Analysis of The New Vestments
Edward Lear 1812 (Holloway) – 1888 (Sanremo)
There lived an old man in the kingdom of Tess,
Who invented a purely original dress;
And when it was perfectly made and complete,
He opened the door, and walked into the street.
By way of a hat, he'd a loaf of Brown Bread,
In the middle of which he inserted his head;--
His Shirt was made up of no end of dead Mice,
The warmth of whose skins was quite fluffy and nice;--
His Drawers were of Rabit-skins, -- but it is not known whose;--
His Waistcoat and Trowsers were made of Pork Chops;--
His Buttons were Jujubes, and Chocolate Drops;--
His Coat was all Pancakes with Jam for a border,
And a girdle of Biscuits to keep it in order;
And he wore over all, as a screen from bad weather,
A Cloak of green Cabbage-leaves stitched all together.
He had walked a short way, when he heard a great noise,
Of all sorts of Beasticles, Birdlings, and Boys;--
And from every long street and dark lane in the town
Beasts, Birdles, and Boys in a tumult rushed down.
Two Cows and a half ate his Cabbage-leaf Cloak;--
Four Apes seized his Girdle, which vanished like smoke;--
Three Kids ate up half of his Pancaky Coat,--
And the tails were devour'd by an ancient He Goat;--
An army of Dogs in a twinkling tore up his
Pork Waistcoat and Trowsers to give to their Puppies;--
And while they were growling, and mumbling the Chops,
Ten boys prigged the Jujubes and Chocolate Drops.--
He tried to run back to his house, but in vain,
Four Scores of fat Pigs came again and again;--
They rushed out of stables and hovels and doors,--
They tore off his stockings, his shoes, and his drawers;--
And now from the housetops with screechings descend,
Striped, spotted, white, black, and gray Cats without end,
They jumped on his shoulders and knocked off his hat,--
When Crows, Ducks, and Hens made a mincemeat of that;--
They speedily flew at his sleeves in trice,
And utterly tore up his Shirt of dead Mice;--
They swallowed the last of his Shirt with a squall,--
Whereon he ran home with no clothes on at all.
And he said to himself as he bolted the door,
'I will not wear a similar dress any more,
'Any more, any more, any morre, never more!'
Scheme | AABB CCDDXEEFFFF GGHHIIJJXXEEXXKKLLMMDDNN OOO |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 11111001011 101001001001 01111001001 11001010101 11101101111 001011101011 11111111111 01111111001 110111111111 110101111 110010101 11111111010 0010110111010 0111011011110 011110111010 111011111011 11111101 0110011011001 1101001011 11001111011 11111011011 111111111 0010010111011 1101100100111 1101111110 011010010001 111010101 11111111101 11111101001 11111001001 11111011011 011011101 11011011011 11111001111 1110110111 1100111101 01001111111 11001111101 1111111111 011101111001 111101001101 101101101101 |
Closest metre | Iambic hexameter |
Characters | 2,085 |
Words | 416 |
Sentences | 7 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 11, 24, 3 |
Lines Amount | 42 |
Letters per line (avg) | 38 |
Words per line (avg) | 9 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 403 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 99 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 19, 2023
- 2:05 min read
- 111 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"The New Vestments" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 26 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/9782/the-new-vestments>.
Discuss this Edward Lear poem analysis with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In