |
| - | |
| In the Old Colony days in Plymouth the land of the Pilgrims | C |
| To and fro in a room of his simple and primitive dwelling | D |
| Clad in doublet and hose and boots of Cordovan leather | E |
| Strode with a martial air Miles Standish the Puritan Captain | F |
| Buried in thought he seemed with his hands behind him and pausing | D |
| Ever and anon to behold his glittering weapons of warfare | G |
| Hanging in shining array along the walls of the chamber | E |
| Cutlass and corselet of steel and his trusty sword of Damascus | H |
| Curved at the point and inscribed with its mystical Arabic sentence | I |
| While underneath in a corner were fowling piece musket and matchlock | J |
| Short of stature he was but strongly built and athletic | K |
| Broad in the shoulders deep chested with muscles and sinews of iron | L |
| Brown as a nut was his face but his russet beard was already | M |
| Flaked with patches of snow as hedges sometimes in November | E |
| Near him was seated John Alden his friend and household companion | F |
| Writing with diligent speed at a table of pine by the window | N |
| Fair haired azure eyed with delicate Saxon complexion | F |
| Having the dew of his youth and the beauty thereof as the captives | O |
| Whom Saint Gregory saw and exclaimed Not Angles but Angels | P |
| Youngest of all was he of the men who came in the Mayflower | E |
| - | |
| Suddenly breaking the silence the diligent scribe interrupting | D |
| Spake in the pride of his heart Miles Standish the Captain of Plymouth | Q |
| Look at these arms he said the war like weapons that hang here | R |
| Burnished and bright and clean as if for parade or inspection | F |
| This is the sword of Damascus I fought with in Flanders this breastplate | S |
| Well I remember the day once save my life in a skirmish | B |
| Here in front you can see the very dint of the bullet | T |
| Fired point blank at my heart by a Spanish arcabucero | R |
| Had it not been of sheer steel the forgotten bones of Miles Standish | B |
| Would at this moment be mould in their grave in the Flemish morasses | U |
| Thereupon answered John Alden but looked not up from his writing | D |
| Truly the breath of the Lord hath slackened the speed of the bullet | T |
| He in his mercy preserved you to be our shield and our weapon | F |
| Still the Captain continued unheeding the words of the stripling | D |
| See how bright they are burnished as if in an arsenal hanging | D |
| That is because I have done it myself and not left it to others | V |
| Serve yourself would you be well served is an excellent adage | W |
| So I take care of my arms as you of your pens and your inkhorn | F |
| Then too there are my soldiers my great invincible army | M |
| Twelve men all equipped having each his rest and his matchlock | J |
| Eighteen shillings a month together with diet and pillage | X |
| And like Caesar I know the name of each of my soldiers | V |
| This he said with a smile that danced in his eyes as the sunbeams | V |
| Dance on the waves of the sea and vanish again in a moment | Y |
| Alden laughed as he wrote and still the Captain continued | Z |
| Look you can see from this window my brazen howitzer planted | A2 |
| High on the roof of the church a preacher who speaks to the purpose | V |
| Steady straightforward and strong with irresistible logic | K |
| Orthodox flashing conviction right into the hearts of the heathen | F |
| Now we are ready I think for any assault of the Indians | V |
| Let them come if they like and the sooner they try it the better | R |
| Let them come if they like be it sagamore sachem or pow wow | B2 |
| Aspinet Samoset Corbitant Squanto or Tokamahamon | F |
| - | |
| Long at the window he stood and wistfully gazed on the landscape | C2 |
| Washed with a cold gray mist the vapory breath of the east wind | D2 |
| Forest and meadow and hill and the steel blue rim of the ocean | F |
| Lying silent and sad in the afternoon shadows and sunshine | F |
| Over his countenance flitted a shadow like those on the landscape | C2 |
| Gloom intermingled with light and his voice was subdued with emotion | F |
| Tenderness pity regret as after a pause he proceeded | A2 |
| Yonder there on the hill by the sea lies buried Rose Standish | B |
