Poems
The Witch-Bride
A fair witch crept to a young man’s side,
And he kiss’d her and took her for his bride.
But a Shape came in at the dead of night,
And fill’d the room with snowy light.
And he saw how in his arms there lay
A thing more frightful than mouth may say.
And he rose in haste, and follow’d the Shape
Till morning crown’d an eastern cape.
And he girded himself, and follow’d still,
When sunset sainted the western hill.
But, mocking and thwarting, clung to his side,
Weary day! – the foul Witch-Bride.
And he kiss’d her and took her for his bride.
But a Shape came in at the dead of night,
And fill’d the room with snowy light.
And he saw how in his arms there lay
A thing more frightful than mouth may say.
And he rose in haste, and follow’d the Shape
Till morning crown’d an eastern cape.
And he girded himself, and follow’d still,
When sunset sainted the western hill.
But, mocking and thwarting, clung to his side,
Weary day! – the foul Witch-Bride.
Analysis (ai): The poem unfolds in a sequence of stark nocturnal revelations, building tension through rapid shifts from intimacy to horror. Unlike Allingham’s more pastoral or folk-inspired works, this piece leans into Gothic tropes with minimal exposition.
- Supernatural Duality: The contrast between the “fair witch” and the “Shape” of light creates a moral dichotomy typical of Victorian ghost lore, yet subverts expectations by having the supernatural guide serve truth rather than punishment.
- Gender and Deception: The bride’s transformation highlights anxieties about female duplicity, a motif present in other Allingham ballads, though here it is stripped of romantic melancholy and rendered more accusatory.
- Form and Rhythm: Composed in quatrains with a simple ABAB scheme and brisk iambic meter, the poem adheres to ballad conventions popular in mid-19th century verse, aligning with Allingham’s folkloric preferences without venturing into formal innovation.
- Temporal Movement: The chase spans night to dawn and into daylight, symbolizing a spiritual or psychic pursuit. The repetition of following—first the Shape, then persistently onward—mirrors the structure of penitential quests in Victorian moral allegory.
- Isolation and Pursuit: The man’s solitary journey reflects a psychological interiority more common in late Romantic and early modern works, though the poem stops short of delving into subjectivity, staying external and symbolic.
- Witch-Bride’s Presence: Rather than vanishing after exposure, the witch clings “mocking and thwarting,” suggesting inescapable consequence—an idea less central in Allingham’s lighter folklore adaptations and closer in tone to folk tales with karmic retribution.
- Relation to Author’s Oeuvre: Unlike his lyrical depictions of Irish rural life, this poem embraces English and Scottish balladry traditions, standing out for its unrelenting atmosphere and lack of resolution.
- Place in Era’s Canon: While many Victorian poems featuring supernatural women end in redemption or elegy, this one concludes ambiguously, denying closure. It resonates with contemporaneous works by Rossetti or Keightley’s folklore studies but lacks their aestheticism.
- Less-Discussed Angle: The “Shape” may not be divine but another illusion, casting doubt on the reliability of enlightenment figures—an undercurrent rarely noted, implying that both figures (light and witch) are projections of inner conflict rather than external forces.
William Allingham (19 March 1824 – 18 November 1889) was an Irish poet, diarist and editor. He wrote several volumes of lyric verse, and his poem “The Faeries” was much anthologised. But he is better known for his posthumously published Diary, in which he records his lively encounters with Tennyson, Carlyle and other writers and artists. His wife, Helen Allingham, was a well-known artist, watercolourist and illustrator.
