Analysis of Back and Side go Bare
William Stevenson 1530 – 1575
Back and side go bare, go bare,
Both foot and hand go cold;
But, belly, God send thee good ale enough,
Whether it be new or old.
I cannot eat but little meat,
My stomach is not good;
But sure I think that I can drink
With him that wears a hood.
Though I go bare, take ye no care,
I am nothing a-cold;
I stuff my skin so full within
Of jolly good ale and old.
Back and side go bare, go bare,
Both foot and hand go cold;
But, belly, God send thee good ale enough,
Whether it be new or old.
I love no roast but a nutbrown toast,
And a crab laid in the fire;
A little bread shall do me stead,
Much bread I not desire.
No frost nor snow, no wind, I trow,
Can hurt me if I would,
I am so wrapt, and throughly lapt
Of jolly good ale and old.
Back and side go bare, go bare,
Both foot and hand go cold;
But, belly, God send thee good ale enough,
Whether it be new or old.
And Tib my wife, that as her life
Loveth well good ale to seek,
Full oft drinks she, till ye may see
The tears run down her cheek.
Then doth she troll to me the bowl,
Even as a maltworm should;
And saith,"Sweetheart, I took my part
Of this jolly good ale and old."
Back and side go bare, go bare,
Both foot and hand go cold;
But, belly, God send thee good ale enough,
Whether it be new or old.
Now let them drink, till they nod and wink,
Even as good fellows should do;
They shall not miss to have the bliss
Good ale doth bring men to.
And all poor souls that have scoured bowls,
Or have them lustily troll'd,
God save the lives of them and their wives,
Whether they be young or old.
Back and side go bare, go bare,
Both foot and hand go cold;
But, belly, God send thee good ale enough,
Whether it be new or old.
Scheme | ABCB xdedabxBABCB xfxfxdbBABCB xgxgxdxbABCB ehxhxbxbABCB |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1011111 110111 1101111101 1011111 11011101 110111 11111111 111101 11111111 111001 11111101 1101101 1011111 110111 1101111101 1011111 11111011 00110010 01011111 1111010 11111111 111111 1111011 1101101 1011111 110111 1101111101 1011111 01111101 111111 11111111 011101 11111101 101011 011111 11101101 1011111 110111 1101111101 1011111 111111101 10111011 11111101 111111 011111101 11111 110111011 1011111 1011111 110111 1101111101 1011111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,846 |
Words | 354 |
Sentences | 14 |
Stanzas | 5 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 12, 12, 12, 12 |
Lines Amount | 52 |
Letters per line (avg) | 24 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 251 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 70 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 14, 2023
- 1:46 min read
- 129 Views
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"Back and Side go Bare" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/41629/back-and-side-go-bare>.
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