Analysis of It Was an English Ladye Bright

Sir Walter Scott 1771 (College Wynd, Edinburgh) – 1832 (Abbotsford, Roxburghshire)



It was an English ladye bright,
       (The sun shines fair on Carlisle wall,)
   And she would marry a Scottish knight,
       For Love will still be lord of all.

Blithely they saw the rising sun
       When he shone fair on Carlisle wall;
   But they were sad ere day was done,
       Though Love was still the lord of all.

Her sire gave brooch and jewel fine,
       Where the sun shines fair on Carlisle wall;
   Her brother gave but a flask of wine,
       For ire that Love was lord of all.

For she had lands both meadow and lea,
       Where the sun shines fair on Carlisle wall,
   And he swore her death, ere he would see
       A Scottish knight the lord of all.

That wine she had not tasted well
       (The sun shines fair on Carlisle wall,)
   When dead, in her true love's arms, she fell,
       For Love was still the lord of all!

He pierced her brother to the heart,
       Where the sun shines fair on Carlisle wall:--
   So perish all would true love part
       That Love may still be lord of all!

And then he took the cross divine,
       Where the sun shines fair on Carlisle wall,
   And died for her sake in Palestine;
       So Love was still the lord of all.

Now all ye lovers, that faithful prove,
       (The sun shines fair on Carlisle wall,)
   Pray for their souls who died for love,
       For Love shall still be lord of all!


Scheme aBab cbcb dBdb eBeb fBfb gBgb dBdb xBxb
Poetic Form Quatrain 
Metre 1111011 0111111 011100101 11111111 10110101 1111111 11011111 11110111 010110101 10111111 010110111 11111111 11111101 10111111 011011111 01010111 11111101 0111111 110011111 11110111 11010101 10111111 11011111 11111111 01110101 10111111 01101010 11110111 111101101 0111111 11111111 11111111
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 1,356
Words 247
Sentences 9
Stanzas 8
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4
Lines Amount 32
Letters per line (avg) 29
Words per line (avg) 8
Letters per stanza (avg) 118
Words per stanza (avg) 30
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

1:14 min read
119

Sir Walter Scott

Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet was a Scottish historical novelist, poet, playwright, and historian. more…

All Sir Walter Scott poems | Sir Walter Scott Books

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