III. A Parental Ode to My Son, Aged Three Years and Five Months
Thou happy, happy elf!(But stop,--first let me kiss away that tear)--Thou tiny image of myself!(My love, he's poking peas into his ear!)Thou merry, laughing sprite!With spirits feather-light,Untouch'd by sorrow, and unsoil'd by sin--(Good heav'ns! the child is swallowing a pin!)
Thou little tricksy Puck!With antic toys so funnily bestuck,Light as the singing bird that wings the air--(The door! the door! he'll tumble down the stair!)
Thou darling of thy sire!(Why, Jane, he'll set his pinafore a-fire!)Thou imp of mirth and joy!In Love's dear chain so strong and bright a link,Thou idol of thy parents--(Drat the boy!There goes my ink!)
Thou cherub--but of earth;Fit playfellow for Fays, by moonlight pale,In harmless sport and mirth,(That dog will bite him if he pulls its tail!)Thou human humming-bee, extracting honeyFrom ev'ry blossom in the world that blows,Singing in Youth's Elysium ever sunny,(Another tumble!--that's his precious nose!)
Thy father's pride and hope!(He'll break the mirror with that skipping-rope!)With pure heart newly stamp'd from Nature's mint--(Where did he learn that squint?)Thou young domestic dove!(He'll have that jug off, with another shove!)Dear nurseling of the hymeneal nest!(Are those torn clothes his best?)Little epitome of man!(He'll climb upon the table, that's his plan!)Touch'd with the beauteous tints of dawning life--(He's got a knife!)
Thou enviable being!No storms, no clouds, in thy blue sky foreseeing,Play on, play on,My elfin John!Toss the light ball--bestride the stick--(I knew so many cakes would make him sick!)With fancies, buoyant as the thistle-down,Prompting the face grotesque, and antic brisk,With many a lamb-like frisk,(He's got the scissors, snipping at your gown!)Thou pretty opening rose!(Go to your mother, child, and wipe your nose!)
Balmy and breathing music like the South,(He really brings my heart into my mouth!)Fresh as the morn, and brilliant as its star,--(I wish that window had an iron bar!)Bold as the hawk, yet gentle as the dove,--(I'll tell you what, my love,I cannot write, unless he's sent above!)
Words in this poem 20
- poking a.
- Drudging; servile.
- sprite n.
- A spirit; a soul; a shade; also, an apparition. See Spright. [OE. sprit, F. esprit, fr. L. spiritus. See Spirit, and cf. Sprightly.]
- tricksy a.
- Exhibiting artfulness; trickish. [From Trick.]
- puck n.
- A celebrated fairy, [OE. pouke; cf. OSw. puke, Icel. puki an evil demon, W. pwca a hobgoblin. Cf. Poker a bugbear, Pug.]
- antic v. t.
- To make appear like a buffoon.
- sire n.
- A lord, master, or other person in authority. See Sir. [F. sire, originally, an older person. See Sir.]
- jane n.
- A coin of Genoa; any small coin. [LL. Janua Genoa; L. Genua, also OE. Jean.]
- pinafore n.
- An apron for a child to protect the front part of dress; a tier. [Pin + afore.]
- idol n.
- An image or representation of anything. [OE. idole, F. idole, L. idolum, fr. Gr. Wit, and cf. Eidolon.]
- cherub n.
- A mysterious composite being, the winged footstool and chariot of the Almighty, described in Ezekiel i. and x. [Heb. kerub.]
- playfellow n.
- A companion in amusements or sports; a playmate.
- elysium n.
- A dwelling place assigned to happy souls after death; the seat of future happiness; Paradise.
- sunny a.
- Of or pertaining to the sun; proceeding from, or resembling the sun; hence, shining; bright; brilliant; radiant.
- hymeneal a.
- Of or pertaining to marriage; as, hymeneal rites. [L. hymeneius, a., also Hymenaeus, n., Hymen, Gr. hyménéal, hyménéen.]
- beauteous a.
- Full of beauty; beautiful; very handsome. [Mostly poetic] -- Beau"te*ous*ly, adv. --
- enviable a.
- Fitted to excite envy; capable of awakening an ardent desire to posses or to resemble. [From Envy.]
- elfin a.
- Relating to elves.
- bestride v. t.
- To stand or sit with anything between the legs, or with the legs astride; to stand over That horse that thou so often hast bestrid. [AS. bestridan; pref. be- + stridan to stride.]
- balmy a.
- Having the qualities of balm; odoriferous; aromatic; assuaging; soothing; refreshing; mild.
- morn n.
- The first part of the day; the morning; -- used chiefly in poetry. [OE. morwen, morgen, AS. morgen; akin to D. morgen, OS. morgan, G. morgen, Icel. morginn, morgunn, Sw. morgon, Dan. morgen, Goth. maúrgins. Cf. Morrow, Morning.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
III. A Parental Ode to My Son, Aged Three Years and Five Months 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, III. A Parental Ode to My Son, Aged Three Years and Five Months, 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/iii-a-parental-ode-to-my-son-aged-three-years-and-five-month.html, id L20180.
