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

To the Editor of the Athenaeum

Thomas Hood (1799–1845) · 1826–1845

iambic pentameter · 502 lines · from The Song of the Shirt, and Other Poems

"Protruded, as the dove so staunchFor peace supports an olive branch."

"Close, close your eyes with holy dread,And weave a circle round him thrice,For he on honey-dew hath fedAnd drunk the milk of Paradise."--COLERIDGE.

"It's very hard them kind of menWon't let a body be."--Old Ballad.

A wanderer, Wilson, from my native land,Remote, O Rae, from godliness and thee,Where rolls between us the eternal sea,Besides some furlongs of a foreign sand,--Beyond the broadest Scotch of London Wall;Beyond the loudest Saint that has a call;Across the wavy waste between us stretch'd,A friendly missive warns me of a stricture,Wherein my likeness you have darkly etch'd,And though I have not seen the shadow sketch'd,Thus I remark prophetic on the picture.

I guess the features:--in a line to paintTheir moral ugliness, I'm not a saint.Not one of those self-constituted saints,Quacks--not physicians--in the cure of souls,Censors who sniff out mortal taints,And call the devil over his own coals--Those pseudo Privy Councillors of God,Who write down judgments with a pen hard-nibb'd;Ushers of Beelzebub's Black Rod,Commending sinners, not to ice thick-ribb'd,But endless flames, to scorch them up like flax--Yet sure of heav'n themselves, as if they'd cribb'dTh' impression of St. Peter's keys in wax!

Of such a character no single traceExists, I know, in my fictitious face;There wants a certain cast about the eye;A certain lifting of the nose's tip;A certain curling of the nether lip,In scorn of all that is, beneath the sky;In brief it is an aspect deleterious,A face decidedly not serious,A face profane, that would not do at allTo make a face at Exeter Hall,--That Hall where bigots rant, and cant, and pray,And laud each other face to face,Till ev'ry farthing-candle rayConceives itself a great gas-light of grace.

Well!--be the graceless lineaments confest!I do enjoy this bounteous beauteous earth;And dote upon a jest"Within the limits of becoming mirth";--No solemn sanctimonious face I pull,Nor think I'm pious when I'm only bilious--Nor study in my sanctum superciliousTo frame a Sabbath Bill or forge a Bull.I pray for grace--repent each sinful act--Peruse, but underneath the rose, my Bible;And love my neighbor far too well, in fact,To call and twit him with a godly tractThat's turn'd by application to a libel.My heart ferments not with the bigot's leaven,All creeds I view with toleration thorough,And have a horror of regarding heavenAs anybody's rotten borough.

What else? no part I take in party fray,With troops from Billingsgate's slang-whanging tartars,I fear no Pope--and let great Ernest playAt Fox and Goose with Foxs' Martyrs!I own I laugh at over-righteous men,I own I shake my sides at ranters,And treat sham-Abr'am saints with wicked banters,I even own, that there are times--but thenIt's when I've got my wine--I say d----canters!

I've no ambition to enact the spyOn fellow souls, a Spiritual Pry--'Tis said that people ought to guard their noses,Who thrust them into matters none of theirs;And tho' no delicacy discomposesYour Saint, yet I consider faith and pray'rsAmongst the privatest of men's affairs.

I do not hash the Gospel in my books,And thus upon the public mind intrude it,As if I thought, like Otaheitan cooks,No food was fit to eat till I had chewed it.

On Bible stilts I don't affect to stalk;Nor lard with Scripture my familiar talk,--For man may pious texts repeat,And yet religion have no inward seat;'Tis not so plain as the old Hill of Howth,A man has got his belly full of meatBecause he talks with victuals in his mouth!

Mere verbiage,--it is not worth a carrot!Why, Socrates--or Plato--where's the odds?--Once taught a jay to supplicate the Gods,And made a Polly-theist of a Parrot!

A mere professor, spite of all his cant, isNot a whit better than a Mantis,--An insect, of what clime I can't determine,That lifts its paws most parson-like, and thence,By simple savages--thro' sheer pretence--Is reckon'd quite a saint amongst the vermin.But where's the reverence, or where the nous,To ride on one's religion thro' the lobby,Whether a stalking-horse or hobby,To show its pious paces to "the house"?

I honestly confess that I would hinderThe Scottish member's legislative rigs,That spiritual Pinder,Who looks on erring souls as straying pigs,That must be lash'd by law, wherever found,And driv'n to church, as to the parish pound.I do confess, without reserve or wheedle,I view that grovelling idea as oneWorthy some parish clerk's ambitious son,A charity-boy, who longs to be a beadle.

On such a vital topic sure 'tis oddHow much a man can differ from his neighbor:One wishes worship freely giv'n to God,Another wants to make it statute-labor--The broad distinction in a line to draw,As means to lead us to the skies above,You say--Sir Andrew and his love of law,And I--the Saviour with his law of love.

Spontaneously to God should tend the soul,Like the magnetic needle to the Pole;But what were that intrinsic virtue worth,Suppose some fellow, with more zeal than knowledge,Fresh from St. Andrew's College,Should nail the conscious needle to the north?

I do confess that I abhor and shrinkFrom schemes, with a religious willy-nilly,That frown upon St. Giles's sins, but blinkThe peccadilloes of all Piccadilly--My soul revolts at such a bare hypocrisy,And will not, dare not, fancy in accordThe Lord of Hosts with an Exclusive LordOf this world's aristocracy.It will not own a notion so unholy,As thinking that the rich by easy tripsMay go to heav'n, whereas the poor and lowlyMust work their passage, as they do in ships.

One place there is--beneath the burial sod,Where all mankind are equalized by death;Another place there is--the Fane of God,Where all are equal, who draw living breath;--Juggle who will elsewhere with his own soul,Playing the Judas with a temporal dole--He who can come beneath that awful cope,In the dread presence of a Maker just,Who metes to ev'ry pinch of human dustOne even measure of immortal hope--He who can stand within that holy door,With soul unbow'd by that pure spirit-level,And frame unequal laws for rich and poor,--Might sit for Hell and represent the Devil!

Such are the solemn sentiments, O Rae,In your last Journey-Work, perchance you ravage,Seeming, but in more courtly terms, to sayI'm but a heedless, creedless, godless savage;A very Guy, deserving fire and faggots,--A Scoffer, always on the grin,And sadly given to the mortal sinOf liking Maw-worms less than merry maggots!

The humble records of my life to search,I have not herded with mere pagan beasts;But sometimes I have "sat at good men's feasts,"And I have been "where bells have knoll'd to church."Dear bells! how sweet the sounds of village bellsWhen on the undulating air they swim!Now loud as welcomes! faint, now, as farewells!And trembling all about the breezy dellsAs flutter'd by the wings of Cherubim.Meanwhile the bees are chanting a low hymn;And lost to sight th' ecstatic lark aboveSings, like a soul beatified, of love,--With, now and then, the coo of the wild pigeon;--O Pagans, Heathens, Infidels and Doubters!If such sweet sounds can't woo you to religion,Will the harsh voices of church cads and touters?

A man may cry "Church! Church!" at ev'ry word,With no more piety than other people--A daw's not reckon'd a religious birdBecause it keeps a-cawing from a steeple.The Temple is a good, a holy place,But quacking only gives it an ill savor;While saintly mountebanks the porch disgrace,And bring religion's self into disfavor!

Behold yon servitor of God and Mammon,Who, binding up his Bible with his Ledger,Blends Gospel texts with trading gammon,A black-leg saint, a spiritual hedger,Who backs his rigid Sabbath, so to speak,Against the wicked remnant of the week,A saving bet against his sinful bias--"Rogue that I am," he whispers to himself,"I lie--I cheat--do anything for pelf,But who on earth can say I am not pious?"

In proof how over-righteousness re-acts,Accept an anecdote well based on facts.One Sunday morning--(at the day don't fret)--In riding with a friend to Ponder's EndOutside the stage, we happened to commendA certain mansion that we saw To Let."Ay," cried our coachman, with our talk to grapple"You're right! no house along the road comes nigh it!'Twas built by the same man as built yon chapelAnd master wanted once to buy it,--But t'other driv the bargain much too hard--He ax'd sure-ly a sum purdigious!But being so particular religious,Why, that, you see, put master on his guard!"Church is "a little heav'n below,I have been there and still would go,"--Yet I am none of those, who think it oddA man can pray unbidden from the cassock,And, passing by the customary hassock,Kneel down remote upon the simple sod,And sue in forma pauperis to God.

As for the rest,--intolerant to none,Whatever shape the pious rite may bear,Ev'n the poor Pagan's homage to the SunI would not harshly scorn, lest even thereI spurn'd some elements of Christian pray'r--An aim, tho' erring, at a "world ayont,"Acknowledgment of good--of man's futility,A sense of need, and weakness, and indeedThat very thing so many Christians want--Humility.

Such, unto Papists, Jews or turban'd Turks,Such is my spirit--(I don't mean my wraith!)Such, may it please you, is my humble faith;I know, full well, you do not like my works!

