Analysis of Hawk And Buckle

Robert Graves 1895 (Wimbledon) – 1985 (Deià)



Where is the landlord of old Hawk and Buckle,
And what of Master Straddler this hot summer weather?
He's along in the tap-room with broad cheeks a-chuckle,
And ten bold companions all drinking together.

Where is the daughter of old Hawk and Buckle,
And what of Mistress Jenny this hot summer weather?
She sits in the parlour with smell of honeysuckle,
Trimming her bonnet with red ostrich feather.

Where is the ostler of old Hawk and Buckle,
And what of Willy Jakeman this hot summer weather?
He is rubbing his eyes with a slow and lazy knuckle
As he wakes from his nap on a bank of fresh heather.

Where is the page boy of old Hawk and Buckle,
And what of our young Charlie this hot summer weather?
He is bobbing for tiddlers in a little trickle-truckle,
With his line and his hook and his breeches of leather.

Where is the grey goat of old Hawk and Buckle,
And what of pretty Nanny this hot summer weather?
She stays not contented with little or with muckle,
Straining for daisies at the end of her tether.

For this is our motto at old Hawk and Buckle,
We cling to it close and we sing all together,
'Every man for himself at our old Hawk and Buckle,
And devil take the hindmost this hot summer weather.'


Scheme ABAB ABAB ABAB ABAB ABAB ABAB
Poetic Form Quatrain 
Metre 1101111010 011101111010 1010011111010 011010110010 11010111010 0111010111010 110010111100 10010111010 1101111010 011101111010 11101110101010 1111111011110 11011111010 01110110111010 1110110010101 111011011110 11011111010 0111010111010 1110101101110 101101011010 1111010111010 111110111010 100110111011010 010101111010
Closest metre Iambic hexameter
Characters 1,190
Words 228
Sentences 12
Stanzas 6
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4
Lines Amount 24
Letters per line (avg) 40
Words per line (avg) 9
Letters per stanza (avg) 159
Words per stanza (avg) 38
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

1:08 min read
42

Robert Graves

Robert von Ranke Graves was an English poet, scholar/translator/writer of antiquity specializing in Classical Greece and Rome, novelist and soldier in World War One. more…

All Robert Graves poems | Robert Graves Books

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