Analysis of The Pelagian Drinking Song
Hilaire Belloc 1870 (La Celle-Saint-Cloud) – 1953
Pelagius lived at Kardanoel
And taught a doctrine there
How, whether you went to heaven or to hell
It was your own affair.
It had nothing to do with the Church, my boy,
But was your own affair.
No, he didn't believe
In Adam and Eve
He put no faith therein!
His doubts began
With the Fall of Man
And he laughed at Original Sin.
With my row-ti-tow
Ti-oodly-ow
He laughed at original sin.
Then came the bishop of old Auxerre
Germanus was his name
He tore great handfuls out of his hair
And he called Pelagius shame.
And with his stout Episcopal staff
So thoroughly whacked and banged
The heretics all, both short and tall --
They rather had been hanged.
Oh he whacked them hard, and he banged them long
Upon each and all occasions
Till they bellowed in chorus, loud and strong
Their orthodox persuasions.
With my row-ti-tow
Ti-oodly-ow
Their orthodox persuasions.
Now the faith is old and the Devil bold
Exceedingly bold indeed.
And the masses of doubt that are floating about
Would smother a mortal creed.
But we that sit in a sturdy youth
And still can drink strong ale
Let us put it away to infallible truth
That always shall prevail.
And thank the Lord
For the temporal sword
And howling heretics too.
And all good things
Our Christendom brings
But especially barley brew!
With my row-ti-tow
Ti-oodly-ow
Especially barley brew!
Scheme | ababxb ccdeedFFd bgbgxhah ijiJFFJ xkxklala mmnoonFFn |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1111 010101 11011110111 111101 11101110111 111101 111001 01001 111101 1101 10111 011101001 11111 111 11101001 11010111 1111 11111111 01111 011101001 1100101 0111101 110111 1111101111 01101010 1110010101 110010 11111 111 110010 1011100101 0100101 001011111001 1100101 111100101 011111 111101101001 11101 0101 101001 01011 0111 101001 1010101 11111 111 010101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,290 |
Words | 239 |
Sentences | 16 |
Stanzas | 6 |
Stanza Lengths | 6, 9, 8, 7, 8, 9 |
Lines Amount | 47 |
Letters per line (avg) | 22 |
Words per line (avg) | 5 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 176 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 40 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on May 01, 2023
- 1:12 min read
- 141 Views
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"The Pelagian Drinking Song" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 25 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/19245/the-pelagian-drinking-song>.
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