Analysis of The Boola-Boola Maid



In the wilds of Madagascar, Dwelt a Boola-boola maid;
For her hand young men would ask her, But she always was afraid.
Oh that Boola-boola maid She was living in the shade Of a spreading Yum-yum tree;
And - when the day was done At the setting of the sun, She would make this melodee:

As this ditty she was cooing, Came a Boola-boola man;
And he lost no time in wooing; For he punched her on the pan.
Oh that Boola-boola maid She was terribly afraid So he punched her on the eye;
And - then he laugh'd with glee As beneath the Yum-yum tree He - heard that maiden cry:

Then with shrieks of ribald laughter, Said the Boola-boola man;
"If it's only socks you're after, I will do the best I can.
I have handed you a pair, And I've plenty more to spare," So he socked her on the nose;
And a woeful maid was she, As beneath the Yum-yum tree, This - lamentation 'rose:

Now the wedding tom-tom's over, for this Boola-boola maid;
And when ev'ning shadows hover, She no longer is afraid.
For she weasrs a palm-leaf pinny And she rocks a pickaninny In the shade of the Yum-yum tree,
And she's happy with her he-man, Though she still dreams of a She-man, As she sings this song with glee:

Chorus:
        Oh - I don't want my cave-man to caress me,
        Oh I don't want no coal-black heads to press me.
        All I want is a fellow who wears suspenders,
        That'll be the coon to whom this babe surenders.
        For the man I wed must have a proper trouseau.
        On none of your fig-leaf dudes will make me do so.
        For it's funny how I feel, But I'm crazy for socks appeal
        And my dream is to marry a man with a pair of socks.


Scheme AABA CCDD CCEE AABB XBBXEEXXX
Poetic Form
Metre 001101010111 10111110111101 1111111100011010111 010111101010111111 1110111010111 011110101110101 1111111100011110101 0111111010111111101 1111101010111 111011101110111 111010101101111110101 00101111010111111 1010111011111 01111101110101 11101110110100110111 01101011111110111111111 10 11111111011 11111111111 111101011010 1010111111 10111110101 111111111111 111011111101101 01111100110111
Closest metre Iambic octameter
Characters 1,640
Words 314
Sentences 10
Stanzas 5
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4, 9
Lines Amount 25
Letters per line (avg) 48
Words per line (avg) 12
Letters per stanza (avg) 239
Words per stanza (avg) 62
Font size:
 

Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

1:37 min read
118

Robert William Service

Robert William Service was a poet and writer sometimes referred to as the Bard of the Yukon He is best-known for his writings on the Canadian North including the poems The Shooting of Dan McGrew The Law of the Yukon and The Cremation of Sam McGee His writing was so expressive that his readers took him for a hard-bitten old Klondike prospector not the later-arriving bank clerk he actually was Robert William Service was born 16 January 1874 in Preston England but also lived in Scotland before emigrating to Canada in 1894 Service went to the Yukon Territory in 1904 as a bank clerk and became famous for his poems about this region which are mostly in his first two books of poetry He wrote quite a bit of prose as well and worked as a reporter for some time but those writings are not nearly as well known as his poems He travelled around the world quite a bit and narrowly escaped from France at the beginning of the Second World War during which time he lived in Hollywood California He died 11 September 1958 in France Incidentally he played himself in a movie called The Spoilers starring John Wayne and Marlene Dietrich more…

All Robert William Service poems | Robert William Service Books

7 fans

Discuss this Robert William Service poem analysis with the community:

0 Comments

    Citation

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

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "The Boola-Boola Maid" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/32509/the-boola-boola-maid>.

    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!

    More poems by

    Robert William Service

    »

    April 2024

    Poetry Contest

    Join our monthly contest for an opportunity to win cash prizes and attain global acclaim for your talent.
    1
    day
    17
    hours
    55
    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?

    »
    In the Edward Lear poem, which instrument does the Owl play while serenading the Pussy Cat?
    A A violin
    B A mandolin
    C A guitar
    D A banjo