A Sketch
There once was a Doctor,(No foe to the proctor,)A physic concocter,Whose dose was so pat,However it acted,One speech it extracted,--“Yes, yes,” said the doctor,“I meant it for that!”
And first, all “unaisy,”Like woman that’s crazy,In flies Mistress Casey,“Do come to poor PatThe blood’s running faster!He’s torn off the plaster--”“Yes, yes,” said the Doctor,“I meant it for that!”
Anon, with an antic,Quite strange and romantic,A woman comes frantic--“What could you be at?My darling dear Aleck,You’ve sent him oxalic!”“Yes, yes,” said the Doctor,“I meant it for that!”
Then in comes another,Dispatch’d by his mother,A blubbering brother,Who gives a rat-tat--“Oh, poor little sisterHas lick’d off a blister!”“Yes, yes,” said the Doctor,“I meant it for that!”
Now home comes the flunkey,His own powder-monkey,But dull as a donkey--With basket and that--“The draught for the Squire, Sir,He chuck’d in the fire, Sir--”“Yes, yes,” said the Doctor,“I meant it for that!”
The next is the pompousHead Beadle, old Bumpus--“Lord! here is a rumpus:That pauper, Old Nat,In some drunken notionHas drunk up his lotion--”“Yes, yes,” said the Doctor,“I meant it for that!”
At last comes a servant,In grief very fervent:“Alas! Doctor Derwent,Poor Master is flat!He’s drawn his last breath, Sir--That dose was his death, Sir.”“Yes, yes,” said the Doctor,“I meant it for that!”
Words in this poem
- concocter n.
- One who concocts.
- anon adv.
- Straightway; at once. [OE. anoon, anon, anan, lit., in one (moment), fr. AS. on in + an one. See On and One.]
- antic v. t.
- To make appear like a buffoon.
- blubbering n.
- The act of weeping noisily.
- donkey n.
- An ass; or (less frequently) a mule. [Prob. dun, in allusion to the color of the animal + a dim. termination.]
- chuck v. i.
- To make a noise resembling that of a hen when she calls her chickens; to cluck. [Imitative of the sound.]
- rumpus n.
- A disturbance; noise and confusion; a quarrel.
- pauper n.
- A poor person; especially, one development on private or public charity. Also used adjectively; as, pouper immigrants, pouper labor. [L. See Poor.]
- fervent a.
- Hot; glowing; boiling; burning; as, a fervent summer. [F. fervent, L. fervens, -entis. p.pr. of fervere o the boiling hot, to boil, glow.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
A Sketch is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Comic Poems of Thomas Hood A New and Complete Edition, Project Gutenberg ebook #56712; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Thomas Hood, A Sketch, in Poems (1827–1845), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #56712, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/hood-poems/a-sketch.html, id L06761.
Form and metre
A Sketch is 56 lines in 7 stanzas of 8 lines each. The metre is iambic trimeter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 76%). 92% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 5.8 syllables. 34 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 7% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in iambic trimeter.
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 AAABCCAB doctorA · proctorA · concocterA · patB · actedC · extractedC · doctorA · thatB
- 2 AA-BCC-B unaisyA · crazyA · casey · patB · fasterC · plasterC · doctor · thatB
- 3 AAAB---B anticA · romanticA · franticA · atB · aleck · oxalic · doctor · thatB
- 4 AAABCC-B anotherA · motherA · brotherA · tatB · sisterC · blisterC · doctor · thatB
- 5 ---ABB-A flunkey · monkey · donkey · thatA · sirB · sirB · doctor · thatA
- 6 -AABCC-B pompous · bumpusA · rumpusA · natB · notionC · lotionC · doctor · thatB
- 7 AAABCC-B servantA · ferventA · derwentA · flatB · sirC · sirC · doctor · thatB
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 trimeter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| There once was a Doctor, | 6 | ····/˘ |
| (No foe to the proctor,) | 6 | ····/˘ |
| A physic concocter, | 6 | ·/˘˘/˘ |
| Whose dose was so pat, | 5 | ····· |
| However it acted, | 6 | ·/˘·/˘ |
| One speech it extracted,-- | 6 | ···˘/˘ |
| “Yes, yes,” said the doctor, | 6 | ····/˘ |
| “I meant it for that!” | 5 | ····· |
| And first, all “unaisy,” | 6 | ······ |
| Like woman that’s crazy, | 6 | ·/˘·/˘ |
| In flies Mistress Casey, | 6 | ··/˘/˘ |
| “Do come to poor Pat | 5 | ····· |
| The blood’s running faster! | 6 | ··/˘/˘ |
| He’s torn off the plaster--” | 6 | ····/˘ |
| “Yes, yes,” said the Doctor, | 6 | ····/˘ |
| “I meant it for that!” | 5 | ····· |
| Anon, with an antic, | 6 | ˘/··/˘ |
| Quite strange and romantic, | 6 | ···˘/˘ |
| A woman comes frantic-- | 6 | ·/˘·/˘ |
| “What could you be at? | 5 | ····· |
| My darling dear Aleck, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| You’ve sent him oxalic!” | 6 | ···˘/˘ |
| “Yes, yes,” said the Doctor, | 6 | ····/˘ |
| “I meant it for that!” | 5 | ····· |
| Then in comes another, | 6 | ···˘/˘ |
| Dispatch’d by his mother, | 6 | ˘/··/˘ |
| A blubbering brother, | 6 | ·/˘˘/˘ |
| Who gives a rat-tat-- | 5 | ····· |
| “Oh, poor little sister | 6 | ··/˘/˘ |
| Has lick’d off a blister!” | 6 | ····/˘ |
| “Yes, yes,” said the Doctor, | 6 | ····/˘ |
| “I meant it for that!” | 5 | ····· |
| Now home comes the flunkey, | 6 | ······ |
| His own powder-monkey, | 6 | ··/˘/˘ |
| But dull as a donkey-- | 6 | ····/˘ |
| With basket and that-- | 5 | ·/˘·· |
| “The draught for the Squire, Sir, | 6 | ······ |
| He chuck’d in the fire, Sir--” | 7 | ····/˘· |
| “Yes, yes,” said the Doctor, | 6 | ····/˘ |
| “I meant it for that!” | 5 | ····· |
| The next is the pompous | 6 | ····/˘ |
| Head Beadle, old Bumpus-- | 6 | ·/˘·/˘ |
| “Lord! here is a rumpus: | 6 | ····/˘ |
| That pauper, Old Nat, | 5 | ·/˘·· |
| In some drunken notion | 6 | ··/˘/˘ |
| Has drunk up his lotion--” | 6 | ····/˘ |
| “Yes, yes,” said the Doctor, | 6 | ····/˘ |
| “I meant it for that!” | 5 | ····· |
| At last comes a servant, | 6 | ····/˘ |
| In grief very fervent: | 6 | ··/˘/˘ |
| “Alas! Doctor Derwent, | 6 | ˘//˘·· |
| Poor Master is flat! | 5 | ·/˘·· |
| He’s drawn his last breath, Sir-- | 6 | ······ |
| That dose was his death, Sir.” | 6 | ······ |
| “Yes, yes,” said the Doctor, | 6 | ····/˘ |
| “I meant it for that!” | 5 | ····· |
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.