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

The Irish Schoolmaster

Thomas Hood (1799–1845) · 1826–1845

iambic pentameter · 261 lines · from The Song of the Shirt, and Other Poems

Alack! 'tis melancholy theme to thinkHow Learning doth in rugged states abide,And, like her bashful owl, obscurely blink,In pensive glooms and corners, scarcely spied;Not, as in Founders' Halls and domes of pride,Served with grave homage, like a tragic queen,But with one lonely priest compell'd to hide,In midst of foggy moors and mosses green,In that clay cabin hight the College of Kilreen!

This College looketh South and West alsoe,Because it hath a cast in windows twain;Crazy and crack'd they be, and wind doth blowThrough transparent holes in every pane,Which Pan, with many paines, makes whole againWith nether garments, which his thrift doth teachTo stand for glass, like pronouns, and when rainStormeth, he puts, "once more unto the breach,"Outside and in, tho' broke, yet so he mendeth each.

And in the midst a little door there is,Whereon a board that doth congratulateWith painted letters, red as blood I wis,Thus written,And oft, indeed, the inward of that gate,Most ventriloque, doth utter tender squeak,And moans of infants that bemoan their fate,In midst of sounds of Latin, French, and Greek,Which, all i' the Irish tongue, he teacheth them to speak.

For some are meant to right illegal wrongs,And some for Doctors of Divinitie,Whom he doth teach to murder the dead tongues,And soe win academical degree;But some are bred for service of the sea,Howbeit, their store of learning is but small,For mickle waste he counteth it would beTo stock a head with bookish wares at all,Only to be knock'd off by ruthless cannon-ball.

Six babes he sways,--some little and some big,Divided into classes six; alsoe,He keeps a parlor boarder of a pig,That in the College fareth to and fro,And picketh up the urchins' crumbs below,And eke the learned rudiments they scan,And thus his A, B, C, doth wisely know,--Hereafter to be shown in caravan,And raise the wonderment of many a learned man.

Alsoe, he schools some tame familiar fowls,Whereof, above his head, some two or threeSit darkly squatting, like Minerva's owls,But on the branches of no living tree,And overlook the learned family;While, sometimes, Partlet, from her gloomy perch,Drops feather on the nose of Dominie,Meanwhile, with serious eye, he makes researchIn leaves of that sour tree of knowledge--now a birch.

No chair he hath, the awful Pedagogue,Such as would magisterial hams imbed,But sitteth lowly on a beechen log,Secure in high authority and dread:Large, as a dome for Learning, seems his head,And, like Apollo's, all beset with rays,Because his locks are so unkempt and red,And stand abroad in many several ways:--No laurel crown he wears, howbeit his cap is baize.

And, underneath, a pair of shaggy browsO'erhang as many eyes of gizzard hue,That inward giblet of a fowl, which showsA mongrel tint, that is ne brown ne blue;His nose,--it is a coral to the view;Well nourish'd with Pierian Potheen,--For much he loves his native mountain dew;--But to depict the dye would lack, I ween,A bottle-red, in terms, as well as bottle-green.

As for his coat, 'tis such a jerkin shortAs Spenser had, ere he composed his Tales;But underneath he hath no vest, nor aught,So that the wind his airy breast assails;Below, he wears the nether garb of males,Of crimson plush, but non-plushed at the knee;--Thence further down the native red prevails,Of his own naked fleecy hosierie:--Two sandals, without soles, complete his cap-a-pie.

Nathless, for dignity, he now doth lapHis function in a magisterial gown,That shows more countries in it than a map,--Blue tinct, and red, and green, and russet brown,Besides some blots, standing for country-town;And eke some rents, for streams and rivers wide;But, sometimes, bashful when he looks adown,He turns the garment of the other side,Hopeful that so the holes may never be espied!

And soe he sits, amidst the little pack,That look for shady or for sunny noon,Within his visage, like an almanack,--His quiet smile foretelling gracious boon:But when his mouth droops down, like rainy moon,With horrid chill each little heart unwarms,Knowing that infant show'rs will follow soon,And with forebodings of near wrath and stormsThey sit, like timid hares, all trembling on their forms.

Ah! luckless wight, who cannot then repeat"Corduroy Colloquy,"--or "Ki, Kae, Kod,"--Full soon his tears shall make his turfy seatMore sodden, tho' already made of sod,For Dan shall whip him with the word of God,--Severe by rule, and not by nature mild,He never spoils the child and spares the rod,But spoils the rod and never spares the child,And soe with holy rule deems he is reconcil'd.

But, surely, the just sky will never winkAt men who take delight in childish throe,And stripe the nether-urchin like a pinkOr tender hyacinth, inscribed with woe;Such bloody Pedagogues, when they shall know,By useless birches, that forlorn recess,Which is no holiday, in Pit below,Will hell not seem design'd for their distress,--A melancholy place, that is all bottomlesse?

Yet would the Muse not chide the wholesome useOf needful discipline, in due degree.Devoid of sway, what wrongs will time produce,Whene'er the twig untrained grows up a tree.This shall a Carder, that a Whiteboy be,Ferocious leaders of atrocious bands,And Learning's help be used for infamie,By lawless clerks, that, with their bloody hands,In murder'd English write Rock's murderous commands.

But ah! what shrilly cry doth now alarmThe sooty fowls that dozed upon the beam,All sudden fluttering from the brandish'd arm,And cackling chorus with the human scream;Meanwhile, the scourge plies that unkindly seamIn Phelim's brogues, which bares his naked skin,Like traitor gap in warlike fort, I deem,That falsely lets the fierce besieger in,Nor seeks the Pedagogue by other course to win.

No parent dear he hath to heed his cries;--Alas! his parent dear is far aloof,And deep in Seven-Dial cellar lies,Killed by kind cudgel-play, or gin of proof,Or climbeth, catwise, on some London roof,Singing, perchance, a lay of Erin's Isle,Or, whilst he labors, weaves a fancy-woof,Dreaming he sees his home,--his Phelim smile;--Ah me! that luckless imp, who weepeth all the while!

Ah! who can paint that hard and heavy time,When first the scholar lists in Learning's train,And mounts her rugged steep, enforc'd to climb,Like sooty imp, by sharp posterior pain,From bloody twig, and eke that Indian cane,Wherein, alas! no sugar'd juices dwell,For this, the while one stripling's sluices drain,Another weepeth over chilblains fell,Always upon the heel, yet never to be well!

