Analysis of Hik-Tee-Dik!
James Whitcomb Riley 1849 (Greenfield) – 1916 (Indianapolis)
THE WAR-CRY OF BILLY AND BUDDY
When two little boys--renowned but for noise--
Hik-tee-dik! Billy and Buddy!--
May hurt a whole school, and the head it employs,
Hik-tee-dik! Billy and Buddy!
Such loud and hilarious pupils indeed
Need learning--and yet something further they need,
Though fond hearts that love them may sorrow and bleed.
Hik-tee-dik! Billy and Buddy!
O the schoolmarm was cool, and in no wise a fool;
Hik-tee-dik! Billy and Buddy!
And in ruling her ranks it was _her_ rule to _rule_;
Hik-tee-dik! Billy and Buddy!
So when these two pupils conspired, every day,
Some mad piece of mischief, with whoop and hoo-ray,
That hurt yet defied her,--how happy were they!--
Hik-tee-dik! Billy and Buddy!
At the ring of the bell they 'd rush in with a yell--
Hik-tee-dik! Billy and Buddy!
And they'd bang the school-door till the plastering fell,
Hik-tee-dik! Billy and Buddy!
They'd clinch as they came, and pretend not to see
As they knocked her desk over--then, _My!_ and _O-me!_
How awfully sorry they'd both seem to be!
Hik-tee-dik! Billy and Buddy!
This trick seemed so neat and so safe a conceit,--
Hik-tee-dik! Billy and Buddy!--
They played it three times--though the third they were beat;
Hik-tee-dik! Billy and Buddy!
For the teacher, she righted her desk--raised the lid
And folded and packed away each little kid--
Closed the incident so--yes, and locked it, she did--
Hik-tee-dik! Billy and Buddy!
Scheme | a bAbAcccA dAdAeeeA fAfAaxaA gAgAhhhA |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 011110010 1110101111 11110010 11011001101 11110010 11001001001 11001101011 11111111001 11110010 10111001101 11110010 001001111111 11110010 1111100101001 11111011011 11101011001 11110010 1011011110101 11110010 011011101001 11110010 11111001111 111011011011 1101011111 11110010 11111011001 11110010 11111101101 11110010 101011001101 01001011101 101001101111 11110010 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,390 |
Words | 245 |
Sentences | 30 |
Stanzas | 5 |
Stanza Lengths | 1, 8, 8, 8, 8 |
Lines Amount | 33 |
Letters per line (avg) | 32 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 214 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 47 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:14 min read
- 77 Views
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"Hik-Tee-Dik!" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 9 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/20904/hik-tee-dik%21>.
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