I have not sought, 'tis true, the Holy Land,As full of texts as Cuddie Headrigg's mother,The Bible in one hand,And my own commonplace-book in the other--But you have been to Palestine--alas!Some minds improve by travel, others, rather,Resemble copper wire, or brass,Which gets the narrower by going farther!Worthless are all such Pilgrimages--very!If Palmers at the Holy Tomb contriveThe human heats and rancor to reviveThat at the Sepulchre they ought to bury.A sorry sight it is to rest the eye on,To see a Christian creature graze at Sion,Then homeward, of the saintly pasture full,Rush bellowing, and breathing fire and smoke,At crippled Papistry to butt and poke,Exactly as a skittish Scottish bullHunts an old woman in a scarlet cloak!

Why leave a serious, moral, pious home,Scotland, renown'd for sanctity of old,Far distant Catholics to rate and scoldFor--doing as the Romans do at Rome?With such a bristling spirit wherefore quitThe Land of Cakes for any land of wafers,About the graceless images to flit,And buzz and chafe importunate as chafers,Longing to carve the carvers to Scotch collops?--People who hold such absolute opinionsShould stay at home, in Protestant dominions,Not travel like male Mrs. Trollopes.

Gifted with noble tendency to climb,Yet weak at the same time,Faith is a kind of parasitic plant,That grasps the nearest stem with tendril-rings;And as the climate and the soil may grant,So is the sort of tree to which it clings.Consider then, before, like HurlothrumboYou aim your club at any creed on earth,That, by the simple accident of birth,You might have been High Priest to Mumbo Jumbo.

For me--thro' heathen ignorance perchance,Not having knelt in Palestine,--I feelNone of that griffinish excess of zeal,Some travellers would blaze with here in France.Dolls I can see in virgin-like array,Nor for a scuffle with the idols hankerLike crazy Quixote at the puppet's play,If their "offence be rank," should mine be rancor?Mild light, and by degrees, should be the planTo cure the dark and erring mind;But who would rush at a benighted man,And give him two black eyes for being blind?

Suppose the tender but luxuriant hopAround a canker'd stem should twine,What Kentish boor would tear away the propSo roughly as to wound, nay, kill the bine?The images, 'tis true, are strangely dress'd,With gauds and toys extremely out of season;The carving nothing of the very best,The whole repugnant to the eye of reason,Shocking to Taste, and to Fine Arts a treason--Yet ne'er o'erlook in bigotry of sectOne truly Catholic, one common form,At which uncheck'dAll Christian hearts may kindle or keep warm.

Say, was it to my spirit's gain or loss,One bright and balmy morning, as I wentFrom Liege's lovely environs to Ghent,If hard by the wayside I found a cross,That made me breathe a pray'r upon the spot--While Nature of herself, as if to traceThe emblem's use, had trail'd around its baseThe blue significant Forget-me-not?Methought, the claims of Charity to urgeMore forcibly, along with Faith and Hope,The pious choice had pitched upon the vergeOf a delicious slopeGiving the eye much variegated scope;--"Look round," it whisper'd, "on that prospect rare,Those vales so verdant, and those hills so blue;Enjoy the sunny world, so fresh, and fair,But"--(how the simple legend pierced me thro'!)

With sweet kind natures, as in honey'd cells,Religion lives, and feels herself at home;But only on a formal visit dwellsWhere wasps instead of bees have formed the comb.Shun pride, O Rae!--whatever sort besideYou take in lieu, shun spiritual pride!A pride there is of rank--a pride of birth,A pride of learning, and a pride of purse,A London pride--in short, there be on earthA host of prides, some better and some worse;But of all prides, since Lucifer's attaint,The proudest swells a self-elected Saint.

To picture that cold pride so harsh and hard,Fancy a peacock in a poultry yard.Behold him in conceited circles sail,Strutting and dancing, and now planted stiff,In all his pomp of pageantry, as ifHe felt "the eyes of Europe" on his tail!As for the humble breed retain'd by man,He scorns the whole domestic clan--He bows, he bridles,He wheels, he sidles,At last, with stately dodgings, in a cornerHe pens a simple russet hen, to scorn herFull in the blaze of his resplendent fan!

"Look here," he cries (to give him words),"Thou feather'd clay--thou scum of birds!"Flirting the rustling plumage in her eyes,--"Look here, thou vile predestined sinner,Doom'd to be roasted for a dinner,Behold those lovely variegated dyes!These are the rainbow colors of the skies,That Heav'n has shed upon me con amore--A Bird of Paradise?--a pretty story!I am that Saintly Fowl, thou paltry chick!Look at my crown of glory!Thou dingy, dirty, drabbled, draggled jill!"And off goes Partlet, wriggling from a kick,With bleeding scalp laid open by his bill!

That little simile exactly paintsHow sinners are despised by saints.By saints!--the Hypocrites that ope heav'n's doorObsequious to the sinful man of riches--But put the wicked, naked, barelegg'd poorIn parish stocks instead of breeches.

The Saints!--the Bigots that in public spout,Spread phosphorus of zeal on scraps of fustian,And go like walking "Lucifers" aboutMere living bundles of combustion.

The Saints!--the aping Fanatics that talkAll cant and rant, and rhapsodies high-flown--That bid you baulkA Sunday walk,And shun God's work as you should shun your own.

The Saints!--the Formalists, the extra pious,Who think the mortal husk can save the soul,By trundling with a mere mechanic bias,To church, just like a lignum-vitae bowl!

The Saints!--the Pharisees, whose beadle standsBeside a stern coercive kirk.A piece of human mason-work,Calling all sermons contrabands,In that great Temple that's not made with hands!

Thrice blessed, rather, is the man, with whomThe gracious prodigality of nature,The balm, the bliss, the beauty, and the bloom,The bounteous providence in ev'ry feature,Recall the good Creator to his creature,Making all earth a fane, all heav'n its dome!To his tuned spirit the wild heather-bellsRing Sabbath knells;The jubilate of the soaring larkIs chant of clerk;For choir, the thrush and the gregarious linnet;The sod's a cushion for his pious want;And, consecrated by the heav'n within it,The sky-blue pool, a font.Each cloud-capped mountain is a holy altar;An organ breathes in every grove;And the full heart's a Psalter,Rich in deep hymns of gratitude and love!

Sufficiently by stern necessitariansPoor Nature, with her face begrimed by dust,Is stoked, coked, smoked, and almost choked; but mustReligion have its own Utilitarians,Labell'd with evangelical phylacteries,To make the road to heav'n a railway trust,And churches--that's the naked fact--mere factories?

Oh! simply open wide the Temple door,And let the solemn, swelling, organ greet,With Voluntaries meet,The willing advent of the rich and poor!And while to God the loud Hosannas soar,With rich vibrations from the vocal throng--From quiet shades that to the woods belong,And brooks with music of their own,Voices may come to swell the choral songWith notes of praise they learned in musings lone.

How strange it is while on all vital questions,That occupy the House and public mind,We always meet with some humane suggestionsOf gentle measures of a healing kind,Instead of harsh severity and vigor,The Saint alone his preference retainsFor bills of penalties and pains,And marks his narrow code with legal rigor!Why shun, as worthless of affiliation,What men of all political persuasionExtol--and even use upon occasion--That Christian principle, Conciliation?But possibly the men who make such fussWith Sunday pippins and old Trots infirm,Attach some other meaning to the term,As thus:

One market morning, in my usual rambles,Passing along Whitechapel's ancient shambles,Where meat was hung in many a joint and quarter,I had to halt awhile, like other folks,To let a killing butcher coaxA score of lambs and fatted sheep to slaughter.A sturdy man he looke'd to fell an ox,Bull-fronted, ruddy, with a formal streakOf well-greased hair down either cheek,As if he dee-dash-dee'd some other flocksBeside those woolly-headed stubborn blocksThat stood before him, in vexatious huddle--Poor little lambs, with bleating wethers group'd,While, now and then, a thirsty creature stoop'dAnd meekly snuff'd, but did not taste the puddle.

Fierce bark'd the dog, and many a blow was dealt,That loin, and chump, and scrag and saddle felt,Yet still, that fatal step they all declined it,--And shunn'd the tainted door as if they smeltOnions, mint sauce, and lemon juice behind it.At last there came a pause of brutal force,The cur was silent, for his jaws were fullOf tangled locks of tarry wool,The man had whoop'd and holloed till dead hoarse.The time was ripe for mild expostulation,And thus it stammer'd from a stander-by--"Zounds!--my good fellow,--it quite makes me--why,It really--my dear fellow--do just try Conciliation!"

Stringing his nerves like flint,The sturdy butcher seized upon the hint,--At least he seized upon the foremost wether,--And hugg'd and lugg'd and tugg'd him neck and cropJust nolens volens thro' the open shop--If tails come off he didn't care a feather,--Then walking to the door and smiling grim,He rubb'd his forehead and his sleeve together--"There!--I have conciliated him!"

Again--good-humoredly to end our quarrel--(Good humor should prevail!)I'll fit you with a tale,Whereto is tied a moral.

Once on a time a certain English lassWas seized with symptoms of such deep decline,Cough, hectic flushes, ev'ry evil sign,That, as their wont is at such desperate pass,The Doctors gave her over--to an ass.

