Me and Bilkammle
I will, if you choose,Impart you some newsThat will greatly astound you, I know;You would never suspectMy ambition was wreck'd'Till you heard my confession of woe.'Tis not that my boomHas ascended the flume--In other words, gone up the spout--I could smile a sweet smileThis tempestuous while,But me and Bilkammle are out!
Being timid and shrinkin',He did all the thinkin',When I did the talkin' worth mention;'Twas my constant ambitionTo soar to positionSo I gave it exclusive attention;And supposin' that heWould of course be for me,I rambled and prattled about'Till I found to my horror,Vexation, and sorror,That me and Bilkammle were out.
As I tore my red hairIn a fit of despairI heard my Achates complainThat the gent with the cofferHad nothing to offerIn the way of relieving his pain!
If there's mortal to blameFor this villainous gameWhich has snuffed a great man beyond doubt.It's that treacherous mammalEntitled Bilkammle--Which accounts for us two bein' out!
Words in this poem
- astound a.
- Stunned; astounded; astonished. [OE. astouned, astound, astoned, p. p. of astone. See Astone.]
- tore n.
- The dead grass that remains on mowing land in winter and spring. Mortimer. [Probably from the root of tear; cf. W. tór a break, cut, tóri to break, cut.]
- gent a.
- Gentle; noble; of gentle birth. [OF. gent, fr. L. genitus born, or (less prob.) fr. gentilis. See Genteel.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Me and Bilkammle is in the public domain. This text is taken from Hoosier Lyrics, Project Gutenberg ebook #36150; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Eugene Field, Me and Bilkammle, in Hoosier Lyrics (1905), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #36150, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/field-poems/me-and-bilkammle.html, id L11636.
Form and metre
Me and Bilkammle is 36 lines in 4 stanzas. The metre is anapaestic dimeter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 93%). 88% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 6.9 syllables. 9 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 47% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in anapaestic dimeter.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 1 AABCCBDDEFFE chooseA · newsA · knowB · suspectC · wreck'dC · woeB · boomD · flumeD · spoutE · smileF · whileF · outE
- 2 AABCCBDDE--E shrinkinA · thinkinA · mentionB · ambitionC · positionC · attentionB · heD · meD · aboutE · horror · sorror · outE
- 3 AABCCB hairA · despairA · complainB · cofferC · offerC · painB
- 4 AAB--B blameA · gameA · doubtB · mammal · bilkammle · outB
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against anapaestic dimeter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| I will, if you choose, | 5 | ····· |
| Impart you some news | 5 | ˘/··· |
| That will greatly astound you, I know; | 9 | ··/˘˘/··· |
| You would never suspect | 6 | ··/˘/· |
| My ambition was wreck'd | 6 | ·˘/˘·· |
| 'Till you heard my confession of woe. | 9 | ····˘/˘·· |
| 'Tis not that my boom | 5 | ····· |
| Has ascended the flume-- | 6 | ·˘/˘·· |
| In other words, gone up the spout-- | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| I could smile a sweet smile | 6 | ······ |
| This tempestuous while, | 6 | ··/˘˘· |
| But me and Bilkammle are out! | 8 | ········ |
| Being timid and shrinkin', | 6 | //˘··· |
| He did all the thinkin', | 6 | ····/˘ |
| When I did the talkin' worth mention; | 9 | ····/˘·/˘ |
| 'Twas my constant ambition | 7 | ··/˘˘/˘ |
| To soar to position | 6 | ···˘/˘ |
| So I gave it exclusive attention; | 10 | ····˘/˘˘/˘ |
| And supposin' that he | 6 | ······ |
| Would of course be for me, | 6 | ······ |
| I rambled and prattled about | 8 | ·/˘·/˘·· |
| 'Till I found to my horror, | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Vexation, and sorror, | 6 | ˘/˘··· |
| That me and Bilkammle were out. | 8 | ········ |
| As I tore my red hair | 6 | ······ |
| In a fit of despair | 6 | ····˘/ |
| I heard my Achates complain | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| That the gent with the coffer | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Had nothing to offer | 6 | ·/˘·/˘ |
| In the way of relieving his pain! | 9 | ····˘/˘·· |
| If there's mortal to blame | 6 | ··/˘·· |
| For this villainous game | 6 | ··/˘˘· |
| Which has snuffed a great man beyond doubt. | 9 | ········· |
| It's that treacherous mammal | 7 | ··/˘˘/˘ |
| Entitled Bilkammle-- | 6 | ˘/˘··· |
| Which accounts for us two bein' out! | 9 | ·˘/···/˘· |
The reader shows the same poem with its rhymes coloured and a stress row above each line, the notes beside their stanzas, and any word's definition on a tap; the analysis page takes the whole book apart. How every part of this site was made.