The Witch Of Wenham Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis
Rhyme Scheme: ABCDC EFGF H I IJKJ LMN OEPE QRSR TUV W XC PYZA2 RUB2 C2JD2J RGE2G F2G2B2G2 H2B2LB2 H2I2J2I2 K2L2GL2 M2N2C2N2 JSO2S P2EQ2 R2JS2J T2UR U2JV2 W2FX2F GCA SAY2A Z2A3B3A3 AIC3RC3 D3E3QE3 F3C3I2C3 U2G3C3 C G3H3 G C2 I I3 ZJ3K3J3 C3C2L3M3 GC3N3C3 O3C3P3C3 Q3C3GC3 R3S3T3S3 RVLV AC3U3C3 T3U3C2 V3OW3O G3GC2 X3QWQ CR3Y3R3 C2Z3A4B4 T3C3C4C3 HEAE D4AG Z2C3K3C3 E4F4G4F4 I2C3H4C3 I4CJ4C K3K4C3K4 Z3T3L4T3 BM4GM4 N4GJGI | A |
Along Crane River's sunny slopes | B |
Blew warm the winds of May | C |
And over Naumkeag's ancient oaks | D |
The green outgrew the gray | C |
- | |
The grass was green on Rial side | E |
The early birds at will | F |
Waked up the violet in its dell | G |
The wind flower on its hill | F |
- | |
'Where go you in your Sunday coat | H |
Son Andrew tell me pray ' | - |
For striped perch in Wenham Lake | I |
I go to fish to day ' | - |
- | |
'Unharmed of thee in Wenham Lake | I |
The mottled perch shall be | J |
A blue eyed witch sits on the bank | K |
And weaves her net for thee | J |
- | |
'She weaves her golden hair she sings | L |
Her spell song low and faint | M |
The wickedest witch in Salem jail | N |
Is to that girl a saint ' | - |
- | |
'Nay mother hold thy cruel tongue | O |
God knows ' the young man cried | E |
'He never made a whiter soul | P |
Than hers by Wenham side | E |
- | |
'She tends her mother sick and blind | Q |
And every want supplies | R |
To her above the blessed Book | S |
She lends her soft blue eyes | R |
- | |
'Her voice is glad with holy songs | T |
Her lips are sweet with prayer | U |
Go where you will in ten miles round | V |
Is none more good and fair ' | - |
- | |
'Son Andrew for the love of God | W |
And of thy mother stay ' | - |
She clasped her hands she wept aloud | X |
But Andrew rode away | C |
- | |
'O reverend sir my Andrew's soul | P |
The Wenham witch has caught | Y |
She holds him with the curled gold | Z |
Whereof her snare is wrought | A2 |
- | |
'She charms him with her great blue eyes | R |
She binds him with her hair | U |
Oh break the spell with holy words | B2 |
Unbind him with a prayer ' | - |
- | |
'Take heart ' the painful preacher said | C2 |
'This mischief shall not be | J |
The witch shall perish in her sins | D2 |
And Andrew shall go free | J |
- | |
'Our poor Ann Putnam testifies | R |
She saw her weave a spell | G |
Bare armed loose haired at full of moon | E2 |
Around a dried up well | G |
- | |
''Spring up O well ' she softly sang | F2 |
The Hebrew's old refrain | G2 |
For Satan uses Bible words | B2 |
Till water flowed a main | G2 |
- | |
'And many a goodwife heard her speak | H2 |
By Wenham water words | B2 |
That made the buttercups take wings | L |
And turn to yellow birds | B2 |
- | |
'They say that swarming wild bees seek | H2 |
The hive at her command | I2 |
And fishes swim to take their food | J2 |
From out her dainty hand | I2 |
- | |
'Meek as she sits in meeting time | K2 |
The godly minister | L2 |
Notes well the spell that doth compel | G |
The young men's eyes to her | L2 |
- | |
'The mole upon her dimpled chin | M2 |
Is Satan's seal and sign | N2 |
Her lips are red with evil bread | C2 |
And stain of unblest wine | N2 |
- | |
'For Tituba my Indian saith | J |
At Quasycung she took | S |
The Black Man's godless sacrament | O2 |
And signed his dreadful book | S |
- | |
'Last night my sore afflicted child | P2 |
Against the young witch cried | E |
To take her Marshal Herrick rides | Q2 |
Even now to Wenham side ' | - |
- | |
The marshal in his saddle sat | R2 |
His daughter at his knee | J |
'I go to fetch that arrant witch | S2 |
Thy fair playmate ' quoth he | J |
- | |
'Her spectre walks the parsonage | T2 |
And haunts both hall and stair | U |
They know her by the great blue eyes | R |
And floating gold of hair ' | - |
- | |
'They lie they lie my father dear | U2 |
No foul old witch is she | J |
But sweet and good and crystal pure | V2 |
As Wenham waters be ' | - |
- | |
'I tell thee child the Lord hath set | W2 |
Before us good and ill | F |
And woe to all whose carnal loves | X2 |
Oppose His righteous will | F |
- | |
'Between Him and the powers of hell | G |
Choose thou my child to day | C |
No sparing hand no pitying eye | A |
When God commands to slay ' | - |
- | |
He went his way the old wives shook | S |
With fear as he drew nigh | A |
The children in the dooryards held | Y2 |
Their breath as he passed by | A |
- | |
Too well they knew the gaunt gray horse | Z2 |
The grim witch hunter rode | A3 |
The pale Apocalyptic beast | B3 |
By grisly Death bestrode | A3 |
- | |
II | A |
Oh fair the face of Wenham Lake | I |
Upon the young girl's shone | C3 |
Her tender mouth her dreaming eyes | R |
Her yellow hair outblown | C3 |
- | |
By happy youth and love attuned | D3 |