Accordingly, the grisly Shade to bilk,Each morn the patient quaff'd a frothy bowlOf asinine new milk,Robbing a shaggy suckling of a foalWhich got proportionably spare and skinny--Meanwhile the neighbors cried "Poor Mary Ann!She can't get over it! she never can!"When lo! to prove each prophet was a ninnyThe one that died was the poor wet-nurse Jenny.

To aggravate the case,There were but two grown donkeys in the place;And most unluckily for Eve's sick daughter,The other long ear'd creature was a male,Who never in his life had given a pailOf milk, or even chalk and water.No matter: at the usual hour of eightDown trots a donkey to the wicket-gate,With Mister Simon Gubbins on his back,--"Your sarvant, Miss",--a worry spring-like day,--Bad time for hasses tho'! good lack! good lack!Jenny be dead, Miss,--but I've brought ye Jack,He doesn't give no milk--but he can bray.

So runs the story,And, in vain self-glory,Some Saints would sneer at Gubbins for his blindness--But what the better are their pious sawsTo ailing souls, than dry hee-haws,Without the milk of human kindness?

Words in this poem 136

godliness n.: Careful observance of, or conformity to, the laws of God; the state or quality of being godly; piety. [From Godly.]
missive a.: Specially sent; intended or prepared to be sent; as, a letter missive. Ayliffe. [See Missive, n.]
ugliness n.: The quality or state of being ugly.
scorch v. t.: To burn superficially; to parch, or shrivel, the surface of, by heat; to subject to so much heat as changes color and texture without consuming; as, to scorch linen. [OE. scorchen, probably akin to scorcnen; cf. Norw. skrokken shrunk up, skrekka, skrökka, to shrink, to become wrinkled up, dial. Sw. skråkkla to wrinkle (see Sh]
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]
deleterious a.: Hurtful; noxious; destructive; pernicious; as, a deleterious plant or quality; a deleterious example. [LL. deleterius noxious, Gr. delere to destroy.]
decidedly adv.: In a decided manner; indisputably; clearly; thoroughly.
graceless a.: Wanting in grace or excellence; departed from, or deprived of, divine grace; hence, depraved; corrupt.
bounteous a.: Liberal in charity; disposed to give freely; generously liberal; munificent; beneficent; free in bestowing gifts; as, bounteous production. [OE. bountevous, fr. bounte bounty.]
beauteous a.: Full of beauty; beautiful; very handsome. [Mostly poetic] -- Beau"te*ous*ly, adv. --
dote n.: A marriage portion. See 1st Dot, n. Wyatt. [See Dot dowry.]
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]
sanctimonious a.: Possessing sanctimony; holy; sacred; saintly. [See Sanctimony.]
bilious a.: Of or pertaining to the bile. [L. biliosus, fr. bilis bile.]
sanctum n.: A sacred place; hence, a place of retreat; a room reserved for personal use; as, an editor's sanctum. Sanctum sanctorum Etym: [L.] , the Holy of Holies; the most holy place, as in the Jewish temple. [L., p.p. of sanctire to consecrate.]
repent a.: Prostrate and rooting; -- said of stems. Gray. [L. repens, -entis, creeping, p. pr. of repere to creep.]
peruse v. t.: To observe; to examine with care. [Pref. per- + use.]
twit v. t.: To vex by bringing to notice, or reminding of, a fault, defect, misfortune, or the like; to revile; to reproach; to upbraid; to taunt; as, he twitted his friend of falsehood. [OE. atwiten, AS. ætwitan to reproach, blame; æt at + witan to reproach, blame; originally, to observe, see, hence, to observe what is wrong (cf. the meanings of]
toleration n.: The act of tolerating; the allowance of that which is not wholly approved. [L. toleratio: cf. OF. toleration.]
enact n.: Purpose; determination.
ought p. p.: Was or were under obligation to pay; owed. [Orig. the preterit of the verb to owe. OE. oughte, aughte, ahte, AS. ahte. sq. root110. See Owe.]
amongst prep.: Mixed or mingled; surrounded by. [OE. amongist, amonges, amonge, among, AS. onmang, ongemang, gemang, in a crowd or mixture. For the ending -st see Amidst. See Mingle.]
hash n.: That which is hashed or chopped up; meat and vegetables, especially such as have been already cooked, chopped into small pieces and mixed. [Formerly hachey, hachee, F. hachis, hacher to hash; of German origin; cf. G. hippe sickle, OHG. hippa, for happia. Cf. Hatchet.]
verbiage n.: The use of many words without necessity, or with little sense; a superabundance of words; verbosity; wordiness. [F. verbiage, from OF. verbe a word. See Verb.]
carrot n.: An umbelliferous biennial plant (Daucus Carota), of many varieties.
odds n.: Difference in favor of one and against another; excess of one of two things or numbers over the other; inequality; advantage; superiority; hence, excess of chances; probability. [See Odd, a.]
polly n.: A woman's name; also, a popular name for a parrot.
whit n.: The smallest part or particle imaginable; a bit; a jot; an iota; -- generally used in an adverbial phrase in a negative sentence. [OE. wight, wiht, AS. wiht a creature, a thing. See Wight, and cf. Aught, Naught.]
clime n.: A climate; a tract or region of the earth. See Climate. [L. clima. See Climate.]
pretence n.: The act of laying claim; the claim laid; assumption; pretension. [LL. praetensus, for L. praetentus, p. p. of praetendere. See Pretend, and cf. Tension.]
vermin n.: An animal, in general. [OE. vermine, F. vermine, from L. vermis a worm; cf. LL. vermen a worm, L. verminosus full of worms. See Vermicular, Worm.]
nous n.: Intellect; understanding; talent; -- used humorously.
hobby n.: A small, strong-winged European falcon (Falco subbuteo), formerly trained for hawking. [OE. hobi; cf. OF. hobe, hobé, F. hobereau a hobby, a species of falcon. OF. hober to move, stir. Cf. Hobby a horse.]
honestly adv.: Honorably; becomingly; decently.
pinder n.: One who impounds; a poundkeeper. [AS. pyndan to pen up, fr. pund a pound.]
wherever adv.: At or in whatever place; wheresoever.
saviour n.: One who saves, preserves, or delivers from destruction or danger. [OE. saveour, OF. salveor, F. sauveur, fr. L. salvator to save. See Save, v.]
abhor v. i.: To shrink back with horror, disgust, or dislike; to be contrary or averse; -- with from.
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]
piccadilly n.: A high, stiff collar for the neck; also, a hem or band about the skirt of a garment, -- worn by men in the 17th century. [OF. piccagilles the several divisions of pieces fastened together about the brim of the collar of a doublet, a dim. fr. Sp. picado, p.p. of picar to prick. See ]
unholy a.: Not holy; unhallowed; not consecrated; hence, profane; wicked; impious.
whereas adv.: At which place; where.
burial n.: A grave; a tomb; a place of sepulture. [OE. buriel, buriels, grave, tomb, AS. byrgels, fr. byrgan to bury, and akin to OS. burgisli sepulcher.]
fane n.: A temple; a place consecrated to religion; a church. [L. fanum a place dedicated to some deity, a sanctuary, fr. fari to speak. See Fame.]
juggle v. i.: To play tricks by sleight of hand; to cause amusement and sport by tricks of skill; to conjure. [OE. juglen; cf. OF. jogler, jugler, F. jongler. See Juggler.]
courtly a.: Relating or belonging to a court. [From Court.]
creedless a.: Without a creed. Carlyle.
godless a.: Having, or acknowledging, no God; without reverence for God; impious; wicked.
grin n.: A snare; a gin. [AS. grin.]
sadly adv.: Wearily; heavily; firmly.
breezy a.: Characterized by, or having, breezes; airy.
cherubim n.: The Hebrew plural of Cherub.. Cf. Seraphim.
meanwhile n.: The intervening time; as, in the meantime (or mean time).
saintly a.: Like a saint; becoming a holy person.
disfavor n.: Want of favor of favorable regard; disesteem; disregard. [Pref. dis- + favor: cf. OF. disfaveur, F. défaveur.]
servitor n.: One who serves; a servant; an attendant; one who acts under another; a follower or adherent. [L., fr. servire to serve: cf. F. serviteur.]
mammon n.: Riches; wealth; the god of riches; riches, personified. [L. mammona, Gr. mam; cf. Heb. matm a hiding place, subterranean storehouse, treasury, fr. taman to hide.]
gammon n.: The buttock or tight of a hog, salted and smoked or dried; the lower end of a flitch. Goldsmith. [OF. gambon, F. jambon, fr. OF. gambe leg, F. jambe. See Gambol, n., and cf. Ham.]
hedger n.: One who makes or mends hedges; also, one who hedges, as, in betting.
backs n.: Among leather dealers, the thickest and stoutest tanned hides.
pelf n.: Money; riches; lucre; gain; -- generally conveying the idea of something ill-gotten or worthless. It has no plural. [OE. pelfir booty, OF. pelfre, akin to pelfrer to plunder, and perh. to E. pillage. Cf. Pilfer.]
mansion n.: A dwelling place, -- whether a part or whole of a house or other shelter. [OF. mansion, F. maison, fr. L. mansio a staying, remaining, a dwelling, habitation, fr. manere, mansum, to stay, dwell; akin to Gr. Manse, Manor, Menagerie, Men]
coachman n.: A man whose business is to drive a coach or carriage.
unbidden a.: Not bidden; not commanded.
cassock n.: A long outer garment formerly worn by men and women, as well as by soldiers as part of their uniform. [F. casaque, fr. It. casacca, perh. fr. L. casa cottage, in It., house; or of Slavic origin.]
hassock n.: A rank tuft of bog grass; a tussock. Forby. [Scot. hassock, hassik, a besom, anything bushy, a large, round turf used as a seat, OE. hassok sedgy ground, W. hesgog sedgy, hesg sedge, rushes; cf. Ir. seisg,]
kneel v. i.: To bend the knee; to fall or rest on the knees; -- sometimes with down. [OE. knelen, cneolien; akin to D. knielen, Dan. knæle. See Knee.]
