The Legend Of St. Sophia Of Kioff Poem Rhyme Scheme

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William Makepeace Thackeray

The Legend Of St. Sophia Of Kioff Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis

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I	A
	-
The Poet describes the city and spelling of Kiow Kioff or Kiova	B
	-
A thousand years ago or more	C
A city filled with burghers stout	D
And girt with ramparts round about	D
Stood on the rocky Dnieper shore	C
In armor bright by day and night	E
The sentries they paced to and fro	F
Well guarded and walled was this town and called	G
By different names I'd have you to know	F
For if you looks in the g'ography books	H
In those dictionaries the name it varies	I
And they write it off Kieff or Kioff Kiova or Kiow	J
	-
	-
II	A
	-
Its buildings public works and ordinances religious and civil	K
	-
Thus guarded without by wall and redoubt	D
Kiova within was a place of renown	L
With more advantages than in those dark ages	M
Were commonly known to belong to a town	L
There were places and squares and each year four fairs	N
And regular aldermen and regular lord mayors	O
And streets and alleys and a bishop's palace	P
And a church with clocks for the orthodox	Q
With clocks and with spires as religion desires	O
And beadles to whip the bad little boys	R
Over their poor little corduroys	R
In service time when they DIDN'T make a noise	R
And a chapter and dean and a cathedral green	S
With ancient trees underneath whose shades	R
Wandered nice young nursery maids	R
	-
The poet shows how a certain priest dwelt at Kioff a godly	T
clergyman and one that preached rare good sermons	R
	-
Ding dong ding dong ding ding a ring ding	J
The bells they made a merry merry ring	J
From the tall tall steeple and all the people	K
Except the Jews came and filled the pews	R
Poles Russians and Germans	R
To hear the sermons	R
Which HYACINTH preached godly to those Germans and Poles	R
For the safety of their souls	R
	-
	-
III	A
	-
How this priest was short and fat of body	T
	-
A worthy priest he was and a stout	D
You've seldom looked on such a one	U
For though he fasted thrice in a week	J
Yet nevertheless his skin was sleek	J
His waist it spanned two yards about	D
And he weighed a score of stone	V
	-
	-
IV	B
	-
And like unto the author of 'Plymley's Letters '	-
	-
A worthy priest for fasting and prayer	W
And mortification most deserving	J
And as for preaching beyond compare	W
He'd exert his powers for three or four hours	R
With greater pith than Sydney Smith	X
Or the Reverend Edward Irving	J
	-
	-
V	B
	-
Of what convent he was prior and when the convent was built	Y
	-
He was the prior of Saint Sophia	B
A Cockney rhyme but no better I know	F
Of St Sophia that Church in Kiow	J
Built by missionaries I can't tell when	Z
Who by their discussions converted the Russians	R
And made them Christian men	Z
	-
	-
VI	B
	-
Of Saint Sophia of Kioff and how her statue miraculously	B
travelled thither	W
	-
Sainted Sophia so the legend vows	R
With special favor did regard this house	R
And to uphold her converts' new devotion	U
Her statue needing but her legs for HER ship	A2
Walks of itself across the German Ocean	U
And of a sudden perches	R
In this the best of churches	R
Whither all Kiovites come and pay it grateful worship	B2
	-
	-
VII	B
	-
And how Kioff should have been a happy city but that	C2
	-
Thus with her patron saints and pious preachers	R
Recorded here in catalogue precise	R
A goodly city worthy magistrates	R
You would have thought in all the Russian states	R
The citizens the happiest of all creatures	R
The town itself a perfect Paradise	R
	-
	-
VIII	B
	-
Certain wicked Cossacks did besiege it	D2
	-
No alas this well built city	B
Was in a perpetual fidget	D2
For the Tartars without pity	B
Did remorselessly besiege it	D2
	-
Tartars fierce with sword and sabres	R
Huns and Turks and such as these	R
Envied much their peaceful neighbors	R
By the blue Borysthenes	R
	-
Murdering the citizens	R
	-
Down they came these ruthless Russians	R
From their steppes and woods and fens	R
For to levy contributions	R
On the peaceful citizens	R
	-
Winter Summer Spring and Autumn	E2
Down they came to peaceful Kioff	B
Killed the burghers when they caught 'em	E2
If their lives they would not buy off	B
	-
