Illustrated by 'G. H'
'Wise parents will, however, keep strictly to themselves "RuthlessRhymes for Heartless Homes," by Col. D. Streamer. The illustrations by"G. H." are very amusing, and especially happy is that to "Equanimity,"when
"Aunt Jane observed the second timeShe tumbled off a 'bus,The step is short from the sublimeTo the ridiculous."'
'Another charming whimsicality published by Mr. Edward Arnold is"Ruthless Rhymes for Heartless Homes."'--Sydney Morning Herald.
'The veriest nonsense, possessing the quality that makes it akin toCarroll's work.'--New York Bookworm.
"Philip, foozling with his cleek,Drove his ball through Helen's cheek.Sad they bore her corpse away,Seven up and six to play."'
Words in this poem
- ruthless a.
- Having no ruth; cruel; pitiless.
- heartless a.
- Without a heart.
- equanimity n.
- Evenness of mind; that calm temper or firmness of mind which is not easily elated or depressed; patience; calmness; composure; as, to bear misfortunes with equanimity. [L. aequanimitas, fr. aequanimus: cf. F. équanimité. See Equanimous.]
- jane n.
- A coin of Genoa; any small coin. [LL. Janua Genoa; L. Genua, also OE. Jean.]
- whimsicality n.
- The quality or state of being whimsical; whimsicalness.
- bookworm n.
- Any larva of a beetle or moth, which is injurious to books.
- cleek n.
- A large hook or crook, as for a pot over a fire; specif., an iron- headed golf club with a straight, narrow face and a long shaft.
- drove n.
- A collection of cattle driven, or cattle collected for driving; a number of animals, as oxen, sheep, or swine, driven in a body. [AS. draf, fr. drifan to drive. See Drive.]
- corpse n.
- A human body in general, whether living or dead; -- sometimes contemptuosly. [OF. cors (sometimes written corps), F. corps, L. corpus; akin to AS. hrif womb. See Midriff, and cf. Corse, Corselet, Corps, Cuerpo.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Illustrated by 'G. H' 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, Illustrated by 'G. H', in Verse and Worse (1905), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #36702, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/graham-verse-and-worse/illustrated-by-g-h.html, id L23361.
Form and metre
Illustrated by 'G. H' is 16 lines in 5 stanzas. This poem did not settle on a metre of its own; the book it comes from is in iambic tetrameter.
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.
- 2 ABAB timeA · busB · sublimeA · ridiculousB
- 5 AABB cleekA · cheekA · awayB · playB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| 'Wise parents will, however, keep strictly to themselves "Ruthless | 15 | ·/˘··/˘·/˘·˘//˘ |
| Rhymes for Heartless Homes," by Col. D. Streamer. The illustrations by | 16 | ··/˘····/˘··˘/˘· |
| "G. H." are very amusing, and especially happy is that to "Equanimity," | 21 | ···/˘˘/˘·˘/˘/˘····˘/˘ |
| when | 1 | · |
| "Aunt Jane observed the second time | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
| She tumbled off a 'bus, | 7 | ·/˘˘··· |
| The step is short from the sublime | 8 | ······˘/ |
| To the ridiculous."' | 6 | ··˘/˘˘ |
| 'Another charming whimsicality published by Mr. Edward Arnold is | 20 | ˘/˘/˘·····/˘·/˘/˘/˘· |
| "Ruthless Rhymes for Heartless Homes."'--Sydney Morning Herald. | 13 | /˘··/˘·/˘/˘/˘ |
| 'The veriest nonsense, possessing the quality that makes it akin to | 17 | ···/˘˘/˘·/˘···˘/· |
| Carroll's work.'--New York Bookworm. | 7 | /˘···/· |
| "Philip, foozling with his cleek, | 7 | /˘····· |
| Drove his ball through Helen's cheek. | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Sad they bore her corpse away, | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| Seven up and six to play."' | 7 | /˘····· |
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.