Anon a third, for his delicious root,Late ravish'd from his tooth by elder chit,So soon is human violence afoot,So hardly is the harmless biter bit!Meanwhile, the tyrant, with untimely witAnd mouthing face, derides the small one's moan,Who, all lamenting for his loss, doth sit,Alack,--mischance comes seldomtimes alone,But aye the worried dog must rue more curs than one.

For lo! the Pedagogue, with sudden drub,Smites his scald-head, that is already sore,--Superfluous wound,--such is Misfortune's rub!Who straight makes answer with redoubled roar,And sheds salt tears twice faster than before,That still, with backward fist, he strives to dry;Washing, with brackish moisture, o'er and o'er,His muddy cheek, that grows more foul thereby,Till all his rainy face looks grim as rainy sky.

So Dan, by dint of noise, obtains a peace,And with his natural untender knack,By new distress, bids former grievance cease,Like tears dried up with rugged huckaback,That sets the mournful visage all awrack;Yet soon the childish countenance will shineEven as thorough storms the soonest slack,For grief and beef in adverse ways incline,This keeps, and that decays, when duly soak'd in brine.

Now all is hushed, and, with a look profound,The Dominie lays ope the learned page;(So be it called) although he doth expoundWithout a book, both Greek and Latin sage;Now telleth he of Rome's rude infant age,How Romulus was bred in savage wood,By wet-nurse wolf, devoid of wolfish rage;And laid foundation-stone of walls of mud,But watered it, alas! with warm fraternal blood.

Anon, he turns to that Homeric war,How Troy was sieged like Londonderry town;And stout Achilles, at his jaunting-car,Dragged mighty Hector with a bloody crown;And eke the bard, that sung of their renown,In garb of Greece, most beggar-like and torn,He paints, with colly, wand'ring up and down,Because, at once, in seven cities born;And so, of parish rights, was, all his days, forlorn.

Anon, through old Mythology he goes,Of Gods defunct, and all their pedigrees,But shuns their scandalous amours, and showsHow Plato wise, and clear-ey'd Socrates,Confess'd not to those heathen hes and shes;But thro' the clouds of the Olympic copeBeheld St. Peter, with his holy keys,And own'd their love was naught, and bow'd to Pope,Whilst all their purblind race in Pagan mist did grope!

From such quaint themes he turns, at last, aside,To new philosophies, that still are green,And shows what railroads have been track'd, to guideThe wheels of great political machine;If English corn should grow abroad, I ween,And gold be made of gold, or paper sheet;How many pigs be born to each spalpeen;And, ah! how man shall thrive beyond his meat,--With twenty souls alive, to one square sod of peat!

Here, he makes end; and all the fry of youth,That stood around with serious look intense,Close up again their gaping eyes and mouth,Which they had opened to his eloquence,As if their hearing were a threefold sense.But now the current of his words is done,And whether any fruits shall spring from thence,In future time, with any mother's son,It is a thing, God wot! that can be told by none.

Now by the creeping shadows of the noon,The hour is come to lay aside their lore;The cheerful Pedagogue perceives it soon,And cries, "Begone!" unto the imps,--and fourSnatch their two hats and struggle for the door,Like ardent spirits vented from a cask,All blithe and boisterous,--but leave two more,With Reading made Uneasy for a task,To weep, whilst all their mates in merry sunshine bask,

Like sportive Elfins, on the verdant sod,With tender moss so sleekly overgrown,That doth not hurt, but kiss, the sole unshod,So soothly kind is Erin to her own!And one, at Hare and Hound, plays all alone,--For Phelim's gone to tend his step-dame's cow;Ah! Phelim's step-dame is a canker'd crone!Whilst other twain play at an Irish row,And, with shillelah small, break one another's brow!

But careful Dominie, with ceaseless thrift,Now changeth ferula for rural hoe;But, first of all, with tender hand doth shiftHis college gown, because of solar glow,And hangs it on a bush, to scare the crow:Meanwhile, he plants in earth the dappled bean,Or trains the young potatoes all a-row,Or plucks the fragrant leek for pottage green,With that crisp curly herb, call'd Kale in Aberdeen.

And so he wisely spends the fruitful hours,Linked each to each by labor, like a bee;Or rules in Learning's hall, or trims her bow'rs;--Would there were many more such wights as he,To sway each capital academieOf Cam and Isis; for, alack! at eachThere dwells, I wot, some dronish Dominie,That does no garden work, nor yet doth teach,But wears a floury head, and talks in flow'ry speech!