Until they agreed to pay a tribute yearly	B
	-
Till the city quite confounded	F2
By the ravages they made	G2
Humbly with their chief compounded	H2
And a yearly tribute paid	G2
	-
How they paid the tribute and suddenly refused it	D2
	-
Which because their courage lax was	R
They discharged while they were able	K
Tolerated thus the tax was	R
Till it grew intolerable	K
	-
To the wonder of the Cossack envoy	B
	-
And the Calmuc envoy sent	I2
As before to take their dues all	J2
Got to his astonishment	K2
A unanimous refusal	K
	-
Of a mighty gallant speech	L2
	-
'Men of Kioff ' thus courageous	R
Did the stout lord mayor harangue them	M2
'Wherefore pay these sneaking wages	R
To the hectoring Russians hang them	M2
	-
That the lord mayor made	G2
	-
'Hark I hear the awful cry of	B
Our forefathers in their graves	R
''Fight ye citizens of Kioff	B
Kioff was not made for slaves '	-
	-
Exhorting the burghers to pay no longer	W
	-
'All too long have ye betrayed her	W
Rouse ye men and aldermen	N2
Send the insolent invader	W
Send him starving back again '	-
	-
	-
IX	R
	-
Of their thanks and heroic resolves	R
	-
He spoke and he sat down the people of the town	L
Who were fired with a brave emulation	U
Now rose with one accord and voted thanks unto the lord	O2
Mayor for his oration	U
	-
They dismiss the envoy and set about drilling	J
	-
The envoy they dismissed never placing in his fist	P2
So much as a single shilling	J
And all with courage fired as his lordship he desired	Q2
At once set about their drilling	J
	-
Of the City guard viz Militia dragoons and bombardiers and	R2
their commanders	R
	-
Then every city ward established a guard	S2
Diurnal and nocturnal	K
Militia volunteers light dragoons and bombardiers	R
With an alderman for colonel	K
	-
Of the majors and captains	R
	-
There was muster and roll calls and repairing city walls	R
And filling up of fosses	R
And the captains and the majors gallant and courageous	R
A riding about on their hosses	R
	-
The fortifications and artillery	B
	-
To be guarded at all hours they built themselves watch towers	R
With every tower a man on	T2
And surely and secure each from out his embrasure	B
Looked down the iron cannon	U
	-
Of the conduct of the actors and the clergy	B
	-
A battle song was writ for the theatre where it	D2
Was sung with vast energy	B
And rapturous applause and besides the public cause	R
Was supported by the clergy	B
	-
The pretty ladies' maids were pinning of cockades	R
And tying on of sashes	R
And dropping gentle tears while their lovers bluster'd fierce	R
About gunshot and gashes	R
	-
Of the ladies	R
	-
The ladies took the hint and all day were scraping lint	U2
As became their softer genders	R
And got bandages and beds for the limbs and for the heads	R
Of the city's brave defenders	R
	-
And finally of the taylors	R
	-
The men both young and old felt resolute and bold	V2
And panted hot for glory	B
Even the tailors 'gan to brag and embroidered on their flag	J
'AUT WINCERE AUT MORI '	-
	-
	-
X	R
	-
Of the Cossack chief his stratagem	E2
	-
Seeing the city's resolute condition	U
The Cossack chief too cunning to despise it	D2
Said to himself 'Not having ammunition	U
Wherewith to batter the place in proper form	W2
Some of these nights I'll carry it by storm	W2
And sudden escalade it or surprise it	D2
	-
And the burghers' sillie victorie	B
	-
'Let's see however if the cits stand firmish '	-
He rode up to the city gates for answers	R
Out rushed an eager troop of the town elite	X2
And straightway did begin a gallant skirmish	Y2
The Cossack hereupon did sound retreat	X2
Leaving the victory with the city lancers	R
	-
What prisoners they took	J
	-
They took two prisoners and as many horses	R
And the whole town grew quickly so elate	Z2
With this small victory of their virgin forces	R
That they did deem their privates and commanders	R
So many Caesars Pompeys Alexanders	R
Napoleons or Fredericks the Great	Z2
	-
And how conceited they were	B
	-
And puffing with inordinate conceit	X2
They utterly despised these Cossack thieves	R
And thought the ruffians easier to beat	X2
Than porters carpets think or ushers boys	R
Meanwhile a sly spectator of their joys	R
The Cossack captain giggled in his sleeves	R
	-
Of the Cossack chief his orders	R
	-
'Whene'er you meet yon stupid city hogs '	-