intolerant a.: Not enduring; not able to endure. [L. intolerans, -antis: cf. F. intolérant. See In- not, and Tolerant.]
futility n.: The quality of being talkative; talkativeness; loquaciousness; loquacity. [L. futilitas: cf. F. futilité.]
wraith n.: An apparition of a person in his exact likeness, seen before death, or a little after; hence, an apparition; a specter; a vision; an unreal image. [Scot. wraith, warth; probably originally, a guardian angel, from Icel. vörthr a warden, guardian, akin to E. ward. See Ward a guard.]
rancor n.: The deepest malignity or spite; deep-seated enmity or malice; inveterate hatred. [OE. rancour, OF. rancor, rancur, F. rancune, fr. L. rancor rancidity, rankness; tropically, an old grudge, rancor, fr. rancere to be rank or rancid.]
sepulchre n.: The place in which the dead body of a human being is interred, or a place set apart for that purpose; a grave; a tomb. [OE. sepulcre, OF. sepulcre, F. sépulcre, fr. L. sepulcrum, sepulchrum, fr. sepelire to bury.]
homeward a.: Being in the direction of home; as, the homeward way.
crippled a.: Lamed; lame; disabled; impeded.
papistry n.: The doctrine and ceremonies of the Church of Rome; popery.
wherefore adv.: For which reason; so; -- used relatively. [Where + for.]
flit a.: Nimble; quick; swift. See Fleet.
hanker v. i.: To long (for) with a keen appetite and uneasiness; to have a vehement desire; -- usually with for or after; as, to hanker after fruit; to hanker after the diversions of the town. [Prob. fr. hang; cf. D. hunkeren, hengelen.]
offence n.: The act of offending in any sense; esp., a crime or a sin, an affront or an injury. [F., fr. L. offensa. See Offend.]
bine n.: The winding or twining stem of a hop vine or other climbing plant. [Bind, cf. Woodbine.]
strangely adv.: As something foreign, or not one's own; in a manner adapted to something foreign and strange.
shocking a.: Causing to shake or tremble, as by a blow; especially, causing to recoil with horror or disgust; extremely offensive or disgusting.
bigotry n.: The state of mind of a bigot; obstinate and unreasoning attachment of one's own belief and opinions, with narrow-minded intolerance of beliefs opposed to them. [Cf. F. bigoterie.]
balmy a.: Having the qualities of balm; odoriferous; aromatic; assuaging; soothing; refreshing; mild.
went n.: Course; way; path; journey; direction.
environs n.: The parts or places which surround another place, or lie in its neighborhood; suburbs; as, the environs of a city or town. [F.]
wayside n.: The side of the way; the edge or border of a road or path.
sunny a.: Of or pertaining to the sun; proceeding from, or resembling the sun; hence, shining; bright; brilliant; radiant.
attaint v. t.: To attain; to get act; to hit. [OE. atteynten to convict, fr. atteynt, OF. ateint, p. p. of ateindre, ataindre. The meanings 3, 4, 5, and 6 were influenced by a supposed connection with taint.]
conceited a.: Endowed with fancy or imagination.
pageantry n.: Scenic shows or spectacles, taken collectivelly; spectacular guality; splendor.
sinner n.: One who has sinned; especially, one who has sinned without repenting; hence, a persistent and incorrigible transgressor; one condemned by the law of God.
jill n.: A young woman; a sweetheart. See Gill. Beau. & Fl. [See Gill sweetheart.]
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.]
simile n.: A word or phrase by which anything is likened, in one or more of its aspects, to something else; a similitude; a poetical or imaginative comparison. [L., from similis. See Similar.]
obsequious a.: Promptly obedient, or submissive, to the will of another; compliant; yielding to the desires of another; devoted. [L.obsequiosus, fr. obsequium compliance, fr. obsequi, fr. obsequi: cf. F. obséquieux, See Obsequent, and cf. Obsequy.]
flown a.: Flushed, inflated.
coercive a.: Serving or intended to coerce; having power to constrain.
kirk n.: A church or the church, in the various senses of the word; esp., the Church of Scotland as distinguished from other reformed churches, or from the Roman Catholic Church. Jamieson. [Scot.; cf. Icel. kirkja, of Greek origin. See Church.]
prodigality n.: Extravagance in expenditure, particularly of money; excessive liberality; profusion; waste; -- opposed to frugality, economy, and parsimony."The prodigality of his wit." [F. prodigalité, L. prodigalitas. See Prodigal.]
jubilate n.: The third Sunday after Easter; -- so called because the introit is the 66th Psalm, which, in the Latin version, begins with the words, [L., imperat. of jubilare to shout for joy.]
clerk n.: A clergyman or ecclesiastic. [Either OF. clerc, fr. L. clericus a priest, or AS. clerc, cleric, clerk, priest, fr. L. clericus, fr. Gr. Clergy.]
gregarious a.: Habitually living or moving in flocks or herds; tending to flock or herd together; not habitually solitary or living alone. [L. gregarius, fr. grex, gregis, herd; cf. Gr. jar to approach. Cf. Congregate, Egregious.]
psalter n.: The Book of Psalms; -- often applied to a book containing the Psalms separately printed. [OE. psauter, sauter, OF. sautier, psaltier, F. psautier, from L. psalterium. See Psaltery.]
choral a.: Of or pertaining to a choir or chorus; singing, sung, or adapted to be sung, in chorus or harmony. Choral service, a service of song. [LL. choralis, fr. L. chorus. See Chorus.]
lone n.: A lane. See Loanin.
humane a.: Pertaining to man; human. Jer. Taylor. [L. humanus: cf. F. humain. See Human.]
affiliation n.: Adoption; association or reception as a member in or of the same family or society. [F. affiliation, LL. affiliatio.]
conciliation n.: The act or process of conciliating; the state of being conciliated. [L. conciliatio.]
fuss n.: A tumult; a bustle; unnecessary or annoying ado about trifles. [Cf. Fusome.]
awhile adv.: For a while; for some time; for a short time. [Adj. a + while time, interval.]
folks n.: In Anglo-Saxon times, the people of a group of townships or villages; a community; a tribe. [AS. folc; akin to D. volk, OS. & OHG. folk, G. volk, Icel. f, Sw. & Dan. folk, Lith. pulkas crowd, and perh. to E. follow.]
huddle v. i.: To press together promiscuously, from confusion, apprehension, or the like; to crowd together confusedly; to press or hurry in disorder; to crowd. [Cf. OE. hoderen, hodren, to cover, keep, warm; perh. akin to OE. huden, hiden, to hide, E. hide, and orig. meaning, to get together for protection in a safe pla]
bleating a.: Crying as a sheep does.
meekly adv.: In a meek manner.
chump n.: A short, thick, heavy piece of wood. Morton. Chump end, the thick end; as, the chump end of a joint of meat. Dickens. [Cf. Icel. kumbr a chopping, E. chop.]
scrag n.: Something thin, lean, or rough; a bony piece; especially, a bony neckpiece of meat; hence, humorously or in contempt, the neck. [Cf. dial. Sw. skraka a great dry tree, a long, lean man, Gael. sgreagach dry, shriveled, rocky. See Shrink, and cf. Scrog, Shrag, n.]
expostulation n.: The act of expostulating or reasoning with a person in opposition to some impropriety of conduct; remonstrance; earnest and kindly protest; dissuasion. [L. expostulatio.]
zounds interj.: An exclamation formerly used as an oath, and an expression of anger or wonder. [Contracted from God's wounds.]
wether n.: A castrated ram. [OE. wether, AS. we; akin to OS. wethar, withar, a ram, D. weder, G. widder, OHG. widar, Icel. ver, Sw. vädur, Dan. vædder, Goth. wiprus a lamb, L. vitulus calf,]
whereto adv.: To which; -- used relatively.
lass n.: A youth woman; a girl; a sweetheart. [OE. lasse; prob. of Celtic origin; cf. W. llodes girl, fem. of llawd lad. (Lad a youth.]
hectic a.: Habitual; constitutional; pertaining especially to slow waste of animal tissue, as in consumption; as, a hectic type in disease; a hectic flush. [F. hectique, Gr. sah to overpower, endure; cf. AS. sige, sigor, victory, G. sieg, Goth. sigis. Cf. Scheme.]
desperate a.: Without hope; given to despair; hopeless. [L. desperatus, p. p. of desperare. See Despair, and cf. Desperado.]
accordingly adv.: Agreeably; correspondingly; suitably; in a manner conformable.
bilk v. t.: To frustrate or disappoint; to deceive or defraud, by nonfulfillment of engagement; to leave in the lurch; to give the slip to; as, to bilk a creditor. Thackeray. [Origin unknown. Cf. Balk.]
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.]
asinine a.: Of or belonging to, or having the qualities of, the ass, as stupidity and obstinacy. [L. asininus, fr. asinus ass. See Ass.]
foal n.: The young of any animal of the Horse family (Equidæ); a colt; a filly. Foal teeth (Zoöl.), the first set of teeth of a horse. [OE. fole, AS. fola; akin to OHG. folo, G. fohlen, Goth. fula, Icel. foli, Sw Lfle, Gr., L. pullus a young animal. Cf. Filly, Poultry, Pullet.]
skinny a.: Consisting, or chiefly consisting, of skin; wanting flesh.
ninny n.: A fool; a simpleton. [Cf. It. ninno, ninna, a baby, Sp. niño, niña, child, infant, It. ninna, ninna nanna, lullably, prob. fr. ni, na, as used in singing a child to sleep.]
jenny n.: A familiar or pet form of the proper name Jane.
aggravate v. t.: To make heavy or heavier; to add to; to increase. [L. aggravatus, p. p. of aggravare. See Aggrieve.]
donkey n.: An ass; or (less frequently) a mule. [Prob. dun, in allusion to the color of the animal + a dim. termination.]
mister n.: A trade, art, or occupation. [OF. mistier trade, office, ministry, need, F. métier trade, fr. L. ministerium service, office, ministry. See Ministry, Mystery trade.]
bray v. t.: To pound, beat, rub, or grind small or fine. [OE. brayen, OF. breier, F. broyer to pound, grind, fr. OHG. brehhan to break. See Break.]

