Boot and Saddle by Robert Browning
The speaker urges horsemen to ride forty miles to rescue Castle Brancepeth from the Roundheads before the morning grows bright. His wife Gertrude laughs at the suggestion of surrender and answers with the same call to mount and ride.
By Robert Browning · Genre: War Poetry, Dramatic Poetry · 211 words
First lines
Boot, saddle, to horse, and away! / Rescue my castle before the hot day / Brightens to blue from its silvery gray. / CHO. -- Boot, saddle, to horse, and away!
Ride past the suburbs, asleep as you 'd say; / Many 's the friend there, will listen and pray / "God's luck to gallants that strike up the lay -- / CHO. -- Boot, saddle, to horse, and away!"
Forty miles off, like a roebuck at bay, / Flouts Castle Brancepeth the Roundheads' array: / Who laughs, "Good fellows ere this, by my fay, / CHO. -- Boot, saddle, to horse, and away!"
What this Textopian page supports
Boot and Saddle is listed on Textopian as a poem by Robert Browning, dated Date unknown.
This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.
- Work type: Poem
- Author: Robert Browning
- Date: Date unknown
- Language: English
- Genres: War Poetry, Dramatic Poetry
- Length: 211 words
- Structure: 1 section, 4 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Easy (6th Grade)
Good citation fit
- Work identity for Boot and Saddle by Robert Browning
- Canonical title URL and first readable passage URL
- Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
- Readability and classroom-planning context
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Genres
- War Poetry — The rhymed stanzas summon mounted men to relieve a castle facing the Roundheads' forces.
- Dramatic Poetry — The speaker's urgent commands, Gertrude's quoted refusal to surrender, and a repeated chorus present the rescue appeal through spoken voices.
Tags
mounted soldiers · castle siege · Roundheads · military rescue · refusal to surrender