Analysis of King Arthur And The Captive Maiden.
John Campbell 1845 – 1914
(Translated From The Gaelic. Taken down in Gaelic by Dewar.)
King Arthur on a journey went,
His men and he on hunting bent.
Came to the hill for victories known;
He, and Sir Balva, armed alone.
The King of Britain dreamed at night
Of fairest maid 'neath Heaven's light.
Her face's beauteous hues so clear
More than all gold to him were dear.
Yet all unknown where dwelt the maid,
His doubt and awe the search delayed.
For better were a battle stern
Than, blindly wandering, still to yearn.
Then spoke Sir Balva, kindly, meek,
"It is my wish this maid to seek.
Let me now take my Squire and hound,
And search until the maid be found."
Then seven weeks, with toil and pain,
We travelled wearily the main.
No harbour gave our ship a home,
No land kept off the drifting foam.
But high above the rough sea wave,
We saw a smooth-walled castle brave.
Its gables shone with glass. We laughed,
"Ah many a drink-horn there is quaffed."
Then sailing to its base there fell
A chain that lashed the ocean swell.
I seized it, fearless, hand o'er hand
I climbed upon the frowning land,
And seated on a golden chair,
I found a maiden wondrous fair,
Holding a mirror on her knee,
Her vesture beautiful to see.
I blest her, whose sad voice replied,
"Grief here thy blessing doth betide.
O comer from the sea, thou'lt feel
The heart of stone, the blade of steel"
Though merciless he be, yet know,
His sword can deal my heart no blow.
His love or hatred I despise
If gained the favour of thine eyes.
"The giant's star-white sword alone,"
Said she, "can wring from him a groan.
O hide thee in some place secure,
Or, gallant knight, thy death is sure."
Sir Balva heard the giant roar,
"What wave-thrown stranger climbed our shore?"
Her voice replied, "Now come, nor wait,
My soul, for thee my love is great.
Put thou thy head upon my knee,
I'll sweetly play the harp to thee."
He rested, and a laugh displayed
The white teeth of the blue-eyed maid.
The wild harp-music sweetly rung,
And sweeter still her tuneful tongue.
And on his eyes, by sea winds fanned,
Sleep laid full soon his tranquil hand.
Then took they off his star-white sword
And slew the Castle's Giant Lord.
Thus how the captive maid was found,
Oft heard they of The Table Round.
Scheme | X AA BB CC DD EE FF GGHH II JJ KK XA LL MM NN OO PP QQ RR SS BB TT UU VV OO EE WW MM XX HH |
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Poetic Form | |
Metre | 0101010101010110 11010101 11011101 110111001 1011101 01110111 11011101 011111 11111101 11011101 11010101 11000101 110100111 1111101 11111111 11111101 01010111 11011101 11010001 110110101 11110101 11010111 11011101 11011111 110011111 11011111 01110101 111101101 11010101 01010101 11010101 10010101 0110011 11011101 11110101 11010111 01110111 11001111 11111111 11110101 1101111 01011101 11111101 11101101 11011111 1110101 111101101 01011111 11111111 11110111 11010111 11000101 01110111 01110101 01010101 01111111 11111101 11111111 01010101 11010111 11110101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 2,251 |
Words | 446 |
Sentences | 31 |
Stanzas | 30 |
Stanza Lengths | 1, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 4, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2 |
Lines Amount | 61 |
Letters per line (avg) | 28 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 57 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 14 |
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Submitted on August 03, 2020
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 2:14 min read
- 13 Views
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"King Arthur And The Captive Maiden." Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 2 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/55831/king-arthur-and-the-captive-maiden.>.
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