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

About this text

To the Editor of the Athenaeum 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, To the Editor of the Athenaeum, 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/to-the-editor-of-the-athenaeum.html, id L20098.

Form and metre

To the Editor of the Athenaeum is 502 lines in 51 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 90%).

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.

2 A-A- dread^A · thrice · fed^A · coleridge
4 ABBACCDEDDE land^A · thee^B · sea^B · sand^A · wall^C · call^C · stretch'd^D · stricture^E · etch'd^D · sketch'd^D · picture^E
5 AABCBCDEDEFEF paint^A · saint^A · saints^B · souls^C · taints^B · coals^C · god^D · nibb'd^E · rod^D · ribb'd^E · flax^F · cribb'd^E · wax^F
6 AABCCBDDEEFAFA trace^A · face^A · eye^B · tip^C · lip^C · sky^B · deleterious^D · serious^D · all^E · hall^E · pray^F · face^A · ray^F · grace^A
7 ABABCDDCEFEEFG-G- confest^A · earth^B · jest^A · mirth^B · pull^C · bilious^D · supercilious^D · bull^C · act^E · bible^F · fact^E · tract^E · libel^F · leaven^G · thorough · heaven^G · borough
8 ABABCDDCD fray^A · tartars^B · play^A · martyrs^B · men^C · ranters^D · banters^D · then^C · canters^D
9 AABCBCC spy^A · pry^A · noses^B · theirs^C · discomposes^B · pray'rs^C · affairs^C
10 ABAB books^A · it^B · cooks^A · it^B
11 AABB-B- stalk^A · talk^A · repeat^B · seat^B · howth · meat^B · mouth
12 ABBA carrot^A · odds^B · gods^B · parrot^A
13 ---AA--BB- is · mantis · determine · thence^A · pretence^A · vermin · nous · lobby^B · hobby^B · house
14 -A-ABBCDDC hinder · rigs^A · pinder · pigs^A · found^B · pound^B · wheedle^C · one^D · son^D · beadle^C
15 ABABCDCD odd^A · neighbor^B · god^A · labor^B · draw^C · above^D · law^C · love^D
16 AA-BB- soul^A · pole^A · worth · knowledge^B · college^B · north
17 ABABCDDCEFEF shrink^A · nilly^B · blink^A · piccadilly^B · hypocrisy^C · accord^D · lord^D · aristocracy^C · unholy^E · trips^F · lowly^E · ships^F
18 ABABCCDEED-F-F sod^A · death^B · god^A · breath^B · soul^C · dole^C · cope^D · just^E · dust^E · hope^D · door · level^F · poor · devil^F
19 ABAB-CC- rae^A · ravage^B · say^A · savage^B · faggots · grin^C · sin^C · maggots
20 ABBACDCC-DEEFGFG search^A · beasts^B · feasts^B · church^A · bells^C · swim^D · farewells^C · dells^C · cherubim · hymn^D · above^E · love^E · pigeon^F · doubters^G · religion^F · touters^G
21 ABABCDCD word^A · people^B · bird^A · steeple^B · place^C · savor^D · disgrace^C · disfavor^D
22 ABABCCDEED mammon^A · ledger^B · gammon^A · hedger^B · speak^C · week^C · bias^D · himself^E · pelf^E · pious^D
23 AABCCBDEDEFGGFHHIJJII acts^A · facts^A · fret^B · end^C · commend^C · let^B · grapple^D · it^E · chapel^D · it^E · hard^F · purdigious^G · religious^G · guard^F · below^H · go^H · odd^I · cassock^J · hassock^J · sod^I · god^I
24 ABAB-C--C- none^A · bear^B · sun^A · there^B · pray'r · ayont^C · futility · indeed · want^C · humility
25 ABBA turks^A · wraith^B · faith^B · works^A
26 ABABCBC-DEED--FGGFG land^A · mother^B · hand^A · other^B · alas^C · rather^B · brass^C · farther · very^D · contrive^E · revive^E · bury^D · on · sion · full^F · smoke^G · poke^G · bull^F · cloak^G
27 ABBACDCD-EE- home^A · old^B · scold^B · rome^A · quit^C · wafers^D · flit^C · chafers^D · collops · opinions^E · dominions^E · trollopes
28 AABCBCDEED climb^A · time^A · plant^B · rings^C · grant^B · clings^C · hurlothrumbo^D · earth^E · birth^E · jumbo^D
29 ABBACDCDEFEF perchance^A · feel^B · zeal^B · france^A · array^C · hanker^D · play^C · rancor^D · plan^E · mind^F · man^E · blind^F
30 ABABCDCDDEFEF hop^A · twine^B · prop^A · bine^B · dress'd^C · season^D · best^C · reason^D · treason^D · sect^E · form^F · uncheck'd^E · warm^F
31 ABBACDDCEFEFFG-G- loss^A · went^B · ghent^B · cross^A · spot^C · trace^D · base^D · not^C · urge^E · hope^F · verge^E · slope^F · scope^F · rare^G · blue · fair^G · thro
32 ABABCCDEDEFF cells^A · home^B · dwells^A · comb^B · beside^C · pride^C · birth^D · purse^E · earth^D · worse^E · attaint^F · saint^F
33 AABCCBDDEE--D hard^A · yard^A · sail^B · stiff^C · if^C · tail^B · man^D · clan^D · bridles^E · sidles^E · corner · her · fan^D
34 AABCCBB-DEDFEF words^A · birds^A · eyes^B · sinner^C · dinner^C · dyes^B · skies^B · amore · story^D · chick^E · glory^D · jill^F · kick^E · bill^F
35 AA---- paints^A · saints^A · door · riches · poor · breeches
36 A-A- spout^A · fustian · about^A · combustion
37 AB-AB talk^A · flown^B · baulk · walk^A · own^B
38 ABAB pious^A · soul^B · bias^A · bowl^B
39 ABBAA stands^A · kirk^B · work^B · contrabands^A · hands^A
40 A-ABB-CC--DEDEF-F- whom^A · nature · bloom^A · feature^B · creature^B · dome · bells^C · knells^C · lark · clerk · linnet^D · want^E · it^D · font^E · altar^F · grove · psalter^F · love
41 ABBACBC necessitarians^A · dust^B · must^B · utilitarians^A · phylacteries^C · trust^B · factories^C
42 ABB-ACCDCD door^A · greet^B · meet^B · poor · soar^A · throng^C · belong^C · own^D · song^C · lone^D
43 ABABCDDCEFFEGHHG questions^A · mind^B · suggestions^A · kind^B · vigor^C · retains^D · pains^D · rigor^C · affiliation^E · persuasion^F · occasion^F · conciliation^E · fuss^G · infirm^H · term^H · thus^G
44 AA-BB-CDDCCEFFE rambles^A · shambles^A · quarter · folks^B · coax^B · slaughter · ox^C · streak^D · cheek^D · flocks^C · blocks^C · huddle^E · group'd^F · stoop'd^F · puddle^E
45 AABABCDDCEFFE dealt^A · felt^A · it^B · smelt^A · it^B · force^C · full^D · wool^D · hoarse^C · expostulation^E · by^F · why^F · conciliation^E
46 AABCCBDBD flint^A · hint^A · wether^B · crop^C · shop^C · feather^B · grim^D · together^B · him^D
47 ABBA quarrel^A · prevail^B · tale^B · moral^A
48 ABBAA lass^A · decline^B · sign^B · pass^A · ass^A
49 ABABCDDC- bilk^A · bowl^B · milk^A · foal^B · skinny^C · ann^D · can^D · ninny^C · jenny
50 AABCCBDDEFEEF case^A · place^A · daughter^B · male^C · pail^C · water^B · eight^D · gate^D · back^E · day^F · lack^E · jack^E · bray^F
51 AABCCB story^A · glory^A · blindness^B · saws^C · haws^C · kindness^B

