How they Brought the Good News from Ghent to Aix
The narrator, Joris and Dirck gallop from Ghent toward Aix with news needed to save the city; Dirck's horse collapses, and Joris's horse dies. The narrator urges Roland onward and reaches Aix, where people praise the horse and he pours their last measure of wine down its throat.
By Robert Browning · Genre: Narrative Poetry, Adventure · 837 words
First lines
[16 -- ]
I sprang to the stirrup, and Joris, and he; / I galloped, Dirck galloped, we galloped all three; / "Good speed! " cried the watch, as the gate-bolts undrew; / "Speed! " echoed the wall to us galloping through; / Behind shut the postern, the lights sank to rest, / And into the midnight we galloped abreast.
Genres
- Narrative Poetry — Rhyming verses recount a continuous ride from midnight departure through the loss of two horses to arrival at Aix.
- Adventure — Three riders race to deliver vital news, and the narrator continues on Roland as his companions' horses fail.
Tags
horseback riding · urgent messages · horse exhaustion · narrative verse
What this Textopian page supports
How they Brought the Good News from Ghent to Aix 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: Narrative Poetry, Adventure
- Length: 837 words
- Structure: 1 section, 10 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Standard (8th-9th Grade)
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- Work identity for How they Brought the Good News from Ghent to Aix by Robert Browning
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- Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
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