Analysis of The Merryman and His Maid



[HE]  I have a song to sing, O!
[SHE]  Sing me your song, O!
[HE]  It is sung to the moon
By a love-lorn loon,
Who fled from the mocking throng, O!
It's the song of a merryman, moping mum,
Whose soul was sad, whose glance was glum,
Who sipped no sup, and who craved no crumb,
As he sighed for the love of a ladye.
Heighdy! heighdy!
Misery me - lackadaydee!
He sipped no sup, and he craved no crumb,
As he sighed for the love of a ladye!

[SHE]  I have a song to sing, O!
[HE]  Sing me your song, O!
[SHE]  It is sung with the ring
Of the song maids sing
Who love with a love life-long, O!
It's the song of a merrymaid, peerly proud,
Who loved a lord, and who laughed aloud
At the moan of the merryman, moping mum,
Whose soul was sore, whose glance was glum,
Who sipped no sup, and who craved no crumb,
As he sighed for the love of a ladye!
Heighdy! heighdy!
Misery me - lackadaydee!
He sipped no sup, and he craved no crumb,
As he sighed for the love of a ladye!

[HE]  I have a song to sing, O!
[SHE]  Sing me your song, O!
[HE]  It is sung to the knell
Of a churchyard bell,
And a doleful dirge, ding dong, O!
It's a song of a popinjay, bravely born,
Who turned up his noble nose with scorn
At the humble merrymaid, peerly proud,
Who loved that lord, and who laughed aloud
At the moan of the merryman, moping mum,
Whose soul was sad, whose glance was glum,
Who sipped no sup, and who craved no crumb,
As he sighed for the love of a ladye!
Heighdy! heighdy!
Misery me - lackadaydee!
He sipped no sup, and he craved no crumb,
As he sighed for the love of a ladye!

[SHE]  I have a song to sing, O!
[HE]  Sing me your song, O!
[SHE]  It is sung with a sigh
And a tear in the eye,
For it tells of a righted wrong, O!
It's a song of a merrymaid, once so gay,
Who turned on her heel and tripped away
From the peacock popinjay, bravely born,
Who turned up his noble nose with scorn
At the humble heart that he did not prize;
And it tells how she begged, with downcast eyes,
For the love of a merryman, moping mum,
Whose soul was sad, whose glance was glum,
Who sipped no sup, and who craved no crumb,
As he sighed for the love of a ladye!
[BOTH]  Heighdy! heighdy!
Misery me - lackadaydee!
His pains were o'er, and he sighed no more.
For he lived in the love of a ladye!


Scheme AAbbacCCDEECD AAffaeeCcCDEECD AAggahHeeCCCDEECD AAxdaiihHjjcCCDeExd
Poetic Form
Metre 11101111 111111 1111101 10111 11101011 10110100101 11111111 111101111 111101101 11 10011 111101111 111101101 11101111 111111 1111101 10111 11101111 10110111 110101101 10110100101 11111111 111101111 111101101 11 10011 111101111 111101101 11101111 111111 1111101 1011 00101111 101101101 111110111 1010111 111101101 10110100101 11111111 111101111 111101101 11 10011 111101111 111101101 11101111 111111 1111101 001001 111101011 101101111 111010101 1011101 111110111 1010111111 011111111 10110100101 11111111 111101111 111101101 111 10011 1101001111 111001101
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 2,207
Words 462
Sentences 34
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 13, 15, 17, 19
Lines Amount 64
Letters per line (avg) 26
Words per line (avg) 7
Letters per stanza (avg) 421
Words per stanza (avg) 118
Font size:
 

Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 20, 2023

2:20 min read
108

William Schwenck Gilbert

Sir William Schwenck Gilbert was an English dramatist librettist poet and illustrator best known for his fourteen comic operas produced in collaboration with the composer Sir Arthur Sullivan of which the most famous include HMS Pinafore The Pirates of Penzance and one of the most frequently performed works in the history of musical theatre The Mikado These as well as most of their other Savoy operas continue to be performed regularly throughout the English-speaking world and beyond by opera companies repertory companies schools and community theatre groups Lines from these works have become part of the English language such as short sharp shock What never Well hardly ever and Let the punishment fit the crime Gilbert also wrote the Bab Ballads an extensive collection of light verse accompanied by his own comical drawings His creative output included over 75 plays and libretti numerous stories poems lyrics and various other comic and serious pieces His plays and realistic style of stage direction inspired other dramatists including Oscar Wilde and George Bernard Shaw According to The Cambridge History of English and American Literature Gilberts lyrical facility and his mastery of metre raised the poetical quality of comic opera to a position that it had never reached before and has not reached since Source - Wikipedia more…

All William Schwenck Gilbert poems | William Schwenck Gilbert Books

0 fans

Discuss this William Schwenck Gilbert poem analysis with the community:

0 Comments

    Citation

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

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "The Merryman and His Maid" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/41309/the-merryman-and-his-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!

    April 2024

    Poetry Contest

    Join our monthly contest for an opportunity to win cash prizes and attain global acclaim for your talent.
    1
    day
    22
    hours
    28
    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?

    »
    Who wrote a famed poem about the Crimean War?
    A Alfred Douglas
    B Alfred E. Neuman
    C Oscar Wilde
    D Alfred Lord Tennyson