The Civil Wars (excerpts) Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis
Rhyme Scheme: ABCBCBDEE AFGFGFGHH A IAIAIAJJ I JKJKKKLL MKMKMKII IKIKIKFF A A A KK KNKNKNOO A K K K A I I I KK A KKKKKKKK A KIKIKIPQ A RKRKLKKK I KKKKKKFF IIIIIIKK K SININIRN K KTKOKTKK K KKKKKKKK A KIKIKIKK A IUIVIVKK A KTKOKOKKXXXVI | A |
The swift approach and unexpected speed | B |
The king had made upon this new rais'd force | C |
In the unconfirmed troops much fear did breed | B |
Untimely hind'ring their intended course | C |
The joining with the Welsh they had decreed | B |
Was hereby dash'd which made their cause the worse | D |
Northumberland with forces from the north | E |
Expected to be there was not set forth | E |
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XXXVII | A |
And yet undaunted Hotspur seeing the king | F |
So near arriv'd leaving the work in hand | G |
With forward speed his forces marshalling | F |
Sets forth his farther coming to withstand | G |
And with a cheerful voice encouraging | F |
His well experienc'd and adventurous band | G |
Brings on his army eager unto fight | H |
And plac'd the same before the king in sight | H |
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XXXVIII | A |
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This day saith he my valiant trusty friends | I |
Whatever it doth give shall glory give | A |
This day with honour frees our state or ends | I |
Our misery with fame that still shall live | A |
And do but think how well the same he spends | I |
Who spends his blood his country to relieve | A |
What have we hands and shall we servile be | J |
Why were swords made but to preserve men free | J |
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XXXIX | I |
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Besides the assured hope of victory | J |
Which we may even promise on our side | K |
Against this weak constrained company | J |
Whom force and fear not will and love doth guide | K |
Against a prince whose foul impiety | K |
The heavens do hate the earth cannot abide | K |
Our number being no less our courage more | L |
No doubt we have it if we work therefore | L |
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XL | - |
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This said and thus resolv'd even bent to charge | M |
Upon the king who well their order view'd | K |
And wary noted all the course at large | M |
Of their proceeding and their multitude | K |
And deeming better if he could discharge | M |
The day with safety and some peace conclude | K |
Great proffers sends of pardon and of grace | I |
If they would yield and quietness embrace | I |
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XLI | - |
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Which though his fears might drive him to propose | I |
To time his business for some other end | K |
Yet sure he could not mean t' have peace with those | I |
Who did in that supreme degree offend | K |
Nor were they such as would be won with shows | I |
Or breath of oaths or vows could apprehend | K |
So that in honour the offers he doth make | F |
Were not for him to give nor them to take | F |
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XLII | - |
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And yet this much his courses do approve | A |
He was not bloody in his natural | - |
And yield he did to more then might behove | A |
His dignity to have dispens'd withal | - |
And unto Worcester he himself did move | A |
A reconcilement to be made of all | - |
But Worcester knowing it could not be secur'd | K |
His nephews onset yet for all procur'd | K |
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XLIII | - |
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Which seeing the king with greater wrath incens'd | K |
Rage against fury doth with speed prepare | N |
And though said he I could have well dispens'd | K |
With this day's blood which I have sought to spare | N |
That greater glory might have recompens'd | K |
The forward worth of these that so much dare | N |
That we might good have had by th' overthrown | O |
And the wounds we make might not have been our own | O |
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XLIV | A |
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Yet since that other men's iniquity | K |
Calls on the sword of wrath against my will | - |
And that themselves exact this cruelty | K |
And I constrained am this blood to spill | - |
Then on brave followers on courageously | K |
True hearted subjects against traitors ill | - |
And spare not them who seek to spoil us all | - |
Whose foul confused end soon see you shall | - |
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XLV | A |
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Forthwith began these fury moving sounds | I |
The notes of wrath the music brought from Hell | - |
The rattling drums which trumpets voice confounds | I |
The cries the encouragements the shouting shrill | - |
That all about the beaten air rebounds | I |
Confused thundering murmurs horrible | - |
To rob all sense except the sense to fight | K |
Well hands may work the mind hath lost his sight | K |
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XLVI | A |
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O war begot in pride and luxury | K |
