Analysis of To Mr James Scrymgeour, Dundee
William Topaz McGonagall 1825 – 1902 (Greyfriars Parish, Edinburgh)
Success to James Scrymgeour,
He's a very good man,
And to gainsay it,
There's few people can;
Because he makes the hearts
Of the poor o'erjoyed
By trying to find work for them
When they're unemployed.
And to their complaints
He has always an attentive ear,
And ever ready to help them
When unto him they draw near.
And no matter what your occupation is.
Or what is your creed.
He will try to help you
In the time of need;
Because he has the fear
Of God within his heart,
And the man that fears God
Always takes the poor's part.
And blessed is the man
That is kind to the poor;
For his reward in heaven,
'Tis said in the Scripture, is sure.
And I hope heaven will be
Mr James Sctymgeour's reward;
For his struggles on behalf of the poor
Are really vexatious and hard.
For he is to be seen daily
Walking along our streets,
With a Christian-looking countenance,
And a kind word to all he meets.
Besides, he is void of all pride,
And wouldn't feel ashamed
To be seen with a beggar
Or a tinker walking by his side.
Fellow-citizens of Dundee,
Isn't it really very nice
To think of James Scrymgeour trying
To rescue fallen creatures from the paths of vice?
And in the winter he tries to provide
Hot dinners for the poor children of Dundee,
Who are starving with hunger no doubt,
And in the most abject poverty.
He is a little deaf, no doubt,
But not deaf to the cries of hungry men,
No! he always tries to do his best
To procure bread for them.
And at the Sabbath-morning free-breakfasts
He is often seen there,
Administering to the wants of the hungry,
And joining in prayer.
He is a man of noble principles,
As far as 1 can think,
And the noblest principle he has got
Is, he abhors the demon drink.
And, in my opinion, he is right
As far as I can see,
And I hereby proclaim that such a man
Is an honour to Dundee:
Because he is always working
For the poor people's good.
Kind soul, trying hard
To procure for them clothing and food
Success to him and his family.
And may God them defend:
Why? fellow citizens of Dundee,
Because he is the poor man's friend.
Scheme | ABCB XCDX XADA XEXE AFXF BAXA GXAH GIXI JXAJ GKLK JGMG MXXD XAAA XNXN XGBG LXHX GOGO |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain (65%) |
Metre | 01111 101011 0111 11101 011101 1011 11011111 1101 01101 11110101 01010111 1101111 0110110101 11111 111111 00111 011101 110111 001111 11011 01101 111101 1101010 11001011 0111011 101101 1110101101 11001001 11111110 1001101 101010100 00111111 01111111 010101 1111010 101010111 10100101 10110101 1111110 110101010111 0001011101 11010110101 111011011 000110100 11010111 1111011101 11111111 101111 0101010110 111011 010001011010 01001 1101110100 11111 0010100111 11010101 001010111 111111 0101011101 111101 0111110 101101 11101 101111001 011101100 011101 110100101 01110111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 2,008 |
Words | 395 |
Sentences | 20 |
Stanzas | 17 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 68 |
Letters per line (avg) | 23 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 94 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 23 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 2:01 min read
- 54 Views
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"To Mr James Scrymgeour, Dundee" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 14 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/41958/to-mr-james-scrymgeour%2C-dundee>.
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