The Ballade of the Incompetent Ballade-Monger

James Kenneth Stephen 1859 (London) – 1892



I am not ambitious at all:
I am not a poet, I know
(Though I do love to see a mere scrawl
To order and symmetry grow).
My muse is uncertain and slow,
I am not expert with my tools,
I lack the poetic argot:
But I hope I have kept to the rules.

When your brain is undoubtedly small,
'Tis hard, sir, to write in a row,
Some five or six rhymes to Nepaul,
And more than a dozen to Joe:
The metre is easier though,
Three rhymes are sufficient for 'ghouls,'
My lines are deficient in go,
But I hope I have kept to the rules.

Unable to fly let me crawl,
Your patronage kindly bestow:
I am not the author of Saul,
I am not Voltaire or Rousseau:
I am not desirous, oh no!
To rise from the ranks of the fools,
To shine with Gosse, Dobson and Co.:
But I hope I have kept to the rules.

Dear Sir, though my language is low,
Let me dip in Pierian pools:
My verses are only so so,
But I hope I have kept to the rules.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 14, 2023

57 sec read
76

Quick analysis:

Scheme ababbcxC ababbcbC ababbcbC bcbC
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 883
Words 192
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 8, 8, 8, 4

James Kenneth Stephen

James Kenneth Stephen was an English poet, and tutor to Prince Albert Victor, eldest son of Albert Edward, Prince of Wales. more…

All James Kenneth Stephen poems | James Kenneth Stephen Books

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    "The Ballade of the Incompetent Ballade-Monger" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Mar. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/20212/the-ballade-of-the-incompetent-ballade-monger>.

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