Words in this poem 102

alack interj.: An exclamation expressive of sorrow. [Prob. from ah! lack! OE. lak loss, failure, misfortune. See Lack.]
bashful a.: Abashed; daunted; dismayed. [See Bash.]
blink v. i.: To wink; to twinkle with, or as with, the eye. [OE. blenken; akin to dan. blinke, Sw. blinka, G. blinken to shine, glance, wink, twinkle, D. blinken to shine; and prob. to D. blikken to glance, twinkle, G. bl]
hight v. t.: To be called or named. [OE. heiten, highten, haten, hoten; also hight, hatte, hette, is called, was called, AS. hatan to call, name, be called, to command, promise; also hatte is calle]
twain a.: Two;- nearly obsolete in common discourse, but used in poetry and burlesque. [OE. twein, tweien, tweyne, AS. twegen, masc. See Two.]
pane n.: The narrow edge of a hammer head. See Peen. [F. panne.]
nether a.: Situated down or below; lying beneath, or in the lower part; having a lower position; belonging to the region below; lower; under; -- opposed to upper. [OE. nethere, neithere, AS. ni, fr. the adv. ni downward; akin to neo below, beneath, D. neder down, G. nieder, Sw. nedre below, nether, a. & adv., and also to S]
broke v. i.: To transact business for another. Brome. [See Broker, and cf. Brook.]
whereon adv.: On which; -- used relatively; as, the earth whereon we live.
congratulate v. t.: To address with expressions of sympathetic pleasure on account of some happy event affecting the person addressed; to wish joy to. [L. congratulatus, p.p. of congratulari to wish joy abundantly; con- + gratulari to wish joy, from gratus pleasing. See Grateful.]
squeak v. i.: To utter a sharp, shrill cry, usually of short duration; to cry with an acute tone, as an animal; or, to make a sharp, disagreeable noise, as a pipe or quill, a wagon wheel, a door; to creak. [Probably of imitative origin; cf. Sw. sqväka to croak, Icel. skvakka to give a sound as of water shaken in a bottle.]
bemoan v. t.: To express deep grief for by moaning; to express sorrow for; to lament; to bewail; to pity or sympathize with. [OE. bimenen, AS. bem; pref. be- + m to moan. See Moan.]
howbeit conj.: Be it as it may; nevertheless; notwithstanding; although; albeit; yet; but; however. [How + be + it.]
mickle a.: Much; great. [Old Eng. & Scot.] [OE. mikel, muchel, mochel, mukel, AS. micel, mycel; akin to OS. mikil, OHG. mihil, mihhil, Icel. mikill, mykill, Goth. mikils, L. magnus, Gr. mahat. sq. root103]
bookish a.: Given to reading; fond of study; better acquainted with books than with men; learned from books.
ruthless a.: Having no ruth; cruel; pitiless.
boarder n.: One who has food statedly at another's table, or meals and lodgings in his house, for pay, or compensation of any kind.
scan v. t.: To mount by steps; to go through with step by step. [L. scandere, scansum, to climb, to scan, akin to Skr. skand to spring, leap: cf. F. scander. Cf. Ascend, Descend, Scale a ladder.]
hereafter adv.: In time to come; in some future time or state. [AS. hræfter.]
wonderment n.: Surprise; astonishment; a wonderful appearance; a wonder.
whereof adv.: Of which; of whom; formerly, also, with which; -- used relatively.
partlet n.: A covering for the neck, and sometimes for the shoulders and breast; originally worn by both sexes, but laterby women alone; a ruff. Fuller. [Dim. of part.]
dominie n.: A schoolmaster; a pedagogue. [L. dominus master. See Don, Dame.]
meanwhile n.: The intervening time; as, in the meantime (or mean time).
imbed v. t.: To sink or lay, as in a bed; to deposit in a partly inclosing mass, as of clay or mortar; to cover, as with earth, sand, etc. [Pref. im- in + bed. Cf. Embed.]
beechen a.: Consisting, or made, of the wood or bark of the beech; belonging to the beech. [AS. b.]
unkempt a.: Not combed; disheveled; as, an urchin with unkempt hair. [Pref. un- not + kempt, p. p. of kemb.]
baize n.: A coarse woolen stuff with a long nap; -- usually dyed in plain colors. [For bayes, pl. fr. OF. baie; cf. F. bai bay-colored. See Bay a color.]
gizzard n.: The second, or true, muscular stomach of birds, in which the food is crushed and ground, after being softened in the glandular stomach (crop), or lower part of the esophagus; the gigerium. [F. gésier, L. gigeria, pl., the cooked entrails of poultry. Cf. Gigerium.]
giblet a.: Made of giblets; as, a giblet pie.
pierian a.: Of or pertaining to Pierides or Muses. [L. Pierius, from Mount Pierus, in Thessaly, sacred to the Muses.]
ween v. i.: To think; to imagine; to fancy. [OE. wenen, AS. w, fr. w hope, expectation, opinion; akin to D. waan, OFries. w, OS. & OHG. wan, G. wahn delusion, Icel. van hope, expectation, Goth. w, and D. w]
jerkin n.: A jacket or short coat; a close waistcoat. [Dim. of D. jurk a frock.]
vest n.: An article of clothing covering the person; an outer garment; a vestment; a dress; a vesture; a robe. [L. vestis a garment, vesture; akin to Goth. wasti, and E. wear: cf. F. veste. See Wear to carry on the person, and cf. Divest, Invest, Travesty.]
aught n.: Property; possession. [AS. , fr. agan to own, p. p. ahte.]
garb n.: External appearance, as expressive of the feelings or character; looks; fashion or manner, as of speech. [OF. garbe looks, countenance, grace, ornament, fr. OHG. garawi, garwi, ornament, dress. akin to E. gear. See Gear, n.]
plush n.: A textile fabric with a nap or shag on one side, longer and softer than the nap of velvet. [F. pluche, peluche (cf. It. peluzzo), fr. L. pilus hair. See pile hair, and cf. Peruke.]
fleecy a.: Covered with, made of, or resembling, a fleece.
nathless adv.: Nevertheless. Chaucer. Milton. E. Arnold. [OE. natheles, na the les, not the less, AS. na never. See Na, The, conj., and cf. Nevertheless.]
tinct n.: Color; tinge; tincture; tint. [See Tint.]
adown adv.: From a higher to a lower situation; downward; down, to or on the ground. [OE. adun, adoun, adune. AS. of dune off the hill. See Down.]
hopeful a.: Full of hope, or agreeable expectation; inclined to hope; expectant.
amidst prep.: In the midst or middle of; surrounded or encompassed by; among. [OE. amidde, amiddes, on midden, AS. on middan, in the middle, fr. midde the middle. The s is an adverbial ending, originally marking the genitive; the t is a la]
sunny a.: Of or pertaining to the sun; proceeding from, or resembling the sun; hence, shining; bright; brilliant; radiant.
visage n.: The face, countenance, or look of a person or an animal; -- chiefly applied to the human face. [F. visage, from L. visus a seeing, a look, fr. videre, visum, to see. See Vision.]
boon n.: A prayer or petition. [OE. bone, boin, a petition, fr. Icel. b; akin to Sw. & Dan. b, AS. b, and perh. to E. ban; but influenced by F. bon good, fr. L. bonus. Ban, Bounty.]
horrid a.: Rough; rugged; bristling. [L. horridus. See Horror, and cf. Ordure.]
luckless a.: Being without luck; unpropitious; unfortunate; unlucky; meeting with ill success or bad fortune; as, a luckless gamester; a luckless maid.
wight n.: A whit; a bit; a jot. [OE. wight, wiht, a wight, a whit, AS. wiht, wuht, a creature, a thing; skin to D. wicht a child, OS. & OHG. wiht a creature, thing, G. wicht a creature, Icel. v]
corduroy n.: A sort of cotton velveteen, having the surface raised in ridges. [Prob. for F. corde du roi king's cord.]