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
"Protruded, as the dove so staunch	8	˘/˘·····
For peace supports an olive branch."	8	··˘/·/˘·
"Close, close your eyes with holy dread,	8	·····/˘·
And weave a circle round him thrice,	8	···/˘···
For he on honey-dew hath fed	8	···/˘···
And drunk the milk of Paradise."--COLERIDGE.	10	·····/˘·/˘
"It's very hard them kind of men	8	·/˘·····
Won't let a body be."--Old Ballad.	9	···/˘··/˘
A wanderer, Wilson, from my native land,	10	·/˘/˘··/˘·
Remote, O Rae, from godliness and thee,	10	˘/···/˘˘··
Where rolls between us the eternal sea,	10	······˘/˘·
Besides some furlongs of a foreign sand,--	10	˘/·/···/˘·
Beyond the broadest Scotch of London Wall;	10	···/˘··/˘·
Beyond the loudest Saint that has a call;	10	···/˘·····
Across the wavy waste between us stretch'd,	10	˘/·/˘·····
A friendly missive warns me of a stricture,	11	·/˘/˘····/˘
Wherein my likeness you have darkly etch'd,	10	···/˘··/˘·
And though I have not seen the shadow sketch'd,	10	·······/··
Thus I remark prophetic on the picture.	11	··˘/˘/˘··/˘
I guess the features:--in a line to paint	10	···/˘·····
Their moral ugliness, I'm not a saint.	10	·/˘/˘˘····
Not one of those self-constituted saints,	10	·····/˘·˘·
Quacks--not physicians--in the cure of souls,	10	··˘/˘·····
Censors who sniff out mortal taints,	8	/˘···/˘·
And call the devil over his own coals--	10	···/˘·····
Those pseudo Privy Councillors of God,	10	·/˘/˘·····
Who write down judgments with a pen hard-nibb'd;	10	···/˘·····
Ushers of Beelzebub's Black Rod,	8	/˘······
Commending sinners, not to ice thick-ribb'd,	10	˘/˘/˘·····
But endless flames, to scorch them up like flax--	10	·/˘·······
Yet sure of heav'n themselves, as if they'd cribb'd	10	····˘/····
Th' impression of St. Peter's keys in wax!	10	˘/˘··/˘···
Of such a character no single trace	10	···/˘˘·/˘·
Exists, I know, in my fictitious face;	10	˘/····˘/˘·
There wants a certain cast about the eye;	10	···/˘·····
A certain lifting of the nose's tip;	10	·/˘/˘··/˘·
A certain curling of the nether lip,	10	·/˘/˘··/˘·
In scorn of all that is, beneath the sky;	10	··········
In brief it is an aspect deleterious,	11	·····/··˘/˘
A face decidedly not serious,	10	··˘/˘˘·/˘˘
A face profane, that would not do at all	10	··˘/······
To make a face at Exeter Hall,--	9	·····/˘˘·
That Hall where bigots rant, and cant, and pray,	10	···/˘·····
And laud each other face to face,	8	···/˘···
Till ev'ry farthing-candle ray	8	···/˘/˘·
Conceives itself a great gas-light of grace.	10	˘/˘/······
Well!--be the graceless lineaments confest!	10	···/˘·····
I do enjoy this bounteous beauteous earth;	12	··˘/·/˘˘/˘˘·
And dote upon a jest	6	······
"Within the limits of becoming mirth";--	10	···/˘·˘/˘·
No solemn sanctimonious face I pull,	10	·/˘·˘/˘···
Nor think I'm pious when I'm only bilious--	11	···/··/˘/˘˘
Nor study in my sanctum supercilious	11	·/˘··/˘·˘/˘
To frame a Sabbath Bill or forge a Bull.	10	···/˘·····
I pray for grace--repent each sinful act--	10	····˘/·/˘·
Peruse, but underneath the rose, my Bible;	11	˘/··˘/···/˘
And love my neighbor far too well, in fact,	10	···/˘·····
To call and twit him with a godly tract	10	·······/˘·
That's turn'd by application to a libel.	11	····˘/˘··/˘
My heart ferments not with the bigot's leaven,	11	··˘/···/˘/˘
All creeds I view with toleration thorough,	11	······˘/˘/˘
And have a horror of regarding heaven	11	···/˘·˘/˘/˘
As anybody's rotten borough.	9	·/˘˘˘/˘/·
What else? no part I take in party fray,	10	·······/˘·
With troops from Billingsgate's slang-whanging tartars,	11	·······/˘/˘
I fear no Pope--and let great Ernest play	10	·······/˘·
At Fox and Goose with Foxs' Martyrs!	8	······/˘
I own I laugh at over-righteous men,	10	·······/˘·
I own I shake my sides at ranters,	9	·········
And treat sham-Abr'am saints with wicked banters,	11	···˘/··/˘/˘
I even own, that there are times--but then	10	·/˘·······
It's when I've got my wine--I say d----canters!	11	·········/˘
I've no ambition to enact the spy	10	··˘/˘·˘/··
On fellow souls, a Spiritual Pry--	10	·/˘··/˘˘˘·
'Tis said that people ought to guard their noses,	11	···/˘····/˘
Who thrust them into matters none of theirs;	10	·····/˘···
And tho' no delicacy discomposes	10	···/˘˘····
Your Saint, yet I consider faith and pray'rs	10	····˘/˘···
Amongst the privatest of men's affairs.	10	···/˘˘··˘/
I do not hash the Gospel in my books,	10	·····/˘···
And thus upon the public mind intrude it,	11	·····/˘·˘/·
As if I thought, like Otaheitan cooks,	10	··········
No food was fit to eat till I had chewed it.	11	···········
On Bible stilts I don't affect to stalk;	10	·/˘···˘/··
Nor lard with Scripture my familiar talk,--	10	···/˘·˘/˘·
For man may pious texts repeat,	8	···/˘·˘/
And yet religion have no inward seat;	10	··˘/˘··/˘·
'Tis not so plain as the old Hill of Howth,	10	··········
A man has got his belly full of meat	10	·····/˘···
Because he talks with victuals in his mouth!	10	·····/˘···
Mere verbiage,--it is not worth a carrot!	11	·/˘˘·····/˘
Why, Socrates--or Plato--where's the odds?--	10	·/˘··/˘···
Once taught a jay to supplicate the Gods,	10	·····/˘˘··
And made a Polly-theist of a Parrot!	11	···/˘/˘··/˘
A mere professor, spite of all his cant, is	11	··˘/˘······
Not a whit better than a Mantis,--	9	···/˘··/˘
An insect, of what clime I can't determine,	11	·/······˘/˘
That lifts its paws most parson-like, and thence,	10	·····/˘···
By simple savages--thro' sheer pretence--	10	·/˘/˘˘····
Is reckon'd quite a saint amongst the vermin.	11	·/˘······/˘
But where's the reverence, or where the nous,	10	···/˘˘····
To ride on one's religion thro' the lobby,	11	····˘/˘··/˘
Whether a stalking-horse or hobby,	9	···/˘··/˘
To show its pious paces to "the house"?	10	···/˘/˘···
I honestly confess that I would hinder	11	·/˘˘˘/···/˘
The Scottish member's legislative rigs,	10	·/˘/˘/˘·˘·
That spiritual Pinder,	7	·/˘˘˘/˘
Who looks on erring souls as straying pigs,	10	···/˘··/˘·
That must be lash'd by law, wherever found,	10	······˘/˘·
And driv'n to church, as to the parish pound.	10	·······/˘·
I do confess, without reserve or wheedle,	11	··˘/··˘/·/˘
I view that grovelling idea as one	10	···/˘˘˘/··
Worthy some parish clerk's ambitious son,	10	/˘·/˘·˘/˘·
A charity-boy, who longs to be a beadle.	11	·/˘······/˘
On such a vital topic sure 'tis odd	10	···/˘/˘···
How much a man can differ from his neighbor:	11	·····/˘··/˘
One wishes worship freely giv'n to God,	10	·/˘/˘/˘···
Another wants to make it statute-labor--	11	˘/˘····/˘/˘
The broad distinction in a line to draw,	10	··˘/˘·····
As means to lead us to the skies above,	10	··········
You say--Sir Andrew and his love of law,	10	···/˘·····
And I--the Saviour with his law of love.	10	···/˘·····
Spontaneously to God should tend the soul,	10	˘/˘˘······
Like the magnetic needle to the Pole;	10	··˘/˘/˘···
But what were that intrinsic virtue worth,	10	····˘/˘/˘·
Suppose some fellow, with more zeal than knowledge,	11	˘/·/˘····/˘
Fresh from St. Andrew's College,	7	···/·/˘
Should nail the conscious needle to the north?	10	···/˘/˘···
I do confess that I abhor and shrink	10	··˘/··˘/··
From schemes, with a religious willy-nilly,	11	····˘/˘/˘/˘
That frown upon St. Giles's sins, but blink	10	·····/˘···
The peccadilloes of all Piccadilly--	10	······/˘·˘
My soul revolts at such a bare hypocrisy,	11	··˘/····˘/˘