| Beautiful rose of love that bloomed for me by the wayside | E2 |
| She was the first to die of all who came in the Mayflower | R |
| Green above her is growing the field of wheat we have sown there | R |
| Better to hide from the Indian scouts the graves of our people | F2 |
| Lest they should count them and see how many already have perished | G2 |
| Sadly his face he averted and strode up and down and was thoughtful | F2 |
| - | |
| Fixed to the opposite wall was a shelf of books and among | H2 |
| them Prominent three distinguished alike for bulk and for binding | D |
| Bariffe's Artillery Guide and the Commentaries of Caesar | R |
| Out of the Latin translated by Arthur Goldinge of London | F |
| And as if guarded by these between them was standing the Bible | F2 |
| Musing a moment before them Miles Standish paused as if doubtful | F2 |
| Which of the three he should choose for his consolation and comfort | I2 |
| Whether the wars of the Hebrews the famous campaigns of the Romans | V |
| Or the Artillery practice designed for belligerent Christians | V |
| Finally down from its shelf he dragged the ponderous Roman | F |
| Seated himself at the window and opened the book and in silence | V |
| Turned o'er the well worn leaves where thumb marks thick on the margin | F |
| Like the trample of feet proclaimed the battle was hottest | J2 |
| Nothing was heard in the room but the hurrying pen of the stripling | D |
| Busily writing epistles important to go by the Mayflower | R |
| Ready to sail on the morrow or next day at latest God willing | D |
| Homeward bound with the tidings of all that terrible winter | R |
| Letters written by Alden and full of the name of Priscilla | K2 |
| Full of the name and the fame of the Puritan maiden Priscilla | K2 |
| - | |
| - | |
| - | |
| II | A |
| LOVE AND FRIENDSHIP | L2 |
| - | |
| Nothing was heard in the room but the hurrying pen of the | K2 |
| stripling Or an occasional sign from the laboring heart of the Captain | F |
| Reading the marvellous words and achievements of Julius Caesar | R |
| After a while he exclaimed as he smote with his hand palm downwards | V |
| Heavily on the page A wonderful man was this Caesar | R |
| You are a writer and I am a fighter but here is a fellow | N |
| Who could both write and fight and in both was equally skillful | F2 |
| Straightway answered and spake John Alden the comely the youthful | F2 |
| Yes he was equally skilled as you say with his pen and his weapons | V |
| Somewhere have I read but where I forget he could dictate | S |
| Seven letters at once at the same time writing his memoirs | V |
| Truly continued the Captain not heeding or hearing the other | R |
| Truly a wonderful man was Caius Julius Caesar | R |
| Better be first he said in a little Iberian village | W |
| Than be second in Rome and I think he was right when he said it | M2 |
| Twice was he married before he was twenty and many times after | R |
| Battles five hundred he fought and a thousand cities he conquered | N2 |
| He too fought in Flanders as he himself has recorded | A2 |
| Finally he was stabbed by his friend the orator Brutus | V |
| Now do you know what he did on a certain occasion in Flanders | V |
| When the rear guard of his army retreated the front giving way too | O2 |
| And the immortal Twelfth Legion was crowded so closely together | R |
| There was no room for their swords Why he seized a shield from a soldier | R |
| Put himself straight at the head of his troops and commanded the captains | V |
| Calling on each by his name to order forward the ensigns | V |
| Then to widen the ranks and give more room for their weapons | V |
| So he won the day the battle of something or other | R |
| That's what I always say if you wish a thing to be well done | F |
| You must do it yourself you must not leave it to others | V |
| - | |
| All was silent again the Captain continued his reading | D |
| Nothing was heard in the room but the hurrying pen of the stripling | D |
| Writing epistles important to go next day by the Mayflower | R |
| Filled with the name and the fame of the Puritan maiden Priscilla | K2 |
| Every sentence began or closed with the name of P | M |
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
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