The Three Knights Davies Gilbert Poem, class 12 opt English

 

The Three Knights

Davies Gilbert

Davies Gilbert was born on 6 March 1767. He was the second of three children. He was a Cornish engineer, author, and politician. He worked as the president of the Royal Society. The poem "the Three Knights" was written in the appendix of his work Christmas Carols. In the poem, he had missed something after the 8^th stanza. The Three Knights was a popular narrative poem and a ballade. It has some refrain (repetition of some lines in the verse) in the poem.

The three knights were coming from the west. They saw a beautiful lady on the way. She was as beautiful as the rose which was sweetly blown. The first knight who was in white dress proposed to her to give her delight in her life.  The second knight who was in green dress also proposed her to be his queen. And the third knight who was in red dress asked her if she would wed.

Then, the Lady asked the soldiers if they had asked her father, mother, brother, and sister about their proposal to her. it was not clear that who was going to marry her. They answered that they had asked her father, mother, and sister. They ware agreed to their proposal. But they didn't ask John her brother. It was because they have seen her brother far on the road where his daughter stooped (bent) low to kiss him at that time he had pierced (to make a wound) to her heart and it was started bleeding. Her servant noticed that there was bleeding on her dress and cried to the soldiers that their wife was looking pale and weak.  The wounded lady had lost her hope of life and wished to remain so far distance in the hill where she could fulfill her will. The soldiers asked her about her wishes. She answered that she would give a gallant (brave horse) steed to her father, a wedding dress to her mother, and a gold ring to her sister Anne. It was needed to wash her wedding dress because there were bloodstains in each part of that cloth. Finally, she wished to give a rope and a gallows to her brother which might be used to hang him on. And she wished to give a widower's dress and quiet life to her brother's wife.

In the poem, the soldier who is wearing red clothes was going to marry her. It means he might be involved in the act of helping her therefore his clothes are red due to her blood. He knows that her brother has made her wound. So he doesn't ask to get an agreement with her brother. Finally, she wished to give a gallant horse to her father which has saved her. The horse might be the horse of that soldier. From the story, John was not happy with the decision of his sister to marry the soldier. So he is trying to kill his own sister in his rage. The ballad tries to show the theme of family relationships, love affairs, rejection of family members, etc.