Analysis of To A Hatpeg
Barcroft Henry Thomas Boake 1866 – 1892
There’s a nice little hatpeg that hangs on the wall
That long from its owner has parted,
And though he is wandering far beyond call
Like him it is always true hearted.
Many seasons have passed since his limp Cabbage Tree
Has dangled upon the old rack
But that one single peg, always vacant must be,
For its owner will surely come back.
And though in far countries, he sadly doth roam
While hunger had forced him to beg
Till fortune grows kindly, and sends him back home,
There’s an Angel who watches that peg.
One afternoon, after a long weary tramp,
And hard grafting, to which he’s no stranger,
He found, that a letter, had come to the camp,
To warn him, his peg was in danger;
The words that he used, are best shown by a dash -
As he swore that no rival he’d brook,
Said he “my fine fellow I’ll settle your hash”
As the first train to Cooma he took.
When he came to that town, he bought pistols and knives,
And a sword, with a long shiny blade,
You’d have thought that his rival, had two or three lives,
By the fierce preparations he made;
He bought a chaffcutter, an axe and a saw
With a coffin, lined neatly with satin,
Such a beautiful coffin was ne’er seen before,
With a pious inscription in Latin
A hammerless gun, that went off at a touch,
Of green cartridges nearly a keg.
Said he “When I’ve used them, there won’t remain much,
Of the man with designs on my peg.
Then he planted himself, till his rival came by.
From the weapons he made a selection,
Quoth he “When he comes I shall certainly try,
And give him the warmest reception.”
So as the bold stripling, came singing along,
The Exile, sprang out from his lair,
While his rival soon warbled a different song
(T’was less of a song, than a prayer)
Then he shot him with axes, and chopped him with guns,
Till his state, was so utterly utter –
When the Exile, collects all the pieces, and runs
The remnants right through the chaffcutter –
He turns at the handle, with feelings of joy –
And as he put through the last leg,
Quoth he, “this is how I shall treat any boy,
Who dares hang his hat (alt: to lay hands) on my peg –”
Then he shut down the coffin, well pleased to be rid,
Of the youth, who got terribly mauled, for
The sake of a hat peg – Then tacked on the lid
A label – Please keep until called for – “
Read these verses, sweet youth! – for a moral lies there
‘Tis short, not much more than a line,
At Rosedale, are plenty of pegs and to spare –
Don’t hang up your hat upon mine –
Scheme | ABAB CDCD EFEF GHGH IJIJ XKXK XLML NFNF OLOL PQPQ RHRC SFSF TMTM QUQU |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain |
Metre | 10110111101 111110110 01111001011 11111110 101011111101 11001011 11110111011 111011011 01011011011 11011111 11011001111 111011011 1011001101 0110111110 11101011101 111111010 01111111101 111111011 11111011011 10111111 111111111001 001101101 111111011111 10101011 110111001 1010110110 101001011101 1010010010 011111101 111001001 11111111011 101101111 111001111011 1010110010 11111111001 011010010 11011011001 0111111 111011001001 11101101 111111001111 1111110010 10101101001 0101101 11101011011 01111011 11111111101 111111111111 111101011111 1011110011 01101111101 010110111 111011101011 11111101 1111011011 11111011 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 2,464 |
Words | 483 |
Sentences | 10 |
Stanzas | 14 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 56 |
Letters per line (avg) | 33 |
Words per line (avg) | 9 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 134 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 34 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 2:25 min read
- 123 Views
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"To A Hatpeg" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 6 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/4202/to-a-hatpeg>.
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