Opposites
The Half-Soled-Boots-With-Toecaps-ChildWalked out into the streetAnd splashed in all the puddles tillShe had such shocking feet.
The Patent-Leather-Slipper-ChildStayed quietly in the houseAnd sat upon the fender stoolAs still as any mouse.
The Half-Soled-Boots-With-Toecaps-Child,Her hands were black as ink;She would come running through the houseAnd begging for a drink.
The Patent-Leather-Slipper-Child,Her hands were white as snow;She did not like to play around,She only liked to sew.
The Half-Soled-Boots-With-Toecaps-ChildLost hair ribbons galore;She dropped them on the garden walks,She dropped them on the floor.
The Patent-Leather-Slipper-Child,O thoughtful little girl!She liked to walk quite soberly,It kept her hair in curl.
The Half-Soled-Boots-With-Toecaps-ChildWhen she was glad or proudJust flung her arms round Mother’s neckAnd kissed her very loud.
The Patent-Leather-Slipper-ChildWas shocked at such a sight,She only offered you her cheekAt morning and at night.
O Half-Soled-Boots-With-Toecaps-Child,Your happy laughing faceDoes like a scented Summer roseMake sweet the dullest place.
O Patent-Leather-Slipper-Child,My dear, I’m well content,To have my daughter in my arms,And not an ornament.
Words in this poem
- shocking a.
- Causing to shake or tremble, as by a blow; especially, causing to recoil with horror or disgust; extremely offensive or disgusting.
- stayed a.
- Staid; fixed; settled; sober; -- now written staid. See Staid.
- fender n.
- One who or that which defends or protects by warding off harm; as: (a) A screen to prevent coals or sparks of an open fire from escaping to the floor. [From Fend, v. t. & i., cf. Defender.]
- galore n.
- Plenty; abundance; in abundance. [Scot. gelore, gilore, galore, fr. Gael. gu leòr, enough; gu- to, also an adverbial prefix + leòr, leòir, enough; or fr. Ir. goleor, the same word.]
- soberly a.
- Grave; serious; solemn; sad.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Opposites is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems, Project Gutenberg ebook #59276; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Katherine Mansfield, Opposites, in Poems (1923), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #59276, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/mansfield-poems/opposites.html, id L27616.
Form and metre
Opposites is 40 lines in 10 stanzas of 4 lines each. The metre is common measure, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 92%).
See other poems in common measure.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 1 -A-A child · streetA · till · feetA
- 2 -A-A child · houseA · stool · mouseA
- 3 -A-A child · inkA · house · drinkA
- 4 -A-A child · snowA · around · sewA
- 5 -A-A child · galoreA · walks · floorA
- 6 -A-A child · girlA · soberly · curlA
- 7 -A-A child · proudA · neck · loudA
- 8 -A-A child · sightA · cheek · nightA
- 9 -A-A child · faceA · rose · placeA
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against common measure. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| The Half-Soled-Boots-With-Toecaps-Child | 8 | ········ |
| Walked out into the street | 6 | ······ |
| And splashed in all the puddles till | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| She had such shocking feet. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| The Patent-Leather-Slipper-Child | 8 | ·/˘/˘/˘· |
| Stayed quietly in the house | 7 | ·/˘˘··· |
| And sat upon the fender stool | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| As still as any mouse. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| The Half-Soled-Boots-With-Toecaps-Child, | 8 | ········ |
| Her hands were black as ink; | 6 | ······ |
| She would come running through the house | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And begging for a drink. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| The Patent-Leather-Slipper-Child, | 8 | ·/˘/˘/˘· |
| Her hands were white as snow; | 6 | ······ |
| She did not like to play around, | 8 | ········ |
| She only liked to sew. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| The Half-Soled-Boots-With-Toecaps-Child | 8 | ········ |
| Lost hair ribbons galore; | 6 | ··/˘˘/ |
| She dropped them on the garden walks, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| She dropped them on the floor. | 6 | ······ |
| The Patent-Leather-Slipper-Child, | 8 | ·/˘/˘/˘· |
| O thoughtful little girl! | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| She liked to walk quite soberly, | 8 | ·····/˘˘ |
| It kept her hair in curl. | 6 | ······ |
| The Half-Soled-Boots-With-Toecaps-Child | 8 | ········ |
| When she was glad or proud | 6 | ······ |
| Just flung her arms round Mother’s neck | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And kissed her very loud. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| The Patent-Leather-Slipper-Child | 8 | ·/˘/˘/˘· |
| Was shocked at such a sight, | 6 | ······ |
| She only offered you her cheek | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| At morning and at night. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| O Half-Soled-Boots-With-Toecaps-Child, | 8 | ········ |
| Your happy laughing face | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| Does like a scented Summer rose | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Make sweet the dullest place. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| O Patent-Leather-Slipper-Child, | 8 | ·/˘/˘/˘· |
| My dear, I’m well content, | 6 | ····/˘ |
| To have my daughter in my arms, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And not an ornament. | 6 | ···/˘˘ |
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.