Analysis of The bow-leg boy

Eugene Field 1850 (St. Louis) – 1895 (Chicago)



Who should come up the road one day
But the doctor-man in his two-wheel shay!
And he whoaed his horse and he cried "Ahoy!
I have brought you folks a bow-leg boy!
 Such a cute little boy!
   Such a funny little boy!
     Such a dear little bow-leg boy!"

He took out his box and he opened it wide,
And there was the bow-leg boy inside!
And when they saw that cunning little mite,
They cried in a chorus expressive of delight:
 "What a cute little boy!
   What a funny little boy!
     What a dear little bow-leg boy!"

Observing a strict geometrical law,
They cut out his panties with a circular saw;
Which gave such a stress to his oval stride
That the people he met invariably cried:
 "What a cute little boy!
   What a funny little boy!
     What a dear little bow-leg boy!"

They gave him a wheel and away he went
Speeding along to his heart's content;
And he sits so straight and he pedals so strong
That the folks all say as he bowls along:
 "What a cute little boy!
   What a funny little boy!
     What a dear little bow-leg boy!"

With his eyes aflame and his cheeks aglow,
He laughs "aha" and he laughs "oho";
And the world is filled and thrilled with the joy
Of that jolly little human, the bow-leg boy--
 The cute little boy!
   The funny little boy!
     The dear little bow-leg boy!

If ever the doctor-man comes my way
With his wonderful box in his two-wheel shay,
I 'll ask for the treasure I'd fain possess--
Now, honest Injun! can't you guess?
 Why, a cute little boy--
   A funny little boy--
     A dear little bow-leg boy!


Scheme aabbbbb ccddBBB eeccBBB ffggBBB xbbbbbb aahhbbb
Poetic Form
Metre 11110111 1010101111 0111101101 111110111 101101 1010101 10110111 11111011011 011011101 0111110101 110010010101 101101 1010101 10110111 0100101001 111110101001 1110111101 101011010001 101101 1010101 10110111 1110100111 100111110 01111011011 1011111101 101101 1010101 10110111 1110101101 1110111 0011101101 111010100111 01101 010101 0110111 1100101111 11100101111 11110101101 1101111 101101 010101 0110111
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 1,504
Words 289
Sentences 23
Stanzas 6
Stanza Lengths 7, 7, 7, 7, 7, 7
Lines Amount 42
Letters per line (avg) 27
Words per line (avg) 7
Letters per stanza (avg) 188
Words per stanza (avg) 47
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

1:26 min read
64

Eugene Field

Eugene Field, Sr. was an American writer, best known for his children's poetry and humorous essays. more…

All Eugene Field poems | Eugene Field Books

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