The Reformed Tigress
A lady on the lonely shoreOf a dull watering placeOnce met a Tigress weeping sore,Tears streaming down her face.
And knowing well that safety layIn not betraying fear,She asked in quite a friendly way,“What makes you weep, my dear?”
The Tigress brushed a tear aside;“I want a man!” she wailed.“A man! they’re scarce!” the lady cried;“I fear the crop has failed!
There is but one in miles, and oh,I fear that he is wed!”The Tigress smiled. “I am, you know,A man eater,” she said.
“You eat them!” cried the maid, then ceasedIn horror and amaze,Then sat her down to show the beastThe error of her ways.
“Men are so scarce,” she urged, “I fearThere are n’t enough to goAround--now is it right, my dear,That you should waste them so?
I weep to think of all the menYou’ve spoiled ere now,” said she.“And if you eat the rest, why, thenWhat will be left for me?”
The hours flew by; she took no restTill twilight, when at lastThe contrite beast with sobs confessedRepentance for the past.
“Go,” said the maid, “take my advice;I know what’s best for you;It’s cheap and filling at the price;Go seek the oyster stew!”
The Tigress lies unto this dayUpon an oyster bed.The Lady--so the gossips say--Is shortly to be wed.
Words in this poem
- tigress n.
- The female of the tiger. Holland. [From Tiger: cf. F. tigresse.]
- streaming a.
- Sending forth streams.
- scarce a.
- Not plentiful or abundant; in small quantity in proportion to the demand; not easily to be procured; rare; uncommon. [OE. scars, OF. escars, eschars, LL. scarpsus, for L. excerptus, p. p. of excerpere to pick out, and hence to contract, to shorten; ex (see Ex-) + carpere. See C]
- amaze v. t.
- To bewilder; to stupefy; to bring into a maze. [Pref. a- + maze.]
- contrite a.
- Thoroughly bruised or broken. [L. contritus bruised, p. p. of contrere to grind, bruise; con- + terere to rub, grind: cf. F. contrit See Trite.]
- shortly adv.
- In a short or brief time or manner; soon; quickly. [AS. sceortlice.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Reformed Tigress is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Bashful Earthquake, & Other Fables and Verses, Project Gutenberg ebook #56765; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Oliver Herford, The Reformed Tigress, in The Bashful Earthquake, and Other Fables and Verses (1898), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #56765, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/herford-bashful-earthquake/the-reformed-tigress.html, id L22130.
Form and metre
The Reformed Tigress is 40 lines in 10 stanzas of 4 lines each. Every stanza rhymes ABAB. The metre is common measure, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 92%).
See other poems in common measure.
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 ABAB shoreA · placeB · soreA · faceB
- 2 ABAB layA · fearB · wayA · dearB
- 3 ABAB asideA · wailedB · criedA · failedB
- 4 ABAB ohA · wedB · knowA · saidB
- 5 ABAB ceasedA · amazeB · beastA · waysB
- 6 ABAB fearA · goB · dearA · soB
- 7 ABAB menA · sheB · thenA · meB
- 8 ABAB restA · lastB · confessedA · pastB
- 9 ABAB adviceA · youB · priceA · stewB
- 10 ABAB dayA · bedB · sayA · wedB
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 common measure. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| A lady on the lonely shore | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Of a dull watering place | 7 | ···/˘˘· |
| Once met a Tigress weeping sore, | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Tears streaming down her face. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| And knowing well that safety lay | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| In not betraying fear, | 6 | ··˘/˘· |
| She asked in quite a friendly way, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| “What makes you weep, my dear?” | 6 | ······ |
| The Tigress brushed a tear aside; | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| “I want a man!” she wailed. | 6 | ······ |
| “A man! they’re scarce!” the lady cried; | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| “I fear the crop has failed! | 6 | ······ |
| There is but one in miles, and oh, | 8 | ········ |
| I fear that he is wed!” | 6 | ······ |
| The Tigress smiled. “I am, you know, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| A man eater,” she said. | 6 | ··/˘·· |
| “You eat them!” cried the maid, then ceased | 8 | ········ |
| In horror and amaze, | 6 | ·/˘·˘/ |
| Then sat her down to show the beast | 8 | ········ |
| The error of her ways. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| “Men are so scarce,” she urged, “I fear | 8 | ········ |
| There are n’t enough to go | 7 | ···˘/·· |
| Around--now is it right, my dear, | 8 | ········ |
| That you should waste them so? | 6 | ······ |
| I weep to think of all the men | 8 | ········ |
| You’ve spoiled ere now,” said she. | 6 | ······ |
| “And if you eat the rest, why, then | 8 | ········ |
| What will be left for me?” | 6 | ······ |
| The hours flew by; she took no rest | 8 | ·/······ |
| Till twilight, when at last | 6 | ·/···· |
| The contrite beast with sobs confessed | 8 | ·˘/···˘/ |
| Repentance for the past. | 6 | ˘/˘··· |
| “Go,” said the maid, “take my advice; | 8 | ······˘/ |
| I know what’s best for you; | 6 | ······ |
| It’s cheap and filling at the price; | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Go seek the oyster stew!” | 6 | ···/˘· |
| The Tigress lies unto this day | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Upon an oyster bed. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| The Lady--so the gossips say-- | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Is shortly to be wed. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
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.