The English Way Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis
Rhyme Scheme: ABAB CDC EFEF GHG CDC CICI GCG CDA CJCK CCCC LMLM GCG GCGC CACA CCCC CCCC NBOB CP C| After the fight at Otterburn | A |
| Before the ravens came | B |
| The Witch wife rode across the fern | A |
| And spoke Earl Percy's name | B |
| - | |
| 'Stand up stand up Northumberland | C |
| I bid you answer true | D |
| If England's King has under his hand | C |
| A Captain as good as you ' | - |
| - | |
| Then up and spake the dead Percy | E |
| Oh but his wound was sore | F |
| 'Five hundred Captains as good ' said he | E |
| 'And I trow five hundred more | F |
| - | |
| 'But I pray you by the lifting skies | G |
| And the young wind over the grass | H |
| That you take your eyes from off my eyes | G |
| And let my spirit pass ' | - |
| - | |
| 'Stand up stand up Northumberland | C |
| I charge you answer true | D |
| If ever you dealt in steel and brand | C |
| How went the fray with you ' | - |
| - | |
| 'Hither and yon ' the Percy said | C |
| 'As every fight must go | I |
| For some they fought and some they fled | C |
| And some struck ne'er a blow | I |
| - | |
| 'But I pray you by the breaking skies | G |
| And the first call from the nest | C |
| That you turn your eyes away from my eyes | G |
| And let me to my rest ' | - |
| - | |
| 'Stand up stand up Northumberland | C |
| I will that you answer true | D |
| If you and your men were quick again | A |
| How would it be with you ' | - |
| - | |
| 'Oh we would speak of hawk and hound | C |
| And the red deer where they rove | J |
| And the merry foxes the country round | C |
| And the maidens that we love | K |
| - | |
| 'We would not speak of steel or steed | C |
| Except to grudge the cost | C |
| And he that had done the doughtiest deed | C |
| Would mock himself the most | C |
| - | |
| 'But I pray you by my keep and tower | L |
| And the tables in my hall | M |
| And I pray you by my lady's bower | L |
| Ah bitterest of all | M |
| - | |
| 'That you lift your eyes from outen my eyes | G |
| Your hand from off my breast | C |
| And cover my face from the red sun rise | G |
| And loose me to my rest ' | - |
| - | |
| She has taken her eyes from out of his eyes | G |
| Her palm from off his breast | C |
| And covered his face from the red sun rise | G |
| And loosed him to his rest | C |
| - | |
| 'Sleep you or wake Northumberland | C |
| You shall not speak again | A |
| And the word you have said 'twixt quick and dead | C |
| I lay on Englishmen | A |
| - | |
| 'So long as Severn runs to West | C |
| Or Humber to the East | C |
| That they who bore themselves the best | C |
| Shall count themselves the least | C |
| - | |
| 'While there is fighting at the ford | C |
| Or flood along the Tweed | C |
| That they shall choose the lesser word | C |
| To cloke the greater deed | C |
| - | |
| 'After the quarry and the kill | N |
| The fair fight and the fame | B |
| With an ill face and an ill grace | O |
| Shall they rehearse the same | B |
| - | |
| 'Greater the deed greater the need | C |
| Lightly to laugh it away | P |
| - | |
| Shall be the mark of the English breed | C |
| Until the Judgment Day ' | - |
Rudyard Kipling
(1)
Poem topics: , Print This Poem , Rhyme Scheme
Submit Spanish Translation
Submit German Translation
Submit French Translation
About The English Way
The English Way is a poem by Rudyard Kipling. This page includes the poem text, poet information, related topics, comments, and similar poems.
Write your comment about The English Way poem by Rudyard Kipling
Best Poems of Rudyard Kipling