colloquy n.: Mutual discourse of two or more persons; conference; conversation. [L. colloquium. See Collocution.]
shall v. i.: To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
throe n.: Extreme pain; violent pang; anguish; agony; especially, one of the pangs of travail in childbirth, or purturition. [OE. , , AS. a threatening, oppression, suffering, perhaps influenced by Icel. a throe, a pang, a longing; cf. AS. to suffer.]
forlorn a.: Deserted abandoned; lost. [OE., p.p. of forlesen to lose utterly, AS. forleósan (p.p. forloren); pref. for- + leósan (in comp.) to lose; cf. D. verliezen to lose, G. verlieren, Sw. förlor]
needful a.: Full of need; in need or want; needy; distressing.
carder n.: One who, or that which cards wool flax, etc.
whiteboy n.: A favorite. See White, a., 6.
shrilly a.: Somewhat shrill.
cackling n.: The broken noise of a goose or a hen.
scourge n.: A lash; a strap or cord; especially, a lash used to inflict pain or punishment; an instrument of punishment or discipline; a whip. [F. escourgée, fr. L. excoriata (sc. scutica) a stripped off (lash or whip), fr. excoriate to strip, to skin. See Excoriate.]
unkindly a.: Not kindly; unkind; ungracious.
brogues n.: Breeches. Shenstone. [Cf. Breeches.]
deem v. t.: To decide; to judge; to sentence; to condemn. [OE. demen to judge, condemn, AS. d, fr. d doom; akin to OFries. d, OS. ad, D. doemen, OHG. tuommen, Icel. dæma, Sw. dömma, Dan. dömme, Goth. d. See Doom, n., an]
besieger n.: One who besieges; -- opposed to the besieged.
isle v. t.: To cause to become an island, or like an island; to surround or encompass; to island.
dwell v. i.: To delay; to linger. [OE. dwellen, dwelien, to err, linger, AS. dwellan to deceive, hinder, delay, dwelian to err; akin to Icel. dvelja to delay, tarry, Sw. dväljas to dwell, Dan. dv]
anon adv.: Straightway; at once. [OE. anoon, anon, anan, lit., in one (moment), fr. AS. on in + an one. See On and One.]
chit n.: The embryo or the growing bud of a plant; a shoot; a sprout; as, the chits of Indian corn or of potatoes. [Cf. AS. ci shoot, sprig, from the same root as cinan to yawn. See Chink a cleft.]
biter n.: One who, or that which, bites; that which bites often, or is inclined to bite, as a dog or fish.
drub v. t.: To beat with a stick; to thrash; to cudgel. [Cf. Prov. E. drab to beat, Icel. & Sw. drabba to hit, beat, Dan. dræbe to slay, and perh. OE. drepen to strike, kill, AS. drepan to strike, G. & D. freffen to h]
scald v. t.: To burn with hot liquid or steam; to pain or injure by contact with, or imersion in, any hot fluid; as, to scald the hand. [OF. eschalder, eschauder, escauder, F. échauder, fr. L. excaldare; ex + caldus, calidus, warm, hot. See Ex, and Calderon.]
dint n.: A blow; a stroke. [OE. dint, dent, dunt, a blow, AS. dynt; akin to Icel. dyntr a dint, dynta to dint, and perh. to L. fendere (in composition). Cf. 1st Dent, Defend.]
knack v. i.: To crack; to make a sharp, abrupt noise to chink. [Obs. or Prov. [Prob. of imitative origin; cf. G. knacken to break, Dan. knage to crack, and E. knock.]
grievance n.: A cause of uneasiness and complaint; a wrong done and suffered; that which gives ground for remonstrance or resistance, as arising from injustice, tyranny, etc.; injury. [OF. grcvance. See Grieve, v. t.]
huckaback n.: A kind of linen cloth with raised figures, used for towelings. [Perh. orig., peddler's wares; cf. LG. hukkebak pickback. Cf. Huckster.]
expound v. t.: To lay open; to expose to view; to examine. [OE. exponen, expounen, expounden, fr. L. exponere to set out, expose, expound; ex out + ponere to put: cf. OE. expondre, expondre. See Position.]
wolfish a.: Like a wolf; having the qualities or form of a wolf; as, a wolfish visage; wolfish designs.
fraternal a.: Pf, pertaining to, or involving, brethren; becoming to brothers; brotherly; as, fraternal affection; a fraternal embrace. [F. fraternel, LL. fraternalis, fr. L. fraternus, fr. frater brother. See Brother.]
homeric a.: Of or pertaining to Homer, the most famous of Greek poets; resembling the poetry of Homer. Homeric verse, hexameter verse; -- so called because used by Homer in his epics.
colly n.: The black grime or soot of coal. Burton. [From Coal.]
defunct a.: Having finished the course of life; dead; deceased. [L. defunctus, p. p. of defungi to acquit one's self of, to perform, finish, depart, die; de + fungi to perform, discharge: cf. F. défunt. See Function.]
scandalous a.: Giving offense to the conscience or moral feelings; exciting reprobation; calling out condemnation. [Cf. F. scandaleux.]
quaint a.: Prudent; wise; hence, crafty; artful; wily. [OE. queint, queynte, coint, prudent, wise, cunning, pretty, odd, OF. cointe cultivated, amiable, agreeable, neat, fr. L. cognitus known, p. p. of cognoscere to ]
spalpeen n.: A scamp; an Irish term for a good-for-nothing fellow; -- often used in good-humored contempt or ridicule. [Ir. spailpin, fr. spailp a beau, pride, self- conceit.]
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.]
boisterous a.: Rough or rude; unbending; unyielding; strong; powerful. [OE. boistous; of uncertain origin; cf. W. bwyst wild, savage, wildness, ferocity, bwystus ferocious.]
sunshine n.: The light of the sun, or the place where it shines; the direct rays of the sun, the place where they fall, or the warmth and light which they give.
bask v. i.: To lie in warmth; to be exposed to genial heat. [OScand. ba to bathe one's self, or perh. bakask to bake one's self, sk being reflexive. See Bath, n., Bake, v. t.]
sleekly adv.: In a sleek manner; smoothly.
soothly adv.: In truth; truly; really; verily.
erin n.: An early, and now a poetic, name of Ireland. [Ir. Cf. Aryan.]
dame n.: A mistress of a family, who is a lady; a womam in authority; especially, a lady. [F. dame, LL. domna, fr. L. domina mistress, lady, fem. of dominus master, ruler, lord; akin to domare to tame, subdue. See Tame, and cf. Dam mother, Dan, Danger]
crone n.: An old ewe. Tusser. [OD. kronie, karonie, an old sheep, OF. carogne, F. charogne, carrion (also F. carogne illnatured woman.). See Carrion, and Crony.]
shillelah n.: An oaken sapling or cudgel; any cudgel; -- so called from Shillelagh, a place in Ireland of that name famous for its oaks.
ceaseless a.: Without pause or end; incessant.
ferula n.: A ferule. Beau. & Fl. [L. ferula giant fennel (its stalks were used in punishing schoolboys), rod, whip, fr. ferire to strike; akin to OHG. berjan, Icel. berja. Cf. Ferule.]
scare v. t.: To frighten; to strike with sudden fear; to alarm. [OE. skerren, skeren, Icel. skirra to bar, prevent, skirrask to shun , shrink from; or fr. OE. skerre, adj., scared, Icel. skjarr; both perhaps akin to E. sheer ]
dappled a.: Marked with spots of different shades of color; spotted; variegated; as, a dapple horse.
kale n.: A variety of cabbage in which the leaves do not form a head, being nearly the original or wild form of the species. [Scot. kale, kail, cale, colewort, Gael. cael; akin to Ir. cal, W. cawl, Armor. kaol. See Cole.]
isis n.: The principal goddess worshiped by the Egyptians. She was regarded as the mother of Horus, and the sister and wife of Osiris.
dronish a.: Like a drone; indolent; slow. Burke.
floury a.: Of or resembling flour; mealy; covered with flour. Dickens.

Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.

About this text

The Irish Schoolmaster 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, The Irish Schoolmaster, 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/the-irish-schoolmaster.html, id L20135.

Form and metre

The Irish Schoolmaster is 261 lines in 29 stanzas of 9 lines each. The commonest rhyme scheme is ABABBCBCC, in 13 of the 29 stanzas; the rest vary or could not be confirmed. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 91%).

See 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 ABABBCBCC think^A · abide^B · blink^A · spied^B · pride^B · queen^C · hide^B · green^C · kilreen^C
2 -A-AABABB alsoe · twain^A · blow · pane^A · again^A · teach^B · rain^A · breach^B · each^B
3 -A--ABABB is · congratulate^A · wis · written · gate^A · squeak^B · fate^A · greek^B · speak^B
4 ---AABABB wrongs · divinitie · tongues · degree^A · sea^A · small^B · be^A · all^B · ball^B
5 A-ABBCBCC big^A · alsoe · pig^A · fro^B · below^B · scan^C · know^B · caravan^C · man^C
6 ABAB-C-CC fowls^A · three^B · owls^A · tree^B · family · perch^C · dominie · research^C · birch^C
7 ABABBCBCC pedagogue^A · imbed^B · log^A · dread^B · head^B · rays^C · red^B · ways^C · baize^C
8 -A-AABABB brows · hue^A · shows · blue^A · view^A · potheen^B · dew^A · ween^B · green^B
9 -A-AABA-B short · tales^A · aught · assails^A · males^A · knee^B · prevails^A · hosierie · pie^B
10 ABABBCBCC lap^A · gown^B · map^A · brown^B · town^B · wide^C · adown^B · side^C · espied^C
11 ABABBCBCC pack^A · noon^B · almanack^A · boon^B · moon^B · unwarms^C · soon^B · storms^C · forms^C
12 A-ABBCBCC repeat^A · kod · seat^A · sod^B · god^B · mild^C · rod^B · child^C · reconcil'd^C
13 ABABBCBCC wink^A · throe^B · pink^A · woe^B · know^B · recess^C · below^B · distress^C · bottomlesse^C
14 ABABBC-CC use^A · degree^B · produce^A · tree^B · be^B · bands^C · infamie · hands^C · commands^C
15 ABABBCBCC alarm^A · beam^B · arm^A · scream^B · seam^B · skin^C · deem^B · in^C · win^C
16 ABABBCBCC cries^A · aloof^B · lies^A · proof^B · roof^B · isle^C · woof^B · smile^C · while^C
17 ABABBCBCC time^A · train^B · climb^A · pain^B · cane^B · dwell^C · drain^B · fell^C · well^C
18 -A-AABAB- root · chit^A · afoot · bit^A · wit^A · moan^B · sit^A · alone^B · one
19 ABABBC-CC drub^A · sore^B · rub^A · roar^B · before^B · dry^C · o'er · thereby^C · sky^C
20 ABABBCBCC peace^A · knack^B · cease^A · huckaback^B · awrack^B · shine^C · slack^B · incline^C · brine^C
21 ABABBCBCC profound^A · page^B · expound^A · sage^B · age^B · wood^C · rage^B · mud^C · blood^C
22 -A-AABABB war · town^A · car · crown^A · renown^A · torn^B · down^A · born^B · forlorn^B
23 AAAB-CBCC goes^A · pedigrees^A · shows^A · socrates^B · shes · cope^C · keys^B · pope^C · grope^C
24 ABABBCBCC aside^A · green^B · guide^A · machine^B · ween^B · sheet^C · spalpeen^B · meat^C · peat^C
25 -A-AABABB youth · intense^A · mouth · eloquence^A · sense^A · done^B · thence^A · son^B · none^B
26 ABABBCBCC noon^A · lore^B · soon^A · four^B · door^B · cask^C · more^B · task^C · bask^C
27 ABABBCB-C sod^A · overgrown^B · unshod^A · own^B · alone^B · cow^C · crone^B · row · brow^C
28 ABABBCBCC thrift^A · hoe^B · shift^A · glow^B · crow^B · bean^C · row^B · green^C · aberdeen^C
29 -A-ABCBCC hours · bee^A · bow'rs · he^A · academie^B · each^C · dominie^B · teach^C · speech^C