The child of malice and revengeful hate | K |
Thou impious good and good impiety | K |
That art the foul refiner of a state | K |
Unjust just scourge of men's iniquity | K |
Sharp easer of corruptions desperate | K |
Is there no means but that a sin sick land | K |
Must be let blood with such a boisterous hand | K |
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XLVII | A |
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How well mightst thou have here been spar'd this day | K |
Had not wrong counsell'd Percy been perverse | I |
Whose forward hand inur'd to wounds makes way | K |
Upon the sharpest fronts of the most fierce | I |
Where now an equal fury thrusts to stay | K |
And back repel that force and his disperse | I |
Then these assail then those re chase again | P |
Till stay'd with new made hills of bodies slain | Q |
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XLVIII | A |
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There lo that new appearing glorious star | R |
Wonder of arms the terror of the field | K |
Young Henry labouring where the stoutest are | R |
And even the stoutest forced back to yield | K |
There is that hand bolden'd to blood and war | L |
That must the sword in wondrous actions wield | K |
Though better he had learn'd with others' blood | K |
A less expense to us to him more good | K |
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XLIX | I |
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Yet here had he not speedy succour lent | K |
To his endanger'd father near oppress'd | K |
That day had seen the full accomplishment | K |
Of all his travails and his final rest | K |
For Mars like Douglas all his forces bent | K |
To encounter and to grapple with the best | K |
As if disdaining any other thing | F |
To do that day but to subdue a king | F |
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L | - |
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And three with fiery courage he assails | I |
Three all as kings adorn'd in royal wise | I |
And each successive after other quails | I |
Still wond'ring whence so many kings should rise | I |
And doubting lest his hand or eyesight fails | I |
In these confounded on a fourth he flies | I |
And him unhorses too whom had he sped | K |
He then all kings in him had vanquished | K |
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LI | K |
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For Henry had divided as it were | S |
The person of himself into four parts | I |
To be less known and yet known everywhere | N |
The more to animate his people's hearts | I |
Who cheered by his presence would not spare | N |
To execute their best and worthiest parts | I |
By which two special things effected are | R |
His safety and his subjects' better care | N |
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LII | K |
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And never worthy prince a day did quit | K |
With greater hazard and with more renown | T |
Than thou didst mighty Henry in this fight | K |
Which only made thee owner of thine own | O |
Thou never prov'dst the tenure of thy right | K |
How thou didst hold thy easy gotten crown | T |
Till now and now thou shew'st thyself chief lord | K |
By that especial right of kings the sword | K |
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LIII | K |
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And dear it cost and much good blood is shed | K |
To purchase thee a saving victory | K |
Great Stafford thy high constable lies dead | K |
With Shorly Clifton Gawsell Calverly | K |
And many more whose brave deaths witnessed | K |
Their noble valour and fidelity | K |
And many more had left their dearest blood | K |
Behind that day had Hotspur longer stood | K |
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LIV | A |
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But he as Douglas with his fury led | K |
Rushing into the thickest woods of spears | I |
And brakes of swords still laying at the head | K |
The life of th' army whiles he nothing fears | I |
Or spares his own comes all invironed | K |
With multitude of power that over bears | I |
His manly worth who yields not in his fall | K |
But fighting dies and dying kills withal | K |
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LV | A |
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What ark what trophy what magnificence | I |
Of glory Hotspur had'st thou purchas'd here | U |
Could but thy cause as fair as thy pretence | I |
Be made unto thy country to appear | V |
Had it been her protection and defence | I |
Not thy ambition made thee sell so dear | V |
Thyself this day she must have here made good | K |
An everlasting statue for thy blood | K |
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LVI | A |
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Which thus mis spent thy army presently | K |
As if they could not stand when thou wert down | T |
Dispers'd in rout betook them all to fly | K |
And Douglas faint with wounds and overthrown | O |
Was taken who yet won the enemy | K |
Which took him by his noble valour shown | O |
In that day's mighty work and was preserv'd | K |
With all the grace and honour he deserv'd | K |
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Samuel Daniel
(1)
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