The Height of the Ridiculous
I WROTE some lines once on a timeIn wondrous merry mood,And thought, as usual, men would sayThey were exceeding good.
They were so queer, so very queer,I laughed as I would die;Albeit, in the general way,A sober man am I.
I called my servant, and he came;How kind it was of himTo mind a slender man like me,He of the mighty limb.
"These to the printer," I exclaimed,And, in my humorous way,I added, (as a trifling jest,)"There'll be the devil to pay."
He took the paper, and I watched,And saw him peep within;At the first line he read, his faceWas all upon the grin.
He read the next; the grin grew broad,And shot from ear to ear;He read the third; a chuckling noiseI now began to hear.
The fourth; he broke into a roar;The fifth; his waistband split;The sixth; he burst five buttons off,And tumbled in a fit.
Ten days and nights, with sleepless eye,I watched that wretched man,And since, I never dare to writeAs funny as I can.
Words in this poem
- wrote v. i.
- To root with the snout. See 1st Root. [OE. wroten. See 1st Root.]
- wondrous adv.
- In a wonderful or surprising manner or degree; wonderfully. [OE. wonders, adv. (later also adj.). See Wonder, n., and cf. -wards.]
- albeit conj.
- Even though; although; notwithstanding. [OE. al be although it be, where al is our all. Cf. Although.]
- humorous a.
- Moist; humid; watery. [Cf. L. humorosus, umorosus, moist. See Humor.]
- jest n.
- A deed; an action; a gest. [OE. jeste, geste, deed, action, story, tale, OF. geste, LL. gesta, orig., exploits, neut. pl. from L. gestus, p. p. of gerere to bear, carry, accomplish, perfor]
- grin n.
- A snare; a gin. [AS. grin.]
- broke v. i.
- To transact business for another. Brome. [See Broker, and cf. Brook.]
- waistband n.
- The band which encompasses the waist; esp., one on the upper part of breeches, trousers, pantaloons, skirts, or the like.
- sleepless a.
- Having no sleep; wakeful.
- funny a.
- Droll; comical; amusing; laughable. Funny bone. See crazy bone, under Crazy. [From Fun.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Height of the Ridiculous is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Poetical Works of Oliver Wendell Holmes — Volume 01: Earlier Poems (1830-1836), Project Gutenberg ebook #7388; 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 Wendell Holmes, The Height of the Ridiculous, in Poetical Works, Volume I (1830–1848), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #7388, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/holmes-poems/the-height-of-the-ridiculous.html, id L00472.
Form and metre
The Height of the Ridiculous is 32 lines in 8 stanzas of 4 lines each. The metre is common measure, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 91%). 96% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.2 syllables. 2 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 19% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
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.
- 2 -A-A queer · dieA · way · iA
- 3 -A-A came · himA · me · limbA
- 4 -A-A exclaimed · wayA · jest · payA
- 5 -A-A watched · withinA · face · grinA
- 6 -A-A broad · earA · noise · hearA
- 7 -A-A roar · splitA · off · fitA
- 8 -A-A eye · manA · write · canA
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 |
|---|---|---|
| I WROTE some lines once on a time | 8 | ········ |
| In wondrous merry mood, | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| And thought, as usual, men would say | 9 | ···/˘˘··· |
| They were exceeding good. | 6 | ··˘/˘· |
| They were so queer, so very queer, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| I laughed as I would die; | 6 | ······ |
| Albeit, in the general way, | 9 | ˘/˘··/˘˘· |
| A sober man am I. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| I called my servant, and he came; | 9 | ··˘·/˘··· |
| How kind it was of him | 6 | ······ |
| To mind a slender man like me, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| He of the mighty limb. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| "These to the printer," I exclaimed, | 9 | ···/˘·˘/˘ |
| And, in my humorous way, | 7 | ···/˘˘· |
| I added, (as a trifling jest,) | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| "There'll be the devil to pay." | 8 | /˘··/˘·· |
| He took the paper, and I watched, | 9 | ···/˘···˘ |
| And saw him peep within; | 6 | ······ |
| At the first line he read, his face | 8 | ········ |
| Was all upon the grin. | 6 | ······ |
| He read the next; the grin grew broad, | 8 | ········ |
| And shot from ear to ear; | 6 | ······ |
| He read the third; a chuckling noise | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| I now began to hear. | 6 | ··˘/·· |
| The fourth; he broke into a roar; | 8 | ········ |
| The fifth; his waistband split; | 6 | ···/˘· |
| The sixth; he burst five buttons off, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And tumbled in a fit. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Ten days and nights, with sleepless eye, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| I watched that wretched man, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| And since, I never dare to write | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| As funny as I can. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
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