Analysis of The Toy-Maker

Padraic Colum 1881 (County Longford) – 1972 (Enfield)



I AM the Toy-maker; I have brought from the town
As much in my plack as should fetch a whole crown,
I'll array for you now my stock of renown
And man's the raree will show you.

Here's a horse that is rearing to bound through the smoke
Of cannon and musket, and, face to that ruck,
The horseman with sword ready-held for the stroke,
Lord Lucan, maybe, or Prince Charlie.

An old woman sitting and waiting for call,
With her baskets of cockles and apples and all;
A one-legged sailor attending a ball,
And a tailor and nailer busy.

Or would you have these? A goose ganging by,
With head up in challenge to all who come nigh;
A cock with a comb dangling over his eye,
And a hen on a clutch nicely sitting;

Or a duck that is chasing a quick thing around,
Or a crow that is taking three hops on the ground,
Or an ass with head down (he is held in a pound);
Or a fox with his tail curled around him?

A ship made of shells that have sheen of the sea,
All ready to sail for black Barbarie,
The Lowlands of Holland, or High Germanic
And who'll be the one that will steer her?

I'll speak of my trade: there's a day beyond day
When the hound needn't hunt and the priest needn't pray,
And the clerk needn't write, and the hen needn't lay,
Whence come all the things that I show you.

I am the Toy-maker; upon the town wall
My crib is high up; I have down-look on all,
And coach and wheelbarrow I carve in my stall,
Making things with no troubles in them.


Scheme AAAB CXCD EEED FFFX GGGX DHXH IHIB EEEX
Poetic Form
Metre 110110111101 11011111011 10111111101 0101111 101111011101 11001001111 01011101101 11101110 11101001011 101011001001 01101001001 00100110 1111101101 11101011111 011011001011 0011011010 101111001101 101111011101 111111111001 1011111011 01111111101 11011111 0111011010 011011110 11111101011 101101001101 001101001101 111011111 11011001011 11111111111 0101011011 101111001
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 1,417
Words 287
Sentences 9
Stanzas 8
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4
Lines Amount 32
Letters per line (avg) 34
Words per line (avg) 9
Letters per stanza (avg) 138
Words per stanza (avg) 36
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

1:29 min read
121

Padraic Colum

Padraic Colum was an Irish poet, novelist, dramatist, biographer, playwright, children's author and collector of folklore. more…

All Padraic Colum poems | Padraic Colum Books

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