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
Alack! 'tis melancholy theme to think	10	˘/·/˘·˘···
How Learning doth in rugged states abide,	10	·/˘··/˘·˘/
And, like her bashful owl, obscurely blink,	10	···/˘·˘/˘·
In pensive glooms and corners, scarcely spied;	10	·/˘··/˘/˘·
Not, as in Founders' Halls and domes of pride,	10	···/˘·····
Served with grave homage, like a tragic queen,	10	···/˘··/˘·
But with one lonely priest compell'd to hide,	10	···/˘·˘/··
In midst of foggy moors and mosses green,	10	···/˘··/˘·
In that clay cabin hight the College of Kilreen!	12	···/˘··/˘···
This College looketh South and West alsoe,	10	·/˘/˘·····
Because it hath a cast in windows twain;	10	·······/˘·
Crazy and crack'd they be, and wind doth blow	10	/˘········
Through transparent holes in every pane,	10	·˘/˘··/˘˘·
Which Pan, with many paines, makes whole again	10	···/˘···˘/
With nether garments, which his thrift doth teach	10	·/˘/˘·····
To stand for glass, like pronouns, and when rain	10	·····/˘···
Stormeth, he puts, "once more unto the breach,"	10	/˘········
Outside and in, tho' broke, yet so he mendeth each.	12	//·······/˘·
And in the midst a little door there is,	10	·····/˘···
Whereon a board that doth congratulate	10	˘/····˘/˘·
With painted letters, red as blood I wis,	10	·/˘/˘·····
Thus written,	3	·/˘
And oft, indeed, the inward of that gate,	10	··˘/·/˘···
Most ventriloque, doth utter tender squeak,	10	·····/˘/˘·
And moans of infants that bemoan their fate,	10	···/˘·˘/··
In midst of sounds of Latin, French, and Greek,	10	·····/˘···
Which, all i' the Irish tongue, he teacheth them to speak.	13	····/˘··/˘···
For some are meant to right illegal wrongs,	10	······˘/˘·
And some for Doctors of Divinitie,	10	···/˘·····
Whom he doth teach to murder the dead tongues,	10	·····/˘···
And soe win academical degree;	10	········˘/
But some are bred for service of the sea,	10	·····/˘···
Howbeit, their store of learning is but small,	11	˘/˘···/˘···
For mickle waste he counteth it would be	10	·/˘··/˘···
To stock a head with bookish wares at all,	10	·····/˘···
Only to be knock'd off by ruthless cannon-ball.	12	/˘·····/˘/˘·
Six babes he sways,--some little and some big,	10	·····/˘···
Divided into classes six; alsoe,	10	˘/˘··/˘···
He keeps a parlor boarder of a pig,	10	···/˘/˘···
That in the College fareth to and fro,	10	···/˘·····
And picketh up the urchins' crumbs below,	10	·/˘··/˘···
And eke the learned rudiments they scan,	10	····˘/˘˘··
And thus his A, B, C, doth wisely know,--	10	·······/˘·
Hereafter to be shown in caravan,	10	˘/˘····/˘·
And raise the wonderment of many a learned man.	10	···/˘·/···
Alsoe, he schools some tame familiar fowls,	10	······˘/˘·
Whereof, above his head, some two or three	10	··········
Sit darkly squatting, like Minerva's owls,	10	·/˘/˘·˘/˘·
But on the branches of no living tree,	10	···/˘··/˘·
And overlook the learned family;	10	·/˘···˘/˘˘
While, sometimes, Partlet, from her gloomy perch,	10	·/·/˘··/˘·
Drops feather on the nose of Dominie,	10	·/˘····/˘˘
Meanwhile, with serious eye, he makes research	10	/··/˘···˘/
In leaves of that sour tree of knowledge--now a birch.	12	····/··/˘···
No chair he hath, the awful Pedagogue,	10	·····/˘/˘˘
Such as would magisterial hams imbed,	10	····˘/˘·˘/
But sitteth lowly on a beechen log,	10	·/˘/˘··/˘·
Secure in high authority and dread:	10	˘/··˘/˘˘··
Large, as a dome for Learning, seems his head,	10	·····/˘···
And, like Apollo's, all beset with rays,	10	··˘/˘·˘/··
Because his locks are so unkempt and red,	10	······˘/··
And stand abroad in many several ways:--	10	··˘/·/˘/˘·
No laurel crown he wears, howbeit his cap is baize.	13	·/˘···˘/˘····
And, underneath, a pair of shaggy brows	10	··˘/···/˘·
O'erhang as many eyes of gizzard hue,	10	···/˘··/˘·
That inward giblet of a fowl, which shows	10	·/˘/˘·····
A mongrel tint, that is ne brown ne blue;	10	·/˘·······
His nose,--it is a coral to the view;	10	·····/˘···
Well nourish'd with Pierian Potheen,--	10	·/˘·˘/˘˘˘/
For much he loves his native mountain dew;--	10	·····/˘/˘·
But to depict the dye would lack, I ween,	10	··˘/······
A bottle-red, in terms, as well as bottle-green.	12	·/˘······/˘·
As for his coat, 'tis such a jerkin short	10	·······/˘·
As Spenser had, ere he composed his Tales;	10	·/˘···˘/··
But underneath he hath no vest, nor aught,	10	··˘/······
So that the wind his airy breast assails;	10	·····/˘·˘/
Below, he wears the nether garb of males,	10	·····/˘···
Of crimson plush, but non-plushed at the knee;--	10	·/˘·······
Thence further down the native red prevails,	10	·/˘··/˘·˘/
Of his own naked fleecy hosierie:--	10	···/˘/˘···
Two sandals, without soles, complete his cap-a-pie.	12	·/˘···˘/····
Nathless, for dignity, he now doth lap	10	/˘·/˘˘····
His function in a magisterial gown,	10	·/˘···˘/˘·
That shows more countries in it than a map,--	10	···/˘·····
Blue tinct, and red, and green, and russet brown,	10	·······/˘·
Besides some blots, standing for country-town;	10	˘/··/˘·/˘·
And eke some rents, for streams and rivers wide;	10	·······/˘·
But, sometimes, bashful when he looks adown,	10	·/·/˘···˘/
