The Ballad of the Anti-Puritan
Gilbert Keith Chesterton 1874 (Kensington, London) – 1936 (Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire)
They spoke of Progress spiring round,
Of light and Mrs Humphrey Ward--
It is not true to say I frowned,
Or ran about the room and roared;
I might have simply sat and snored--
I rose politely in the club
And said, `I feel a little bored;
Will someone take me to a pub?'
The new world's wisest did surround
Me; and it pains me to record
I did not think their views profound,
Or their conclusions well assured;
The simple life I can't afford,
Besides, I do not like the grub--
I want a mash and sausage, `scored'--
Will someone take me to a pub?
I know where Men can still be found,
Anger and clamorous accord,
And virtues growing from the ground,
And fellowship of beer and board,
And song, that is a sturdy cord,
And hope, that is a hardy shrub,
And goodness, that is God's last word--
Will someone take me to a pub?
Envoi
Prince, Bayard would have smashed his sword
To see the sort of knights you dub--
Is that the last of them--O Lord
Will someone take me to a pub?
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 12, 2023
- 58 sec read
- 151 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | ababacbC abaxbcaC ababbcxC xbcbC |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,240 |
Words | 191 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8, 8, 5 |
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"The Ballad of the Anti-Puritan" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 20 Sep. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/15989/the-ballad-of-the-anti-puritan>.
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