Analysis of The Quangle Wangle's Hat

Edward Lear 1812 (Holloway) – 1888 (Sanremo)



I.
   On the top of the Crumpetty Tree
     The Quangle Wangle sat,
   But his face you could not see,
     On account of his Beaver Hat.
   For his Hat was a hundred and two feet wide,
   With ribbons and bibbons on every side
   And bells, and buttons, and loops, and lace,
   So that nobody every could see the face
       Of the Quangle Wangle Quee.II.

The Quangle Wangle said
    To himself on the Crumpetty Tree, --
 "Jam; and jelly; and bread;
   "Are the best of food for me!
 "But the longer I live on this Crumpetty Tree
 "The plainer than ever it seems to me
 "That very few people come this way
 "And that life on the whole is far from gay!"
      Said the Quangle Wangle Quee.III.

But there came to the Crumpetty Tree,
    Mr. and Mrs. Canary;
  And they said, -- "Did every you see
   "Any spot so charmingly airy?
 "May we build a nest on your lovely Hat?
 "Mr. Quangle Wangle, grant us that!
 "O please let us come and build a nest
 "Of whatever material suits you best,
     "Mr. Quangle Wangle Quee!"IV.

And besides, to the Crumpetty Tree
    Came the Stork, the Duck, and the Owl;
  The Snail, and the Bumble-Bee,
    The Frog, and the Fimble Fowl;
 (The Fimble Fowl, with a corkscrew leg;)
  And all of them said, -- "We humbly beg,
  "We may build out homes on your lovely Hat, --
  "Mr. Quangle Wangle, grant us that!
     "Mr. Quangle Wangle Quee!"V.

And the Golden Grouse came there,
    And the Pobble who has no toes, --
  And the small Olympian bear, --
    And the Dong with a luminous nose.
  And the Blue Baboon, who played the Flute, --
  And the Orient Calf from the Land of Tute, --
  And the Attery Squash, and the Bisky Bat, --
  All came and built on the lovely Hat
      Of the Quangle Wangle Quee.VI.

And the Quangle Wangle said
    To himself on the Crumpetty Tree, --
  "When all these creatures move
   "What a wonderful noise there'll be!"
  And at night by the light of the Mulberry moon
  They danced to the Flute of the Blue Baboon,
  On the broad green leaves of the Crumpetty Tree,
  And all were as happy as happy could be,
      With the Quangle Wangle Quee.


Scheme xababccdde fAfaaaxee aaaabBggh aiaieebBh jkjkxbbbh fAhallaae
Poetic Form Tetractys  (22%)
Metre 1 1011011 01101 1111111 10111101 11110100111 1100111001 010100101 1111001101 101101 01101 1011011 101001 1011111 1010111111 0101101111 110110111 0111011111 101101 1111011 10010010 011110011 101110010 1110111101 10110111 111110101 1100100111 101101 0011011 10101001 0100101 010011 0111011 011111101 1111111101 10110111 101101 0010111 0011111 00101001 001101001 001011101 0010110111 00110011 110110101 101101 001101 1011011 111101 101001101 01110110101 1110110101 101111011 01011011011 101101
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 2,071
Words 387
Sentences 28
Stanzas 6
Stanza Lengths 10, 9, 9, 9, 9, 9
Lines Amount 55
Letters per line (avg) 27
Words per line (avg) 7
Letters per stanza (avg) 246
Words per stanza (avg) 63
Font size:
 

Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 27, 2023

1:55 min read
278

Edward Lear

Edward Lear was an English artist, illustrator, author and poet, and is known now mostly for his literary nonsense in poetry and prose and especially his limericks, a form he popularised. more…

All Edward Lear poems | Edward Lear Books

1 fan

Discuss this Edward Lear poem analysis with the community:

0 Comments

    Citation

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

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "The Quangle Wangle's Hat" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/9786/the-quangle-wangle%27s-hat>.

    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
    21
    hours
    6
    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?

    »
    Which poet wrote “The Tyger”?
    A William Blake
    B William Shakespeare
    C Emily Dickinson
    D Sylvia Plath