Uncle Ephraim
My Uncle Ephraim was a man who did not live in vain,And yet, why he succeeded so I never could explain;By nature he was not endowed with wit to a degree,But folks allowed there nowhere lived a better man than he;He started poor but soon got rich; he went to congress then,And held that post of honor long against much brainier men;He never made a famous speech or did a thing of note,And yet the praise of Uncle Eph welled up from every throat.
I recollect I never heard him say a bitter word;He never carried to and fro unpleasant things he heard;He always doffed his hat and spoke to every one he knew,He tipped to poor and rich alike a genial "how-dy'-do";He kissed the babies, praised their looks, and said: "That child willgrowTo be a Daniel Webster or our president, I know!"His voice was so mellifluous, his smile so full of mirth,That folks declared he was the best and smartest man on earth!
Now, father was a smarter man, and yet he never wonSuch wealth and fame as Uncle Eph, "the deestrick's favorite son";He had "convictions" and he was not loath to speak his mind--He went his way and said his say as he might be inclined;Yes, he was brainy; yet his life was hardly a success--He was too honest and too smart for this vain world, I guess!At any rate, I wondered he was unsuccessful whenMy Uncle Eph, a duller man, was so revered of men!
When Uncle Eph was dying he called me to his bed,And in a tone of confidence inviolate he said:"Dear Willyum, ere I seek repose in yonder blissful sphereI fain would breathe a secret in your adolescent ear;Strive not to hew your way through life--it really doesn't pay;Be sure the salve of flattery soaps all you do and say!Herein the only royal road to fame and fortune lies;Put not your trust in vinegar--molasses catches flies!"
Words in this poem 21
- ephraim n.
- A hunter's name for the grizzly bear. [The proper name.]
- folks n.
- In Anglo-Saxon times, the people of a group of townships or villages; a community; a tribe. [AS. folc; akin to D. volk, OS. & OHG. folk, G. volk, Icel. f, Sw. & Dan. folk, Lith. pulkas crowd, and perh. to E. follow.]
- nowhere adv.
- Not anywhere; not in any place or state; as, the book is nowhere to be found. [AS. nahwær. See No, and Where.]
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- congress n.
- A meeting of individuals, whether friendly or hostile; an encounter. [L. congressus, fr. congredi, p.p. -gressus, to go or come together; con- + grati to go or step, gradus step: cf. F. congr. See Grade.]
- recollect v. t.
- To recover or recall the knowledge of; to bring back to the mind or memory; to remember. [Pref. re- + collect: cf. L. recolligere, recollectum, to collect. Cf. Recollet.]
- spoke n.
- The radius or ray of a wheel; one of the small bars which are inserted in the hub, or nave, and which serve to support the rim or felly. [OE. spoke, spake, AS, spaca; akin to D. speek, LG. speke, OHG. speihha, G. speiche. sq. root170. Cf. Spike a nail.]
- genial a.
- Contributing to, or concerned in, propagation or production; generative; procreative; productive. [L. genialis: cf. OF. genial. See Genius.]
- webster n.
- A weaver; originally, a female weaver. Brathwait. [AS. webbestre. See Web, Weave, and -ster.]
- mellifluous a.
- Flowing as with honey; smooth; flowing sweetly or smoothly; as, a mellifluous voice. [L. mellifluus; mel, mellis, honey (akin to Gr. milip) + fluere to flow. See Mildew, Fluent, and cf. Marmalade.]
- wealth n.
- Weal; welfare; prosperity; good. [OE. welthe, from wele; cf. D. weelde luxury. See Weal prosperity.]
- loath a.
- Hateful; odious; disliked. [OE. looth, loth, AS. la hostile, odious; akin to OS. l, G. leid, Icel. lei, Sw. led, G. leiden to suffer, OHG. lidan to suffer, go, cf. AS. li to go, Goth. leip]
- brainy a.
- Having an active or vigorous mind.
- wondered a.
- Having performed wonders; able to perform wonderful things.
- unsuccessful a.
- Not successful; not producing the desired event; not fortunate; meeting with, or resulting in, failure; unlucky; unhappy.
- duller n.
- One who, or that which, dulls.
- inviolate a.
- Not violated; uninjured; unhurt; unbroken. [L. inviolatus. See In- not, and Violate.]
- yonder adv.
- At a distance, but within view. [OE. yonder, ýonder; cf. OD. ginder, Goth. jaindr there. Yond, adv.]