He turns the garment of the other side,	10	···/˘··/˘·
Hopeful that so the holes may never be espied!	10	/˘·····/··
And soe he sits, amidst the little pack,	10	····˘/·/˘·
That look for shady or for sunny noon,	10	···/˘··/˘·
Within his visage, like an almanack,--	10	···/˘·····
His quiet smile foretelling gracious boon:	10	·/˘·˘/˘/˘·
But when his mouth droops down, like rainy moon,	10	·······/˘·
With horrid chill each little heart unwarms,	10	·/˘··/˘···
Knowing that infant show'rs will follow soon,	10	/˘·/˘··/˘·
And with forebodings of near wrath and storms	10	··˘/˘·····
They sit, like timid hares, all trembling on their forms.	12	···/˘··/˘···
Ah! luckless wight, who cannot then repeat	10	·/˘··/˘·˘/
"Corduroy Colloquy,"--or "Ki, Kae, Kod,"--	10	/˘·/˘˘····
Full soon his tears shall make his turfy seat	10	·······/˘·
More sodden, tho' already made of sod,	10	·/˘·˘/˘···
For Dan shall whip him with the word of God,--	10	··········
Severe by rule, and not by nature mild,	10	˘/·····/˘·
He never spoils the child and spares the rod,	10	·/˘·······
But spoils the rod and never spares the child,	10	·····/˘···
And soe with holy rule deems he is reconcil'd.	12	···/˘····/˘·
But, surely, the just sky will never wink	10	·/˘····/˘·
At men who take delight in childish throe,	10	····˘/·/˘·
And stripe the nether-urchin like a pink	10	···/˘/˘···
Or tender hyacinth, inscribed with woe;	10	·/˘/˘·˘/··
Such bloody Pedagogues, when they shall know,	10	·/˘·······
By useless birches, that forlorn recess,	10	·/˘/˘·˘/˘/
Which is no holiday, in Pit below,	10	···/˘·····
Will hell not seem design'd for their distress,--	10	····˘/··˘/
A melancholy place, that is all bottomlesse?	12	·/˘·˘·······
Yet would the Muse not chide the wholesome use	10	·······/˘·
Of needful discipline, in due degree.	10	·/˘/˘˘··˘/
Devoid of sway, what wrongs will time produce,	10	˘/······˘/
Whene'er the twig untrained grows up a tree.	11	·····˘/····
This shall a Carder, that a Whiteboy be,	10	···/˘··/˘·
Ferocious leaders of atrocious bands,	10	˘/˘/˘·˘/˘·
And Learning's help be used for infamie,	10	·/˘·······
By lawless clerks, that, with their bloody hands,	10	·/˘····/˘·
In murder'd English write Rock's murderous commands.	11	·/˘/˘··/˘˘/
But ah! what shrilly cry doth now alarm	10	···/˘···˘/
The sooty fowls that dozed upon the beam,	10	·/˘·······
All sudden fluttering from the brandish'd arm,	10	·/˘/˘··/˘·
And cackling chorus with the human scream;	10	·/˘/˘··/˘·
Meanwhile, the scourge plies that unkindly seam	10	/·····˘/˘·
In Phelim's brogues, which bares his naked skin,	10	·······/˘·
Like traitor gap in warlike fort, I deem,	10	·/˘··/····
That falsely lets the fierce besieger in,	10	·/˘···˘/˘·
Nor seeks the Pedagogue by other course to win.	12	···/˘˘·/˘···
No parent dear he hath to heed his cries;--	10	·/˘·······
Alas! his parent dear is far aloof,	10	˘/·/˘···˘/
And deep in Seven-Dial cellar lies,	10	···/˘/˘/˘·
Killed by kind cudgel-play, or gin of proof,	10	···/˘·····
Or climbeth, catwise, on some London roof,	10	·/˘····/˘·
Singing, perchance, a lay of Erin's Isle,	10	/˘˘/···/˘·
Or, whilst he labors, weaves a fancy-woof,	10	···/˘··/˘·
Dreaming he sees his home,--his Phelim smile;--	10	/˘········
Ah me! that luckless imp, who weepeth all the while!	12	···/˘··/˘···
Ah! who can paint that hard and heavy time,	10	·······/˘·
When first the scholar lists in Learning's train,	10	···/˘··/˘·
And mounts her rugged steep, enforc'd to climb,	10	···/˘·˘/··
Like sooty imp, by sharp posterior pain,	10	·/˘····/˘·
From bloody twig, and eke that Indian cane,	10	·/˘····/˘·
Wherein, alas! no sugar'd juices dwell,	10	··˘/·/˘/˘·
For this, the while one stripling's sluices drain,	10	·····/˘/˘·
Another weepeth over chilblains fell,	10	˘/˘/˘··/˘·
Always upon the heel, yet never to be well!	11	/˘·····/···
Anon a third, for his delicious root,	10	˘/····˘/˘·
Late ravish'd from his tooth by elder chit,	10	·······/˘·
So soon is human violence afoot,	10	···/˘/˘˘˘/
So hardly is the harmless biter bit!	10	·/˘··/˘/˘·
Meanwhile, the tyrant, with untimely wit	10	/··/˘·˘/˘·
And mouthing face, derides the small one's moan,	10	·/˘·˘/····
Who, all lamenting for his loss, doth sit,	10	··˘/˘·····
Alack,--mischance comes seldomtimes alone,	10	˘/˘/····˘/
But aye the worried dog must rue more curs than one.	12	···/˘·······
For lo! the Pedagogue, with sudden drub,	10	···/˘˘·/˘·
Smites his scald-head, that is already sore,--	10	······˘/˘·
Superfluous wound,--such is Misfortune's rub!	10	/˘····˘/˘·
Who straight makes answer with redoubled roar,	10	···/˘·˘/˘·
And sheds salt tears twice faster than before,	10	·····/˘···
That still, with backward fist, he strives to dry;	10	···/˘·····
Washing, with brackish moisture, o'er and o'er,	10	/˘·/˘/˘···
His muddy cheek, that grows more foul thereby,	10	·/˘·······
Till all his rainy face looks grim as rainy sky.	12	···/˘····/˘·
So Dan, by dint of noise, obtains a peace,	10	······˘/··
And with his natural untender knack,	10	···/˘˘····
By new distress, bids former grievance cease,	10	··˘/·/˘/˘·
Like tears dried up with rugged huckaback,	10	·····/˘/˘˘
That sets the mournful visage all awrack;	10	···/˘/˘···