To natural harmonies | E3 |
The singing birds the whispering wind | Q |
She sat beneath the trees | E3 |
- | |
Sat shaping for her bridal dress | F3 |
Her mother's wedding gown | C3 |
When lo the marshal writ in hand | I2 |
From Alford hill rode down | C3 |
- | |
His face was hard with cruel fear | U2 |
He grasped the maiden's hands | G3 |
'Come with me unto Salem town | C3 |
For so the law commands ' | - |
- | |
'Oh let me to my mother say | C |
Farewell before I go ' | - |
He closer tied her little hands | G3 |
Unto his saddle bow | H3 |
- | |
'Unhand me ' cried she piteously | G |
'For thy sweet daughter's sake ' | - |
'I'll keep my daughter safe ' he said | C2 |
'From the witch of Wenham Lake ' | - |
- | |
'Oh leave me for my mother's sake | I |
She needs my eyes to see ' | - |
'Those eyes young witch the crows shall peck | I3 |
From off the gallows tree ' | - |
- | |
He bore her to a farm house old | Z |
And up its stairway long | J3 |
And closed on her the garret door | K3 |
With iron bolted strong | J3 |
- | |
The day died out the night came down | C3 |
Her evening prayer she said | C2 |
While through the dark strange faces seemed | L3 |
To mock her as she prayed | M3 |
- | |
The present horror deepened all | G |
The fears her childhood knew | C3 |
The awe wherewith the air was filled | N3 |
With every breath she drew | C3 |
- | |
And could it be she trembling asked | O3 |
Some secret thought or sin | C3 |
Had shut good angels from her heart | P3 |
And let the bad ones in | C3 |
- | |
Had she in some forgotten dream | Q3 |
Let go her hold on Heaven | C3 |
And sold herself unwittingly | G |
To spirits unforgiven | C3 |
- | |
Oh weird and still the dark hours passed | R3 |
No human sound she heard | S3 |
But up and down the chimney stack | T3 |
The swallows moaned and stirred | S3 |
- | |
And o'er her with a dread surmise | R |
Of evil sight and sound | V |
The blind bats on their leathern wings | L |
Went wheeling round and round | V |
- | |
Low hanging in the midnight sky | A |
Looked in a half faced moon | C3 |
Was it a dream or did she hear | U3 |
Her lover's whistled tune | C3 |
- | |
She forced the oaken scuttle back | T3 |
A whisper reached her ear | U3 |
'Slide down the roof to me ' it said | C2 |
'So softly none may hear ' | - |
- | |
She slid along the sloping roof | V3 |
Till from its eaves she hung | O |
And felt the loosened shingles yield | W3 |
To which her fingers clung | O |
- | |
Below her lover stretched his hands | G3 |
And touched her feet so small | G |
'Drop down to me dear heart ' he said | C2 |
'My arms shall break the fall ' | - |
- | |
He set her on his pillion soft | X3 |
Her arms about him twined | Q |
And noiseless as if velvet shod | W |
They left the house behind | Q |
- | |
But when they reached the open way | C |
Full free the rein he cast | R3 |
Oh never through the mirk midnight | Y3 |
Rode man and maid more fast | R3 |
- | |
Along the wild wood paths they sped | C2 |
The bridgeless streams they swam | Z3 |
At set of moon they passed the Bass | A4 |
At sunrise Agawam | B4 |
- | |
At high noon on the Merrimac | T3 |
The ancient ferryman | C3 |
Forgot at times his idle oars | C4 |
So fair a freight to scan | C3 |
- | |
And when from off his grounded boat | H |
He saw them mount and ride | E |
'God keep her from the evil eye | A |
And harm of witch ' he cried | E |
- | |
The maiden laughed as youth will laugh | D4 |
At all its fears gone by | A |
'He does not know ' she whispered low | G |
'A little witch am I ' | - |
- | |
All day he urged his weary horse | Z2 |
And in the red sundown | C3 |
Drew rein before a friendly door | K3 |
In distant Berwick town | C3 |
- | |
A fellow feeling for the wronged | E4 |
The Quaker people felt | F4 |
And safe beside their kindly hearths | G4 |
The hunted maiden dwelt | F4 |
- | |
Until from off its breast the land | I2 |
The haunting horror threw | C3 |
And hatred born of ghastly dreams | H4 |
To shame and pity grew | C3 |
- | |
Sad were the year's spring morns and sad | I4 |
Its golden summer day | C |
But blithe and glad its withered fields | J4 |
And skies of ashen gray | C |
- | |
For spell and charm had power no more | K3 |
The spectres ceased to roam | K4 |
And scattered households knelt again | C3 |
Around the hearths of home | K4 |
- | |
And when once more by Beaver Dam | Z3 |
The meadow lark outsang | T3 |
And once again on all the hills | L4 |
The early violets sprang | T3 |
- | |
And all the windy pasture slopes | B |
Lay green within the arms | M4 |
Of creeks that bore the salted sea | G |
To pleasant inland farms | M4 |
- | |
The smith filed off the chains he forged | N4 |
The jail bolts backward fell | G |
And youth and hoary age came forth | J |
Like souls escaped from hell | G |
John Greenleaf Whittier
(1)
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