Analysis of Sam's Racehorse
Marriott Edgar 1880 (Kirkcudbright) – 1951 (Battle)
When Sam Small retired from the Army
He'd a pension of ninepence a day,
And seven pounds fourteen and twopence
He'd saved from his rations and pay.
He knew this 'ere wasn't a fortune,
But reckoned with prudence and care
He'd find some investment to save him
From hard work and things like that there.
He thought he'd invest in a race orse,
As apart from excitement and fun
He'd be able to sit down in comfort
And live on the money he won.
He knew buying 'orses was tricky,
But that didn't daunt him at all;
He said "They must rise early 't mornin
As wants to play tricks on Sam Small!"
When he called on the local 'Orse-dealer
Surprise rooted him to the spot,
For he found 'twere his old Comp'ny Sergeant,
Whose kindness he'd never forgot.
'Twere a happy reunion on both sides,
Their pleasure at meeting was great,
For each hoped to diddle the other
And wipe a few grudges off slate.
The Sergeant brought out his race 'orses,
For which he asked various sums;
They hadn't a tooth left between them,
But Sam knew their age by their gums.
Sam studied their lines and deportment
As Sergeant were trotting them round,
And told him he reckoned their value
Were fourpence, per race 'orse, per pound.
Now the Sarg. had a filly called Buster
As he hadn't said nothing about,
But when Sam turned his nose up at t'others
He thought as he'd best trot her out.
Sam were struck with her youthful appearance,
Though there wasn't much light in the place,
For her teeth were all pearly and even
And there wasn't a line on her face.
The Sergeant asked Sam twenty guineas,
But Sam, who were up to his tricks,
Pretended he thought he'd said shillings
And offered him eighteen and six.
In the end he paid eight guineas for her,
And when he'd got home with the goods
He reckoned he'd not done so badly,
For three of the guineas was duds.
But later, when he thought it over,
A doubt through his mind seemed to creep,
If Buster were all she were painted,
Why the Sergeant had sold her so cheap.
He very soon found out the answer
When he looked at her close in her stall,
She'd the marks where her face had been lifted
And a mouth full of false teeth an' all.
The little walk home had fatigued her
And the cold air had started her cough;
Sam reckoned he'd best see the Sergeant
And tell him the bargain was off.
The place were locked up when he got there,
And he realized Sergeant had bunked,
So back he went home in a dudgeon
And found Buster lying-defunct.
Sam knew if he wanted to sell her
He mustn't let on she were dead,
So he raffled her down at the Darts Club-
Forty members at five bob a head.
The raffle were highly successful,
They all came in every man jack
And so's winner'd have no cause to grumble
Sam gave him his five shillings back.
Scheme | ABCB DEXE CDXD AFDF GHIH CJGJ CCXC IKXK GLCL CCXC CCCC GCAC GMNM GFNF GXIX EBDX GOXO PQPQ |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain (83%) |
Metre | 111011010 10101101 01011101 11111001 111110010 11011001 111010111 11101111 111010011 101101001 1110111010 01101011 11101110 11101111 111111011 11111111 1111010110 01101101 111111110 11011001 1010010111 11011011 11111010 01011011 01011111 11111001 110011011 11111111 110110010 11001011 011110110 0111111 1011010110 111011001 11111111110 11111101 1011010010 111011001 1010110010 011001101 010111010 11101111 010111110 01010101 0011111010 01111101 110111110 11101011 110111110 01111111 110011010 101011011 110111010 111101001 1011011110 001111111 010111010 001111001 110111010 01101011 010111111 01101011 111110010 01101001 111110110 11011101 111011011 101011101 010010010 111010011 011111110 11111101 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 2,697 |
Words | 520 |
Sentences | 20 |
Stanzas | 18 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 72 |
Letters per line (avg) | 29 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 118 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 29 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 2:42 min read
- 81 Views
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"Sam's Racehorse" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 2 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/26579/sam%27s-racehorse>.
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