Analysis of John Rouat the Fisherman
William Topaz McGonagall 1825 – 1902 (Greyfriars Parish, Edinburgh)
Margaret Simpson was the daughter of humble parents in the county of Ayr,
With a comely figure, and face of beauty rare,
And just in the full bloom of her womanhood,
Was united to John Rouat, a fisherman good.
John's fortune consisted of his coble, three oars, and his fishing-gear,
Besides his two stout boys, John and James, he loved most dear.
And no matter how the wind might blow, or the rain pelt,
Or scarcity of fish, John little sorrow felt.
While sitting by the clear blazing hearth of his home,
With beaming faces around it, all his own.
But John, the oldest son, refused his father obedience,
Which John Rouat considered a most grievous offence.
So his father tried to check him, but all wouldn't do,
And John joined a revenue cutter as one of its crew;
And when his father heard it he bitterly did moan,
And angrily forbade him never to return home.
Then shortly after James ran away to sea without his parent's leave,
So John Rouat became morose, and sadly did grieve.
But one day he received a letter, stating his son John was dead,
And when he read the sad news all comfort from him fled.
Then shortly after that his son James was shot,
For allowing a deserter to escape, such was his lot;
And through the death of his two sons he felt dejected,
And the condolence of kind neighbours by him was rejected.
'Twas near the close of autumn, when one day the sky became o'ercast,
And John Rouat, contrary to his wife's will, went to sea at last,
When suddenly the sea began to roar, and angry billows swept along,
And, alas! the stormy tempest for John Rouat proved too strong.
But still he clutched his oars, thinking to keep his coble afloat,
When one 'whelming billow struck heavily against the boat,
And man and boat were engulfed in the briny wave,
While the Storm Fiend did roar and madly did rave.
When Margaret Rouat heard of her husband's loss, her sorrow was very great,
And the villagers of Bute were moved with pity for her sad fate,
And for many days and nights she wandered among the hills,
Lamenting the loss of her husband and other ills.
Until worn out by fatigue, towards a ruinous hut she did creep,
And there she lay down on the earthen Roor, and fell asleep,
And as a herd boy by chance was passing by,
He looked into the hut and the body of Margaret he did espy.
Then the herd boy fled to communicate his fears,
And the hut was soon filled with villagers, and some shed tears.
When they discovered in the unhappy being they had found
Margaret Rouat, their old neighbour, then their sorrow was profound.
Then the men from the village of Bute willingly lent their aid,
To patch up the miserable hut, and great attention to her was paid.
And Margaret Rouat lived there in solitude for many years,
Although at times the simple creature shed many tears.
Margaret was always willing to work for her bread,
Sometimes she herded cows without any dread,
Besides sometimes she was allowed to ring the parish bell,
And for doing so she was always paid right well.
In an old box she kept her money hid away,
But being at the kirk one beautiful Sabbath day,
When to her utter dismay when she returned home,
She found the bottom forced from the box, and the money gone.
Then she wept like a child, in a hysteric fit,
Regarding the loss of her money, and didn't very long survive it.
And as she was wont to descend to the village twice a week,
The villagers missed her, and resolved they would for her seek. Then two men from the village, on the next day
Sauntered up to her dwelling, and to their dismay,
They found the door half open, and one stale crust of bread,
And on a rude pallet lay poor Margaret Rouat cold and dead.
Scheme | XXAA BBCC DEFF GGED HHII JJKK AXLL MMNN OOPP QQXX RSTT UURS IIVV WWDX XXXWWII |
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Poetic Form | |
Metre | 10010101011010001011 101010011101 0100111010 10101110101 11001011101101101 0111111011111 0110101111011 110011110101 110101101111 11010011111 110101011100100 11101001101 1110111111101 0110101011111 0111011110011 0100011101011 11010110111011101 111010101011 1111010101011111 0111011110111 11010111111 101001001011111 0101111111010 00010111111010 110111011101011 011100111111111 110001011101010101 00101010111111 111111101111001 1111011000101 01010010011 10111101011 110011101010101101 0010011011101011 01101011100101 0100110100101 01111010101001111 01111101010101 01011111101 110101001011001110 10111101011 00111111000111 110100001010111 10011111110101 101101011100111 111010001010101011 01001110101101 111010101101 100111011101 01110101101 01011101110101 01101111111 011111010101 1101011100101 110100111011 11010110100101 11110100101 010011010010101011 011111011010101 0100100011110111110101011 11101001101 1101110011111 010110111001101 |
Closest metre | Iambic heptameter |
Characters | 3,603 |
Words | 678 |
Sentences | 24 |
Stanzas | 15 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 7 |
Lines Amount | 63 |
Letters per line (avg) | 45 |
Words per line (avg) | 11 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 191 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 45 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 3:25 min read
- 40 Views
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"John Rouat the Fisherman" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/41824/john-rouat-the-fisherman>.
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