And will not, dare not, fancy in accord	10	·····/˘·˘/
The Lord of Hosts with an Exclusive Lord	10	······˘/˘·
Of this world's aristocracy.	8	····˘/˘˘
It will not own a notion so unholy,	11	·····/˘·˘/˘
As thinking that the rich by easy trips	10	·/˘····/˘·
May go to heav'n, whereas the poor and lowly	11	····˘/···/˘
Must work their passage, as they do in ships.	10	···/˘·····
One place there is--beneath the burial sod,	10	·······/˘·
Where all mankind are equalized by death;	10	··//·/˘···
Another place there is--the Fane of God,	10	˘/˘·······
Where all are equal, who draw living breath;--	10	···/˘··/˘·
Juggle who will elsewhere with his own soul,	10	/˘··/·····
Playing the Judas with a temporal dole--	10	/˘·/˘··/˘·
He who can come beneath that awful cope,	10	·······/˘·
In the dread presence of a Maker just,	10	···/˘··/˘·
Who metes to ev'ry pinch of human dust	10	·······/˘·
One even measure of immortal hope--	10	·/˘/˘·˘/˘·
He who can stand within that holy door,	10	·······/˘·
With soul unbow'd by that pure spirit-level,	11	··˘/···/˘/˘
And frame unequal laws for rich and poor,--	10	··˘/˘·····
Might sit for Hell and represent the Devil!	11	······˘/·/˘
Such are the solemn sentiments, O Rae,	10	···/˘/˘˘··
In your last Journey-Work, perchance you ravage,	11	···/˘·˘/·/˘
Seeming, but in more courtly terms, to say	10	/˘···/˘···
I'm but a heedless, creedless, godless savage;	11	···/˘/˘/˘/˘
A very Guy, deserving fire and faggots,--	11	·/˘·˘/˘/·/˘
A Scoffer, always on the grin,	8	·/˘/····
And sadly given to the mortal sin	10	·/˘/˘··/˘·
Of liking Maw-worms less than merry maggots!	11	·/˘····/˘/˘
The humble records of my life to search,	10	·/˘/˘·····
I have not herded with mere pagan beasts;	10	···/˘··/˘·
But sometimes I have "sat at good men's feasts,"	10	·˘/·······
And I have been "where bells have knoll'd to church."	10	··········
Dear bells! how sweet the sounds of village bells	10	·······/˘·
When on the undulating air they swim!	10	···/˘·˘···
Now loud as welcomes! faint, now, as farewells!	10	···/˘····/
And trembling all about the breezy dells	10	·/˘····/˘·
As flutter'd by the wings of Cherubim.	10	·/˘····/˘˘
Meanwhile the bees are chanting a low hymn;	10	/····/˘···
And lost to sight th' ecstatic lark above	10	····˘/˘···
Sings, like a soul beatified, of love,--	10	····˘/˘···
With, now and then, the coo of the wild pigeon;--	11	·········/˘
O Pagans, Heathens, Infidels and Doubters!	11	·/˘/˘/˘˘·/˘
If such sweet sounds can't woo you to religion,	11	········˘/˘
Will the harsh voices of church cads and touters?	11	···/˘······
A man may cry "Church! Church!" at ev'ry word,	10	··········
With no more piety than other people--	11	···/˘˘·/˘/˘
A daw's not reckon'd a religious bird	10	···/˘·˘/˘·
Because it keeps a-cawing from a steeple.	11	·········/˘
The Temple is a good, a holy place,	10	·/˘····/˘·
But quacking only gives it an ill savor;	11	·/˘/˘····/˘
While saintly mountebanks the porch disgrace,	10	·/˘·····˘/
And bring religion's self into disfavor!	11	··˘/˘···˘/˘
Behold yon servitor of God and Mammon,	11	˘/·/˘˘···/˘
Who, binding up his Bible with his Ledger,	11	·/˘··/˘··/˘
Blends Gospel texts with trading gammon,	9	·/˘··/˘/˘
A black-leg saint, a spiritual hedger,	11	·····/˘˘˘/˘
Who backs his rigid Sabbath, so to speak,	10	···/˘/˘···
Against the wicked remnant of the week,	10	···/˘/˘···
A saving bet against his sinful bias--	11	·/˘····/˘/˘
"Rogue that I am," he whispers to himself,	10	·····/˘·˘/
"I lie--I cheat--do anything for pelf,	10	·····/˘···
But who on earth can say I am not pious?"	11	·········/˘
In proof how over-righteousness re-acts,	10	·····/˘˘··
Accept an anecdote well based on facts.	10	˘/·/˘·····
One Sunday morning--(at the day don't fret)--	10	·/·/˘·····
In riding with a friend to Ponder's End	10	·/˘····/˘·
Outside the stage, we happened to commend	10	//···/˘·˘/
A certain mansion that we saw To Let.	10	·/˘/˘·····
"Ay," cried our coachman, with our talk to grapple	11	··//˘·/··/˘
"You're right! no house along the road comes nigh it!	11	····˘/·····
'Twas built by the same man as built yon chapel	11	·········/˘
And master wanted once to buy it,--	9	·/˘/˘····
But t'other driv the bargain much too hard--	11	·˘/˘··/˘···
He ax'd sure-ly a sum purdigious!	9	·········
But being so particular religious,	11	·/˘·˘/˘˘˘/˘
Why, that, you see, put master on his guard!"	10	·····/˘···
Church is "a little heav'n below,	8	···/˘···
I have been there and still would go,"--	8	········
Yet I am none of those, who think it odd	10	··········
A man can pray unbidden from the cassock,	11	·········/˘
And, passing by the customary hassock,	11	·/˘··/˘·˘/˘
Kneel down remote upon the simple sod,	10	··˘/···/˘·
And sue in forma pauperis to God.	10	···/˘·····
As for the rest,--intolerant to none,	10	····˘/˘˘··
Whatever shape the pious rite may bear,	10	·/˘··/˘···
Ev'n the poor Pagan's homage to the Sun	10	···/˘/˘···
I would not harshly scorn, lest even there	10	···/˘··/˘·
I spurn'd some elements of Christian pray'r--	10	···/˘˘·/˘·
An aim, tho' erring, at a "world ayont,"	10	···/˘···˘/
Acknowledgment of good--of man's futility,	11	˘/˘····˘/˘˘
A sense of need, and weakness, and indeed	10	·····/˘·˘/
That very thing so many Christians want--	10	·/˘··/˘/˘·
Humility.	4	˘/˘˘
Such, unto Papists, Jews or turban'd Turks,	10	·······/˘·
Such is my spirit--(I don't mean my wraith!)	10	···/˘·····
Such, may it please you, is my humble faith;	10	·······/˘·
I know, full well, you do not like my works!	10	··········
I have not sought, 'tis true, the Holy Land,	10	·······/˘·
As full of texts as Cuddie Headrigg's mother,	11	·········/˘
The Bible in one hand,	6	·/˘···
And my own commonplace-book in the other--	11	···/˘····/˘
But you have been to Palestine--alas!	10	·····/˘·˘/
Some minds improve by travel, others, rather,	11	··˘/·/˘/˘/˘
Resemble copper wire, or brass,	9	˘/˘/˘/˘··
Which gets the narrower by going farther!	11	···/˘˘·/˘/˘
Worthless are all such Pilgrimages--very!	11	/˘···/˘˘˘/˘
If Palmers at the Holy Tomb contrive	10	·/˘··/˘·˘/
The human heats and rancor to revive	10	·/˘··/˘·˘/
That at the Sepulchre they ought to bury.	10	········/˘
A sorry sight it is to rest the eye on,	11	·/˘········
To see a Christian creature graze at Sion,	10	···/˘/˘···
Then homeward, of the saintly pasture full,	10	·/˘··/˘/˘·
Rush bellowing, and breathing fire and smoke,	10	·/˘˘·/˘/··
At crippled Papistry to butt and poke,	10	·/˘/˘˘····
Exactly as a skittish Scottish bull	10	˘/˘··/˘/˘·
Hunts an old woman in a scarlet cloak!	10	···/˘··/˘·
Why leave a serious, moral, pious home,	10	···/˘/˘/˘·
Scotland, renown'd for sanctity of old,	10	/˘˘/·/˘˘··
Far distant Catholics to rate and scold	9	·/˘/˘····
For--doing as the Romans do at Rome?	10	·/˘··/˘···
With such a bristling spirit wherefore quit	10	···/˘˘//˘·
The Land of Cakes for any land of wafers,	11	·····/˘··/˘
About the graceless images to flit,	10	···/˘/˘˘··
And buzz and chafe importunate as chafers,	11	····˘/˘˘···
Longing to carve the carvers to Scotch collops?--	11	/˘···/˘····
People who hold such absolute opinions	11	/˘···/˘·˘/˘
Should stay at home, in Protestant dominions,	11	·····/˘˘˘/˘
Not travel like male Mrs. Trollopes.	9	·/˘··/˘··
Gifted with noble tendency to climb,	10	/˘·/˘/˘˘··
Yet weak at the same time,	6	······
Faith is a kind of parasitic plant,	10	······˘/˘·
That grasps the nearest stem with tendril-rings;	10	···/˘··/˘·