Yet soon the childish countenance will shine	10	···/˘/˘˘··
Even as thorough storms the soonest slack,	10	/˘·/˘··/˘·
For grief and beef in adverse ways incline,	10	·····/··˘/
This keeps, and that decays, when duly soak'd in brine.	12	····˘/·/˘···
Now all is hushed, and, with a look profound,	10	········˘/
The Dominie lays ope the learned page;	10	·/˘˘····˘·
(So be it called) although he doth expound	10	········˘/
Without a book, both Greek and Latin sage;	10	·······/˘·
Now telleth he of Rome's rude infant age,	10	·/˘····/˘·
How Romulus was bred in savage wood,	10	·/˘˘···/˘·
By wet-nurse wolf, devoid of wolfish rage;	10	····˘/·/˘·
And laid foundation-stone of walls of mud,	10	··˘/˘·····
But watered it, alas! with warm fraternal blood.	12	·/˘·˘/··˘/˘·
Anon, he turns to that Homeric war,	10	˘/····˘/˘·
How Troy was sieged like Londonderry town;	10	·····/˘·˘·
And stout Achilles, at his jaunting-car,	10	··˘/˘··/˘·
Dragged mighty Hector with a bloody crown;	10	·/˘/˘··/˘·
And eke the bard, that sung of their renown,	10	········˘/
In garb of Greece, most beggar-like and torn,	10	·····/˘···
He paints, with colly, wand'ring up and down,	10	···/˘·····
Because, at once, in seven cities born;	10	·····/˘/˘·
And so, of parish rights, was, all his days, forlorn.	12	···/˘·····˘/
Anon, through old Mythology he goes,	10	˘/··˘/˘˘··
Of Gods defunct, and all their pedigrees,	10	··˘/···/˘˘
But shuns their scandalous amours, and shows	10	···/˘˘/˘··
How Plato wise, and clear-ey'd Socrates,	10	·/˘····/˘·
Confess'd not to those heathen hes and shes;	10	˘/···/˘···
But thro' the clouds of the Olympic cope	10	······˘/˘·
Beheld St. Peter, with his holy keys,	10	˘/·/˘··/˘·
And own'd their love was naught, and bow'd to Pope,	10	··········
Whilst all their purblind race in Pagan mist did grope!	12	···/˘··/˘···
From such quaint themes he turns, at last, aside,	10	········˘/
To new philosophies, that still are green,	10	··˘/˘˘····
And shows what railroads have been track'd, to guide	10	···/······
The wheels of great political machine;	10	····˘/˘˘˘/
If English corn should grow abroad, I ween,	10	·/˘···˘/··
And gold be made of gold, or paper sheet;	10	·······/˘·
How many pigs be born to each spalpeen;	10	·/˘·····/˘
And, ah! how man shall thrive beyond his meat,--	10	··········
With twenty souls alive, to one square sod of peat!	12	·/˘·˘/······
Here, he makes end; and all the fry of youth,	10	··········
That stood around with serious look intense,	10	·····/˘·˘/
Close up again their gaping eyes and mouth,	10	··˘/·/˘···
Which they had opened to his eloquence,	10	···/˘··/˘˘
As if their hearing were a threefold sense.	10	···/˘··/··
But now the current of his words is done,	10	···/˘·····
And whether any fruits shall spring from thence,	10	···/˘·····
In future time, with any mother's son,	10	·/˘··/˘/˘·
It is a thing, God wot! that can be told by none.	12	············
Now by the creeping shadows of the noon,	10	···/˘/····
The hour is come to lay aside their lore;	10	·/····˘/··
The cheerful Pedagogue perceives it soon,	10	·/˘/˘˘˘/··
And cries, "Begone!" unto the imps,--and four	10	··˘/······
Snatch their two hats and struggle for the door,	10	·····/˘···
Like ardent spirits vented from a cask,	10	·/˘/˘/˘···
All blithe and boisterous,--but leave two more,	10	···/˘˘····
With Reading made Uneasy for a task,	10	·/˘·˘/˘···
To weep, whilst all their mates in merry sunshine bask,	12	·······/˘/··
Like sportive Elfins, on the verdant sod,	10	·/˘/˘··/˘·
With tender moss so sleekly overgrown,	10	·/˘··/˘·˘/
That doth not hurt, but kiss, the sole unshod,	10	··········
So soothly kind is Erin to her own!	10	·/˘··/˘···
And one, at Hare and Hound, plays all alone,--	10	········˘/
For Phelim's gone to tend his step-dame's cow;	10	··········
Ah! Phelim's step-dame is a canker'd crone!	10	··········
Whilst other twain play at an Irish row,	10	·/˘····/˘·
And, with shillelah small, break one another's brow!	12	········˘/˘·
But careful Dominie, with ceaseless thrift,	10	·/˘/˘˘·/˘·
Now changeth ferula for rural hoe;	10	·/˘/˘˘·/˘·
But, first of all, with tender hand doth shift	10	·····/˘···
His college gown, because of solar glow,	10	·/˘····/˘·
And hangs it on a bush, to scare the crow:	10	··········
Meanwhile, he plants in earth the dappled bean,	10	/·······˘·
Or trains the young potatoes all a-row,	10	····˘/˘···
Or plucks the fragrant leek for pottage green,	10	···/˘··/˘·
With that crisp curly herb, call'd Kale in Aberdeen.	12	···/˘····/˘·
And so he wisely spends the fruitful hours,	11	···/˘··/˘/˘
Linked each to each by labor, like a bee;	10	·····/˘···
Or rules in Learning's hall, or trims her bow'rs;--	10	···/˘·····
Would there were many more such wights as he,	10	···/˘·····
To sway each capital academie	10	···/˘˘····
Of Cam and Isis; for, alack! at each	10	···/˘·˘/··
There dwells, I wot, some dronish Dominie,	10	·····/˘/˘˘
That does no garden work, nor yet doth teach,	10	···/˘·····
But wears a floury head, and talks in flow'ry speech!	12	···/˘·······

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.

More by Thomas Hood

Poems The Song of the Shirt, and Other Poems