France
The natives here remark 'Mon Dieu!''Que voulez-vous?' 'Comment ca va?''Sapristi! Par exemple! Un peu!''Tiens donc! Mais qu'est-ce que c'est que ca?'They shave one portion of their dogs,And live exclusively on frogs.
They get excited very quick,And crowds will gather before longIf you should stand and wave your stickAnd shout, 'A bas le Presidong!'Still more amusing would it beTo say, 'Conspuez la Patrie!'
The French are so polite, you know,They take their hats off very well,And, should they tread upon your toe,Remark, 'Pardon, Mademoiselle!'And you would gladly bear the painTo see them make that bow again.
Their ladies too have got a wayWhich even curates can't resist;'Twould make an Alderman feel gayOr soothe a yellow journalist;And then the things they say are soExtremely--well, in fact,--you know!
Words in this poem
- polite a.
- Smooth; polished. [L. politus, p. p. of polire to polish: cf. F. poli. See Polish, v.]
- mademoiselle n.
- A French title of courtesy given to a girl or an unmarried lady, equivalent to the English Miss. Goldsmith. [F., fr. ma my, f. of mon + demoiselle young lady. See Damsel.]
- gladly adv.
- Preferably; by choice. [From Glad, a.]
- alderman n.
- A senior or superior; a person of rank or dignity. [AS. aldormon, ealdorman; ealdor an elder + man. See Elder, n.]
- soothe v. t.
- To assent to as true. Testament of Love. [Originally, to assent to as true; OE. so to verify, AS. ges to prove the truth of, to bear witness. See Sooth, a.]
- journalist n.
- One who keeps a journal or diary. Mickle. [Cf. F. journaliste.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
France is in the public domain. This text is taken from Verse and Worse, Project Gutenberg ebook #36702; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Harry Graham, France, in Verse and Worse (1905), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #36702, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/graham-verse-and-worse/france.html, id L23300.
Form and metre
France is 24 lines in 4 stanzas of 6 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABABCC, complete in 2 of its 4 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 89%).
See other poems in iambic tetrameter.
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 ----AA dieu · va · peu · ca · dogsA · frogsA
- 2 ABAB-- quickA · longB · stickA · presidongB · be · patrie
- 3 ABABCC knowA · wellB · toeA · mademoiselleB · painC · againC
- 4 ABABCC wayA · resistB · gayA · journalistB · soC · knowC
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 tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| The natives here remark 'Mon Dieu!' | 8 | ·/˘·˘/·· |
| 'Que voulez-vous?' 'Comment ca va?' | 8 | ····/˘·· |
| 'Sapristi! Par exemple! Un peu!' | 9 | ········· |
| 'Tiens donc! Mais qu'est-ce que c'est que ca?' | 9 | ········· |
| They shave one portion of their dogs, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And live exclusively on frogs. | 8 | ··˘/˘˘·· |
| They get excited very quick, | 8 | ··˘/˘/˘· |
| And crowds will gather before long | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| If you should stand and wave your stick | 8 | ········ |
| And shout, 'A bas le Presidong!' | 8 | ········ |
| Still more amusing would it be | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| To say, 'Conspuez la Patrie!' | 8 | ·····/˘˘ |
| The French are so polite, you know, | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| They take their hats off very well, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And, should they tread upon your toe, | 8 | ········ |
| Remark, 'Pardon, Mademoiselle!' | 8 | ˘//˘·˘˘/ |
| And you would gladly bear the pain | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| To see them make that bow again. | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Their ladies too have got a way | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Which even curates can't resist; | 8 | ·/˘/˘·˘/ |
| 'Twould make an Alderman feel gay | 8 | ···/˘˘·· |
| Or soothe a yellow journalist; | 8 | ···/˘/˘˘ |
| And then the things they say are so | 8 | ········ |
| Extremely--well, in fact,--you know! | 8 | ˘/˘····· |
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.