Laurel · Thomas Hood · The Song of the Shirt, and Other Poems

A Pathetic Ballad

Thomas Hood (1799–1845) · 1826–1845

common measure · 68 lines · from The Song of the Shirt, and Other Poems

Ben Battle was a soldier bold,And used to war's alarms;But a cannon-ball took off his legs,So he laid down his arms!

Now as they bore him off the field,Said he, "Let others shoot,For here I leave my second leg,And the Forty-second Foot!"

The army-surgeons made him limbs:Said he,--"They're only pegs:But there's as wooden members quite,As represent my legs!"

Now Ben he loved a pretty maid,Her name was Nelly Gray;So he went to pay her his devours,When he'd devour'd his pay!

But when he called on Nelly Gray,She made him quite a scoff;And when she saw his wooden legs,Began to take them off!

"O, Nelly Gray! O, Nelly Gray!Is this your love so warm?The love that loves a scarlet coatShould be more uniform!"

Said she, "I loved a soldier once,For he was blithe and brave;But I will never have a manWith both legs in the grave!"

"Before you had those timber toes,Your love I did allow,But then, you know, you stand uponAnother footing now!"

"O, Nelly Gray! O, Nelly Gray!For all your jeering speeches,At duty's call, I left my legsIn Badajos's breaches!"

"Why, then," said she, "you've lost the feetOf legs in war's alarms,And now you cannot wear your shoesUpon your feats of arms!"

"O, false and fickle Nelly Gray!I know why you refuse:--Though I've no feet--some other manIs standing in my shoes!"

"I wish I ne'er had seen your face;But, now, a long farewell!For you will be my death:--alas!You will not be my Nell!"

Now when he went from Nelly Gray,His heart so heavy got--And life was such a burthen grown,It made him take a knot!

So round his melancholy neckA rope he did entwine,And, for his second time in life,Enlisted in the Line!

One end he tied around a beam,And then removed his pegs,And, as his legs were off,--of course,He soon was off his legs!

And there he hung, till he was deadAs any nail in town,--For though distress had cut him up,It could not cut him down!

A dozen men sat on his corpse,To find out why he died--And they buried Ben in four cross-roads,With a stake in his inside!

Words in this poem

went n.: Course; way; path; journey; direction.
blithe a.: Gay; merry; sprightly; joyous; glad; cheerful; as, a blithe spirit. [AS. bli blithe, kind; akin to Goth. blei kind, Icel. bli mild, gentle, Dan. & Sw. blid gentle, D. blijd blithe, OHG. blidi kind, blithe.]
jeering a.: Mocking; scoffing.
entwine v. t.: To twine, twist, or wreathe together or round. [Pref. en- + twine. Cf. Intwine.]
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

A Pathetic Ballad is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Poetical Works of Thomas Hood, Project Gutenberg ebook #15652; 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 Pathetic Ballad, in The Song of the Shirt, and Other Poems (1826–1845), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #15652, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/hood-poetical-works/a-pathetic-ballad.html, id L20136.

Form and metre

A Pathetic Ballad is 68 lines in 17 stanzas of 4 lines each. The metre is common measure, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 94%).

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 -A-A bold · alarms^A · legs · arms^A
3 -A-A limbs · pegs^A · quite · legs^A
4 -A-A maid · gray^A · devours · pay^A
5 -A-A gray · scoff^A · legs · off^A
6 -A-A gray · warm^A · coat · uniform^A
7 -A-A once · brave^A · man · grave^A
8 -A-A toes · allow^A · upon · now^A
9 -A-A gray · speeches^A · legs · breaches^A
10 -A-A feet · alarms^A · shoes · arms^A
11 -A-A gray · refuse^A · man · shoes^A
12 -A-A face · farewell^A · alas · nell^A
13 -A-A gray · got^A · grown · knot^A
14 -A-A neck · entwine^A · life · line^A
15 -A-A beam · pegs^A · course · legs^A
16 -A-A dead · town^A · up · down^A
17 -A-A corpse · died^A · roads · inside^A

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
Ben Battle was a soldier bold,	8	·/˘··/˘·
And used to war's alarms;	6	····˘/
But a cannon-ball took off his legs,	9	··/˘·····
So he laid down his arms!	6	······
Now as they bore him off the field,	8	········
Said he, "Let others shoot,	6	···/˘·
For here I leave my second leg,	8	·····/˘·
And the Forty-second Foot!"	7	··/˘/˘·
The army-surgeons made him limbs:	8	·/˘/˘···
Said he,--"They're only pegs:	6	···/˘·
But there's as wooden members quite,	8	···/˘/˘·
As represent my legs!"	6	··˘/··
Now Ben he loved a pretty maid,	8	·····/˘·
Her name was Nelly Gray;	6	···/˘·
So he went to pay her his devours,	10	·······˘/˘
When he'd devour'd his pay!	7	··˘/˘··
But when he called on Nelly Gray,	8	·····/˘·
She made him quite a scoff;	6	······
And when she saw his wooden legs,	8	·····/˘·
Began to take them off!	6	˘/····
"O, Nelly Gray! O, Nelly Gray!	8	·/˘··/˘·
Is this your love so warm?	6	······
The love that loves a scarlet coat	8	·····/˘·
Should be more uniform!"	6	···/˘·
Said she, "I loved a soldier once,	8	·····/˘·
For he was blithe and brave;	6	······
But I will never have a man	8	···/˘···
With both legs in the grave!"	6	······
"Before you had those timber toes,	8	·····/˘·
Your love I did allow,	6	····˘/
But then, you know, you stand upon	8	········
Another footing now!"	6	˘/˘/˘·
"O, Nelly Gray! O, Nelly Gray!	8	·/˘··/˘·
For all your jeering speeches,	7	···/˘/˘
At duty's call, I left my legs	8	·/˘·····
In Badajos's breaches!"	6	····/˘
"Why, then," said she, "you've lost the feet	8	········
Of legs in war's alarms,	6	····˘/
And now you cannot wear your shoes	8	···/˘···
Upon your feats of arms!"	6	······
"O, false and fickle Nelly Gray!	8	···/˘/˘·
I know why you refuse:--	6	····˘/
Though I've no feet--some other man	8	·····/˘·
Is standing in my shoes!"	6	·/˘···
"I wish I ne'er had seen your face;	8	········
But, now, a long farewell!	6	·····/
For you will be my death:--alas!	8	······˘/
You will not be my Nell!"	6	······
Now when he went from Nelly Gray,	8	·····/˘·
His heart so heavy got--	6	···/˘·
And life was such a burthen grown,	8	·····/˘·
It made him take a knot!	6	······
So round his melancholy neck	8	···/˘·˘·
A rope he did entwine,	6	····˘/
And, for his second time in life,	8	···/˘···
Enlisted in the Line!	6	˘/˘···
One end he tied around a beam,	8	········
And then removed his pegs,	6	··˘/··
And, as his legs were off,--of course,	8	········
He soon was off his legs!	6	······
And there he hung, till he was dead	8	········
As any nail in town,--	6	·/˘···
For though distress had cut him up,	8	··˘/····
It could not cut him down!	6	······
A dozen men sat on his corpse,	8	·/˘·····
To find out why he died--	6	······
And they buried Ben in four cross-roads,	9	··/˘·····
With a stake in his inside!	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.

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