And as the climate and the soil may grant,	10	···/˘·····
So is the sort of tree to which it clings.	10	··········
Consider then, before, like Hurlothrumbo	11	˘/˘········
You aim your club at any creed on earth,	10	·····/˘···
That, by the simple accident of birth,	10	···/˘/˘˘··
You might have been High Priest to Mumbo Jumbo.	11	·······/˘/˘
For me--thro' heathen ignorance perchance,	10	···/˘/˘˘˘/
Not having knelt in Palestine,--I feel	10	·/˘··/˘···
None of that griffinish excess of zeal,	10	······/···
Some travellers would blaze with here in France.	10	·/˘˘······
Dolls I can see in virgin-like array,	10	·····/˘·˘/
Nor for a scuffle with the idols hanker	11	···/˘··/˘/˘
Like crazy Quixote at the puppet's play,	11	·/˘˘/˘··/˘·
If their "offence be rank," should mine be rancor?	11	··˘/·····/˘
Mild light, and by degrees, should be the plan	10	····˘/····
To cure the dark and erring mind;	8	·····/˘·
But who would rush at a benighted man,	10	······˘/˘·
And give him two black eyes for being blind?	10	·······/˘·
Suppose the tender but luxuriant hop	10	˘/·/˘·˘/˘·
Around a canker'd stem should twine,	8	········
What Kentish boor would tear away the prop	10	······˘/··
So roughly as to wound, nay, kill the bine?	10	·/˘·······
The images, 'tis true, are strangely dress'd,	10	·/˘˘···/˘·
With gauds and toys extremely out of season;	11	····˘/˘··/˘
The carving nothing of the very best,	10	·/˘/˘··/˘·
The whole repugnant to the eye of reason,	11	··˘/˘····/˘
Shocking to Taste, and to Fine Arts a treason--	11	/˘·······/˘
Yet ne'er o'erlook in bigotry of sect	10	·····/˘˘··
One truly Catholic, one common form,	9	·/˘/˘·/˘·
At which uncheck'd	4	··˘/
All Christian hearts may kindle or keep warm.	10	·/˘··/˘···
Say, was it to my spirit's gain or loss,	10	·····/˘···
One bright and balmy morning, as I went	10	···/˘/˘···
From Liege's lovely environs to Ghent,	10	·/˘/˘˘/˘··
If hard by the wayside I found a cross,	10	····/·····
That made me breathe a pray'r upon the spot--	10	··········
While Nature of herself, as if to trace	10	·/˘·˘/····
The emblem's use, had trail'd around its base	10	·/˘·······
The blue significant Forget-me-not?	10	··˘/˘˘˘/··
Methought, the claims of Charity to urge	10	˘/···/˘˘··
More forcibly, along with Faith and Hope,	10	·/˘˘˘/····
The pious choice had pitched upon the verge	10	·/˘·······
Of a delicious slope	6	··˘/˘·
Giving the eye much variegated scope;--	10	/˘···/˘˘˘·
"Look round," it whisper'd, "on that prospect rare,	10	···/˘··/˘·
Those vales so verdant, and those hills so blue;	10	···/˘·····
Enjoy the sunny world, so fresh, and fair,	10	˘/·/˘·····
But"--(how the simple legend pierced me thro'!)	10	···/˘/˘···
With sweet kind natures, as in honey'd cells,	10	···/˘·····
Religion lives, and feels herself at home;	10	˘/˘···˘/··
But only on a formal visit dwells	10	·/˘··/˘/˘·
Where wasps instead of bees have formed the comb.	10	··˘/······
Shun pride, O Rae!--whatever sort beside	10	·····/˘·˘/
You take in lieu, shun spiritual pride!	10	·····/˘˘˘·
A pride there is of rank--a pride of birth,	10	··········
A pride of learning, and a pride of purse,	10	···/˘·····
A London pride--in short, there be on earth	10	·/˘·······
A host of prides, some better and some worse;	10	·····/˘···
But of all prides, since Lucifer's attaint,	10	·····/˘˘˘/
The proudest swells a self-elected Saint.	10	·/˘···˘/˘·
To picture that cold pride so harsh and hard,	10	·/˘·······
Fancy a peacock in a poultry yard.	10	/˘·/···/˘·
Behold him in conceited circles sail,	10	˘/··˘/˘/˘·
Strutting and dancing, and now planted stiff,	10	/˘·/˘··/˘·
In all his pomp of pageantry, as if	10	·····/˘˘··
He felt "the eyes of Europe" on his tail!	10	·····/˘···
As for the humble breed retain'd by man,	10	···/˘·˘/··
He scorns the whole domestic clan--	8	····˘/˘·
He bows, he bridles,	5	···/˘
He wheels, he sidles,	5	···/˘
At last, with stately dodgings, in a corner	11	···/˘/˘··/˘
He pens a simple russet hen, to scorn her	11	···/˘/˘····
Full in the blaze of his resplendent fan!	10	······˘/˘·
"Look here," he cries (to give him words),	8	········
"Thou feather'd clay--thou scum of birds!"	8	·/˘·····
Flirting the rustling plumage in her eyes,--	10	/˘·/˘/˘···
"Look here, thou vile predestined sinner,	10	·····/˘˘/˘
Doom'd to be roasted for a dinner,	9	···/˘··/˘
Behold those lovely variegated dyes!	10	˘/·/˘/˘˘˘·
These are the rainbow colors of the skies,	10	···/·/˘···
That Heav'n has shed upon me con amore--	10	········/˘
A Bird of Paradise?--a pretty story!	11	···/˘··/˘/˘
I am that Saintly Fowl, thou paltry chick!	10	···/˘··/˘·
Look at my crown of glory!	7	·····/˘
Thou dingy, dirty, drabbled, draggled jill!"	10	·/˘/˘/˘˘··
And off goes Partlet, wriggling from a kick,	10	···/˘/˘···
With bleeding scalp laid open by his bill!	10	·/˘··/˘···
That little simile exactly paints	9	·/˘/˘˘/˘·
How sinners are despised by saints.	9	·/˘·˘/˘··
By saints!--the Hypocrites that ope heav'n's door	10	···/˘·····
Obsequious to the sinful man of riches--	11	˘/˘··/˘··/˘
But put the wicked, naked, barelegg'd poor	11	···/˘/˘····
In parish stocks instead of breeches.	9	·/˘·˘/·/˘
The Saints!--the Bigots that in public spout,	10	···/˘··/˘·
Spread phosphorus of zeal on scraps of fustian,	11	·/˘˘·····/˘
And go like walking "Lucifers" about	10	···/˘/˘˘··
Mere living bundles of combustion.	9	·/˘/˘·˘/˘
The Saints!--the aping Fanatics that talk	10	···/˘˘/˘··
All cant and rant, and rhapsodies high-flown--	10	·····/˘˘··
That bid you baulk	4	····
A Sunday walk,	4	·/··
And shun God's work as you should shun your own.	10	··········
The Saints!--the Formalists, the extra pious,	11	···/˘˘·/˘/˘
Who think the mortal husk can save the soul,	10	···/˘·····
By trundling with a mere mechanic bias,	11	·/˘···˘/˘/˘
To church, just like a lignum-vitae bowl!	10	·······/˘·
The Saints!--the Pharisees, whose beadle stands	9	······/˘·
Beside a stern coercive kirk.	8	˘/··˘/˘·
A piece of human mason-work,	8	···/˘/˘·
Calling all sermons contrabands,	8	/˘·/˘/˘·
In that great Temple that's not made with hands!	10	···/˘·····
Thrice blessed, rather, is the man, with whom	10	··˘/˘·····
The gracious prodigality of nature,	11	·/˘······/˘
The balm, the bliss, the beauty, and the bloom,	10	·····/˘···
The bounteous providence in ev'ry feature,	11	·/˘˘/˘···/˘
Recall the good Creator to his creature,	11	˘/··˘/˘··/˘
Making all earth a fane, all heav'n its dome!	10	/˘········
To his tuned spirit the wild heather-bells	10	···/˘··/˘·
Ring Sabbath knells;	4	·/˘·
The jubilate of the soaring lark	9	·/˘˘··/˘·
Is chant of clerk;	4	····
For choir, the thrush and the gregarious linnet;	11	·/····˘/˘/˘
The sod's a cushion for his pious want;	10	···/˘··/˘·
And, consecrated by the heav'n within it,	11	·/˘·˘······
The sky-blue pool, a font.	6	······
Each cloud-capped mountain is a holy altar;	11	···/˘··/˘/˘
An organ breathes in every grove;	9	·/˘··/˘˘·
And the full heart's a Psalter,	7	·····/˘
Rich in deep hymns of gratitude and love!	10	·····/˘···
Sufficiently by stern necessitarians	10	˘/˘·······
Poor Nature, with her face begrimed by dust,	10	·/˘·······
Is stoked, coked, smoked, and almost choked; but must	10	·····/····
Religion have its own Utilitarians,	11	˘/˘···˘·˘/˘
Labell'd with evangelical phylacteries,	10	/˘··˘/˘···

The first 400 of 502 lines; the reader marks them all.

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