Analysis of The Judge's Song
William Schwenck Gilbert 1836 – 1911
When I, good friends, was called to the Bar,
I'd an appetite fresh and hearty,
But I was, as many young barristers are,
An impecunious party.
I'd a swallow-tail coat of a beautiful blue -
A brief which was brought by a booby -
A couple of shirts and a collar or two,
And a ring that looked like a ruby!
In Westminster Hall I danced a dance,
Like a semi-despondent fury;
For I thought I should never hit on a chance
Of addressing a British Jury -
But I soon got tired of third-class journeys,
And dinners of bread and water;
So I fell in love with a rich attorney's
Elderly, ugly daughter.
The rich attorney, he wiped his eyes,
And replied to my fond professions:
"You shall reap the reward of your enterprise,
At the Bailey and Middlesex Sessions.
You'll soon get used to her looks," said he,
"And a very nice girl you'll find her -
She may very well pass for forty-three
In the dusk, with a light behind her!"
The rich attorney was as good as his word:
The briefs came trooping gaily,
And every day my voice was heard
At the Sessions or Ancient Bailey.
All thieves who could my fees afford
Relied on my orations,
And many a burglar I've restored
To his friends and his relations.
At length I became as rich as the GURNEYS -
An incubus then I thought her,
So I threw over that rich attorney's
Elderly, ugly daughter.
The rich attorney my character high
Tried vainly to disparage -
And now, if you please, I'm ready to try
This Breach of Promise of Marriage!
Scheme | ababcbcb dbdbefeF ghghbfbf ibibjhjh dfeFklkl |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Etheree (25%) |
Metre | 111111101 11101010 11111011001 1110 101011101001 011111010 01011001011 001111010 01011101 101001010 11111101101 101001010 11111011110 01011010 11101101010 1001010 010101111 001111010 1110011110 101001010 111110111 001011110 1110111101 001101010 01010111111 0111010 010011111 101011010 11111101 0111010 010010101 11101010 1110111101 111110 1111011010 1001010 0101011001 1101010 0111111011 11110110 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,426 |
Words | 280 |
Sentences | 10 |
Stanzas | 5 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8, 8, 8, 8 |
Lines Amount | 40 |
Letters per line (avg) | 28 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 225 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 55 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 08, 2023
- 1:25 min read
- 90 Views
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