Form and metre
III. A Parental Ode to My Son, Aged Three Years and Five Months is 57 lines in 7 verse paragraphs. It is in rhyming couplets, 63% of the lines: heroic couplets. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 90%).
See other poems in heroic couplets, other poems in iambic pentameter.
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 ABABCCDD elfA · tearB · myselfA · earB · spriteC · lightC · sinD · pinD
- 2 AABB puckA · bestuckA · airB · stairB
- 3 AABCBC sireA · fireA · joyB · linkC · boyB · inkC
- 4 ABABCDCD earthA · paleB · mirthA · tailB · honeyC · blowsD · sunnyC · noseD
- 5 AABBCCDDEEFF hopeA · ropeA · mintB · squintB · doveC · shoveC · nestD · bestD · manE · planE · lifeF · knifeF
- 6 AABBCCDEEDFF beingA · foreseeingA · onB · johnB · stickC · sickC · downD · briskE · friskE · gownD · roseF · noseF
- 7 AABBCCC southA · mouthA · starB · barB · doveC · loveC · aboveC
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 pentameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Thou happy, happy elf! | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| (But stop,--first let me kiss away that tear)-- | 10 | ······˘/·· |
| Thou tiny image of myself! | 8 | ·/˘/˘··/ |
| (My love, he's poking peas into his ear!) | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Thou merry, laughing sprite! | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| With spirits feather-light, | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| Untouch'd by sorrow, and unsoil'd by sin-- | 10 | ˘/·/˘····· |
| (Good heav'ns! the child is swallowing a pin!) | 10 | ·····/˘˘·· |
| Thou little tricksy Puck! | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| With antic toys so funnily bestuck, | 10 | ·/˘·····˘/ |
| Light as the singing bird that wings the air-- | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| (The door! the door! he'll tumble down the stair!) | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Thou darling of thy sire! | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| (Why, Jane, he'll set his pinafore a-fire!) | 11 | ·····/˘˘·/˘ |
| Thou imp of mirth and joy! | 6 | ······ |
| In Love's dear chain so strong and bright a link, | 10 | ·········· |
| Thou idol of thy parents--(Drat the boy! | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| There goes my ink!) | 4 | ···· |
| Thou cherub--but of earth; | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Fit playfellow for Fays, by moonlight pale, | 9 | ·/˘···/·· |
| In harmless sport and mirth, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| (That dog will bite him if he pulls its tail!) | 10 | ·········· |
| Thou human humming-bee, extracting honey | 11 | ·/˘/˘·˘/˘/˘ |
| From ev'ry blossom in the world that blows, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Singing in Youth's Elysium ever sunny, | 11 | /˘··˘/˘˘//˘ |
| (Another tumble!--that's his precious nose!) | 10 | ˘/˘/˘··/˘· |
| Thy father's pride and hope! | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| (He'll break the mirror with that skipping-rope!) | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| With pure heart newly stamp'd from Nature's mint-- | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| (Where did he learn that squint?) | 6 | ······ |
| Thou young domestic dove! | 6 | ··˘/˘· |
| (He'll have that jug off, with another shove!) | 10 | ······˘/˘· |
| Dear nurseling of the hymeneal nest! | 10 | ·········· |
| (Are those torn clothes his best?) | 6 | ······ |
| Little epitome of man! | 8 | /˘˘/˘˘·· |
| (He'll climb upon the table, that's his plan!) | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Touch'd with the beauteous tints of dawning life-- | 11 | ···/˘˘··/˘· |
| (He's got a knife!) | 4 | ···· |
| Thou enviable being! | 7 | ·/˘˘˘/˘ |
| No storms, no clouds, in thy blue sky foreseeing, | 11 | ········˘/˘ |
| Play on, play on, | 4 | ···· |
| My elfin John! | 4 | ·/˘· |
| Toss the light ball--bestride the stick-- | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| (I knew so many cakes would make him sick!) | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| With fancies, buoyant as the thistle-down, | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| Prompting the face grotesque, and antic brisk, | 10 | /˘··˘/·/˘· |
| With many a lamb-like frisk, | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| (He's got the scissors, snipping at your gown!) | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| Thou pretty opening rose! | 7 | ·/˘/˘˘· |
| (Go to your mother, child, and wipe your nose!) | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Balmy and breathing music like the South, | 10 | /˘·/˘/˘··· |
| (He really brings my heart into my mouth!) | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Fresh as the morn, and brilliant as its star,-- | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| (I wish that window had an iron bar!) | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Bold as the hawk, yet gentle as the dove,-- | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| (I'll tell you what, my love, | 6 | ······ |
| I cannot write, unless he's sent above!) | 10 | ·/˘······· |
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.