Introduction: More Beasts for Worse Children
Hilaire Belloc 1870 (La Celle-Saint-Cloud) – 1953
The parents of the learned child
(His father and his mother)
Were utterly aghast to note
The facts he would at random quote
On creatures curious, rare, and wild;
And wondering, ask each other:
'An idle little child like this,
How is it that he knows
What years of close analysis
Are powerless to disclose?
Our brains are trained, our books are big,
And yet we always fail
To answer why the Guinea-pig
Is born without a tail.
Or why the Wanderoo should rant
In wild, unmeaning rhymes,
Whereas the Indian Elephant
Will only read The Times.
Perhaps he found a way to slip
Unnoticed to the Zoo,
And gave the Pachyderm a tip,
Or pumped the Wanderoo.
Or even by an artful plan
Deceived our watchful eyes,
And interviewed the Pelican,
Who is extremely wise.'
'Oh! no,' said he, in humble tone,
With shy but conscious look,
'Such facts I never could have known
But for this little book.'
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 02, 2023
- 48 sec read
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Quick analysis:
Scheme | ABCCABDEFEGHGHIJKJLMLBNOPOQRQR |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 887 |
Words | 165 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 30 |
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"Introduction: More Beasts for Worse Children" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 26 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/19197/introduction:-more-beasts-for-worse-children>.
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