- blissful a.
- Full of, characterized by, or causing, joy and felicity; happy in the highest degree.
- fain v. t.
- To be glad ; to wish or desire.
- adolescent a.
- Growing; advancing from childhood to maturity. [L. adolescens, p. pr. of adolescere to grow up to; ad + the inchoative olescere to grow: cf. F. adolescent. See Adult.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Uncle Ephraim 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, Uncle Ephraim, in Hoosier Lyrics (1905), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #36150, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/field-poems/uncle-ephraim.html, id L11643.
Form and metre
Uncle Ephraim is 33 lines in 4 stanzas. The rhyme scheme is AABBCCDD, complete in 3 of its 4 stanzas. The metre is iambic heptameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 92%). 93% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 13.3 syllables. 15% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in iambic heptameter.
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 AABBCCDD vainA · explainA · degreeB · heB · thenC · menC · noteD · throatD
- 2 AABB-CCDD wordA · heardA · knewB · doB · will · growC · knowC · mirthD · earthD
- 3 AABBCCDD wonA · sonA · mindB · inclinedB · successC · guessC · whenD · menD
- 4 AABBCCDD bedA · saidA · sphereB · earB · payC · sayC · liesD · fliesD
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 iambic heptameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| My Uncle Ephraim was a man who did not live in vain, | 14 | ·/˘/˘········· |
| And yet, why he succeeded so I never could explain; | 13 | ····˘/˘··/·˘/ |
| By nature he was not endowed with wit to a degree, | 14 | ·/˘···˘/····˘/ |
| But folks allowed there nowhere lived a better man than he; | 14 | ··˘/·/···/˘··· |
| He started poor but soon got rich; he went to congress then, | 14 | ·/˘········/˘· |
| And held that post of honor long against much brainier men; | 14 | ·····/˘······· |
| He never made a famous speech or did a thing of note, | 13 | ·/··/˘······· |
| And yet the praise of Uncle Eph welled up from every throat. | 14 | ·····/˘····/˘· |
| I recollect I never heard him say a bitter word; | 13 | ··˘/·/····/˘· |
| He never carried to and fro unpleasant things he heard; | 13 | ·//˘···˘/˘··· |
| He always doffed his hat and spoke to every one he knew, | 14 | ·/·······/˘··· |
| He tipped to poor and rich alike a genial "how-dy'-do"; | 14 | ······˘/·/˘··· |
| He kissed the babies, praised their looks, and said: "That child will | 13 | ···/˘········ |
| grow | 1 | · |
| To be a Daniel Webster or our president, I know!" | 14 | ···/˘/˘·//˘··· |
| His voice was so mellifluous, his smile so full of mirth, | 14 | ····˘/˘˘······ |
| That folks declared he was the best and smartest man on earth! | 14 | ··˘/·····/˘··· |
| Now, father was a smarter man, and yet he never won | 13 | ·/˘··/˘····/· |
| Such wealth and fame as Uncle Eph, "the deestrick's favorite son"; | 14 | ·····/˘····/˘· |
| He had "convictions" and he was not loath to speak his mind-- | 14 | ··˘/˘········· |
| He went his way and said his say as he might be inclined; | 14 | ············˘/ |
| Yes, he was brainy; yet his life was hardly a success-- | 14 | ···/˘····/˘·˘/ |
| He was too honest and too smart for this vain world, I guess! | 14 | ···/˘········· |
| At any rate, I wondered he was unsuccessful when | 14 | ·/˘··/˘···˘/˘· |
| My Uncle Eph, a duller man, was so revered of men! | 14 | ·/˘··/˘···˘/·· |
| When Uncle Eph was dying he called me to his bed, | 13 | ·/˘··/˘······ |
| And in a tone of confidence inviolate he said: | 12 | ·····/˘˘/˘·· |
| "Dear Willyum, ere I seek repose in yonder blissful sphere | 14 | ······˘/·/˘/˘· |
| I fain would breathe a secret in your adolescent ear; | 14 | ·····/˘···˘/˘· |
| Strive not to hew your way through life--it really doesn't pay; | 14 | ·········/˘/˘· |
| Be sure the salve of flattery soaps all you do and say! | 13 | ·····/˘······ |
| Herein the only royal road to fame and fortune lies; | 14 | ˘/·/˘/˘····/˘· |
| Put not your trust in vinegar--molasses catches flies!" | 13 | ·····/˘˘/˘/˘· |
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