Analysis of The Famous Tay Whale
William Topaz McGonagall 1825 – 1902 (Greyfriars Parish, Edinburgh)
'TWAS in the month of December, and in the year l883,
That a monster whale came to Dundee,
Resolved for a few days to sport and play,
And devour the small fishes in the silvery Tay.
So the monster whale did sport and play
Among the innocent little fishes in the beautiful Tay,
Until he was seen by some men one day,
And they resolved to catch him without delay.
When it came to be known a whale was seen in the Tay,
Some men began to talk and to say,
We must try and catch this monster of a whale,
So come on, brave boys, and never say fail.
Then the people together in crowds did run,
Resolved to capture the whale and to have some fun!
So small boats were launched on the silvery Tay,
While the monster of the deep did sport and play.
Oh! it was a most fearful and beautiful sight,
To see it lashing the water with its tail all its might,
And making the water ascend like a shower of hail,
With one lash of its ugly and mighty tail.
Then the water did descend on the men in the boats,
Which wet their trousers and also their coats;
But it only made them the more determined to catch the whale,
But the whale shook at them his tail.
Then the whale began to puff and to blow,
While the men and the boats after him did go,
Armed well with harpoons for the fray,
Which they fired at him without dismay.
And they laughed and grinned just like wild baboons,
While they fired at him their sharp harpoons:
But when struck with,the harpoons he dived below,
Which filled his pursuers' hearts with woe.
Because they guessed they had lost a prize,
Which caused the tears to well up in their eyes;
And in that their anticipations were only right,
Because he sped on to Stonehaven with all his might:
And was first seen by the crew of a Gourdon fishing boat
Which they thought was a big coble upturned afloat;
But when they drew near they saw it was a whale,
So they resolved to tow it ashore without fail.
So they got a rope from each boat tied round his tail,
And landed their burden at Stonehaven without fail;
And when the people saw it their voices they did raise,
Declaring that the brave fishermen deserved great praise.
And my opinion is that God sent the whale in time of need,
No matter what other people may think or what is their creed;
I know fishermen in general are often very poor,
And God in His goodness sent it drive poverty from their door.
So Mr John Wood has bought it for two hundred and twenty-six pound,
And has brought it to Dundee all safe and all sound;
Which measures 40 feet in length from the snout to the tail,
So I advise the people far and near to see it without fail.
Then hurrah! for the mighty monster whale,
Which has got 17 feet 4 inches from tip to tip of a tail!
Which can be seen for a sixpence or a shilling,
That is to say, if the people all are willing.
Scheme | XXAA AAAA AABB CCAA DDBB EEBB FFAA GGFF HHDD IIBB BBJJ KKXX LLBB BBMM |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain (86%) |
Metre | 1001101000011 101011101 0110111101 00100110001001 101011101 0101001010001001 0111111111 01011110101 1111110111001 110111011 11101110101 1111101011 10100100111 011100101111 11101101001 10101011101 111011001001 11110010111111 01001001101011 11111100101 1010101101001 1111001011 111011010101101 10111111 1010111011 10100110111 11101101 1110110101 0110111101 1110111101 1111011101 111010111 011111101 1101111011 001100100101 01111111111 0111101101101 11110110101 11111111101 110111101011 111011111111 01011011011 0101011110111 0101011000111 010101111010111 110110101111111 111000100110101 010110111100111 11011111111001011 011110111011 110101101101 1101010101111011 1011010101 1111101111101 11111011010 111110101110 |
Closest metre | Iambic hexameter |
Characters | 2,752 |
Words | 546 |
Sentences | 18 |
Stanzas | 14 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 56 |
Letters per line (avg) | 39 |
Words per line (avg) | 10 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 156 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 39 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 2:43 min read
- 112 Views
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"The Famous Tay Whale" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 21 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/41906/the-famous-tay-whale>.
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