Analysis of The Naughty Boy

John Keats 1795 (Moorgate) – 1821 (Rome)



There was a naughty boy,
A naughty boy was he,
He would not stop at home,
He could not quiet be–
He took
In his knapsack
A book
Full of vowels
And a shirt
With some towels–
A slight cap
For night cap–
A hair brush,
Comb ditto,
New stockings
For old ones
Would split O!
This knapsack
Tight at’s back
He rivetted close
And followed his nose
To the north
To the north
And followed his nose
To the north.

There was a naughty boy
And a naughty boy was he,
For nothing would he do
But scribble poetry–
He took
An ink stand
In his hand
And a pen
Big as ten
In the other,
And away
In a pother
He ran
To the mountains
And fountains
And ghosts
And posts
And witches
And ditches
And wrote
In his coat
When the weather
Was cool,
Fear of gout,
And without
When the weather
Was warm–
Och the charm
When we choose
To follow one’s nose
To the north,
To the north,
To follow one’s nose
To the north!

There was a naughty boy
And a naughty boy was he,
He kept little fishes
In washing tubs three
In spite
Of the might
Of the maid
Nor afraid
Of his Granny-good–
He often would
Hurly burly
Get up early
And go
By hook or crook
To the brook
And bring home
Miller’s thumb,
Tittlebat
Not over fat
Minnows small
As the stall
Of a glove,
Not above
The size
Of a nice
Little Baby’s
Little fingers-
O he made
‘Twas his trade
Of fish a pretty kettle
A kettle–
A kettle
Of fish a pretty kettle
A kettle!

There was a naughty boy
And a naughty boy was he,
He ran away to Scotland
The people for to see–
Then he found
That the ground
Was as hard,
That a yard
Was as long,
That a song
Was as merry,
That a cherry
Was as red–
That lead
Was as weighty,
That fourscore
Was as eighty,
That a door
Was as wooden
As in England–
So he stood in his shoes
And he wondered,
He wondered,
He stood in his shoes
And he wondered.


Scheme AbcbDedfgfhhxixjieexKLLKL ABxbDmmnnoxoxjjppqqrrOxssOxxtKLLKL ABqbuuvvwwbbiddcxgxxxyyxxfxvvZZZZZ AB1 b2 2 3 3 4 4 bb5 5 bObxx1 t6 6 t6
Poetic Form
Metre 110101 010111 111111 111101 11 011 01 1110 001 1110 011 111 011 110 110 111 111 11 111 111 01011 101 101 01011 101 110101 0010111 110111 110100 11 111 011 001 111 0010 001 001 11 1010 010 01 01 010 010 01 011 1010 11 111 001 1010 11 101 111 11011 101 101 11011 101 110101 0010111 111010 01011 01 101 101 101 11101 1101 1010 1110 01 1111 101 011 101 1 1101 101 101 101 101 01 101 101 1010 111 111 1101010 010 010 1101010 010 110101 0010111 1101110 010111 111 101 111 101 111 101 1110 1010 111 11 1110 11 1110 101 1110 1010 111011 0110 110 11011 0110
Closest metre Iambic dimeter
Characters 1,696
Words 365
Sentences 5
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 25, 34, 34, 25
Lines Amount 118
Letters per line (avg) 12
Words per line (avg) 3
Letters per stanza (avg) 343
Words per stanza (avg) 91
Font size:
 

Submitted by VJ's on July 28, 2020

Modified by acronimous on May 09, 2021

1:49 min read
1,186

John Keats

John Keats was an English Romantic poet. more…

All John Keats poems | John Keats Books

45 fans

Discuss this John Keats poem analysis with the community:

0 Comments

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "The Naughty Boy" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Mar. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/54525/the-naughty-boy>.

    Become a member!

    Join our community of poets and poetry lovers to share your work and offer feedback and encouragement to writers all over the world!

    March 2024

    Poetry Contest

    Join our monthly contest for an opportunity to win cash prizes and attain global acclaim for your talent.
    3
    days
    7
    hours
    54
    minutes

    Special Program

    Earn Rewards!

    Unlock exciting rewards such as a free mug and free contest pass by commenting on fellow members' poems today!

    Browse Poetry.com

    Quiz

    Are you a poetry master?

    »
    A long narrative poem that tells the adventures of a heroic figure is called an _______.
    A ballad
    B ode
    C epic
    D sonnet