Analysis of The Parrot and the Billy-Goat
Henry Clay Work 1832 (Middletown, Connecticut) – 1884 (Hartford, Connecticut)
There were no romping children at Doctor Quibble's door;
Long past the silver wedding, no toys lay on the floor,
But to relieve her longings, to soothe her vain regrets,
His good wife had contrived to raise a family of pets.
What! a family of pets?
Yes! a family of pets;
His good wife had contrived to raise a family of pets.
A Spanish alto, Polly, who sang from early morn;
A bearded actor, Billy, who play'd the double horn;
A mimic man, Falsetto, who scaled the treble staff,
And climb'd the ledger lines above, and made the people laugh.
What! and made the people laugh?
Yes! and made the people laugh;
And climb'd the ledger lines above, and made the people laugh.
Remark'd the joking Doctor: "My dear, you ought to get
Another one -- a basso -- and have a full quartette."
She took his words in earnest, nor thought of ridicule;
She bargain'd from a circus man a educated mule.
What! an educated mule?
Yes! an educated mule;
She bargain'd from a circus man a educated mule.
Then said the Doctor gravely: "My dear, you should engage
That circus man as tutor, to fit them for the stage;
To cultivate their voices, and train them up by rule --
The parrot and the billy goat, the monkey and the mule."
What! the monkey and the mule?
Yes! the monkey and the mule;
The parrot and the billy goat, the monkey and the mule.
Three weary weeks she waited, and then the job was done;
Their education finish'd, their tutor's fortune won.
Tho' some folks thought she carried her husband's joke too far,
She organized a trav'ling troupe, each pet to be a star.
What! each pet to be a star?
Yes! each pet to be a star;
She organized a trav'ling troupe, each pet to be a star.
She sold a thousand tickets upon the opening night;
But when the curtain lifted, 'twas on a sorry sight:
The bearded actor Billy devoured a music roll;
Then burst the big bass drum, and went headforemost thro' the hole.
What! headforemost through the hole?
Yes! headforemost through the hole;
He burst the big bass drum, and went headforemost thro' the hole!
Falsetto snatched the turban which Madame Polly wore;
Its green and scarlet feathers he scattered on the floor.
The Madame swore in Spanish, her eyes suffused with tears;
And, flying to the basso's head, she hid behind his ears.
What! she hid behind his ears?
Yes! she hid behind his ears;
And flying to the basso's head, she hid behind his ears.
Began then B. Profundo his great fantastic dance;
The footlights flew like rockets, the audience in advance.
And so they changed the programme, and broke the golden rule
The parrot and the billy-goat, the monkey and the mule.
What! the monkey and he mule?
Yes! the monkey and he mule;
The parrot and the billy-goat, the monkey and the mule.
Scheme | aabB bbB ccdD ddD eefF ffF ggfF ffF hhiI iiI jjkk kkk aaxL llL mmfF ffF |
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Poetic Form | |
Metre | 101101011011 1101010111101 1101010110101 11110111010011 1010011 1010011 11110111010011 0101010111101 0101010110101 010101110101 01010101010101 1010101 1010101 01010101010101 0101010111111 010101001011 111101011110 1101010101001 111001 111001 1101010101001 1101010111101 1101110111101 110110011111 01000101010001 1010001 1010001 01000101010001 1101110010111 10101011101 1111110010111 110011111101 1111101 1111101 110011111101 11010100101001 1101010110101 01010100100101 110111011101 11101 11101 110111011101 011010110101 1101010110101 0101010010111 0101011110111 1110111 1110111 0101011110111 01111110101 0111100100001 011101010101 01000101010001 1010011 1010011 01000101010001 |
Closest metre | Iambic hexameter |
Characters | 2,666 |
Words | 498 |
Sentences | 46 |
Stanzas | 16 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 3, 4, 3, 4, 3, 4, 3, 4, 3, 4, 3, 4, 3, 4, 3 |
Lines Amount | 56 |
Letters per line (avg) | 37 |
Words per line (avg) | 9 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 130 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 31 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 2:33 min read
- 40 Views
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"The Parrot and the Billy-Goat" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 21 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/17299/the-parrot-and-the-billy-goat>.
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