The Emperor's Rhyme
The King of Peru(Who was Emperor too)Had a sort of a rhymeWhich was useful to know,If he felt very shyWhen a stranger came by,Or they asked him the timeWhen his watch didn't go;Or supposing he fell(By mistake) down a well,Or he tumbled when skatingAnd sat on his hat,Or perhaps wasn't told,Till his porridge was cold,That his breakfast was waiting—Or something like that;Oh, whenever the EmperorGot in to a temper, orFelt himself sulky or sad,He would murmur and murmur,Until he felt firmer,This curious rhyme which he had:
Eight eights are sixty-four,Multiply by seven.When it's done,Carry oneAnd take away eleven,Nine nines are eighty-oneMultiply by three.If it's more,Carry four,And then it's time for tea.
So whenever the QueenTook his armour to clean,And she didn't rememberTo use any starch;Or his birthday (in May)Was a horrible day,Being wet as NovemberAnd windy as March;Or, if sitting in stateWith the Wise and the Great,He just happened to hiccupWhile signing his name,Or the Queen gave a cough,When his crown tumbled offAs he bent down to pick upA pen for the same;Oh, whenever the EmperorGot into a temper, orFelt himself awkward and shy,He would whisper and whisper,Until he felt crisper,This odd little rhyme to the sky:
Eight eights are eighty-one;Multiply by seven.If it's more,Carry four,And take away eleven.Nine nines are sixty-four;Multiply by three.When it's done,Carry one,And then it's time for tea.
Words in this poem
- curious a.
- Difficult to please or satisfy; solicitous to be correct; careful; scrupulous; nice; exact. [OF. curios, curius, F. curieux, L. curiosus careful, inquisitive, fr. cura care. See Cure.]
- armour n.
- Defensive arms for the body; any clothing or covering worn to protect one's person in battle. [OE. armure, fr. F. armure, OF. armeure, fr. L. armatura. See Armature.]
- crisper n.
- One who, or that which, crisps or curls; an instrument for making little curls in the nap of cloth, as in chinchilla.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Emperor's Rhyme is in the public domain. This text is taken from Now We Are Six, Project Gutenberg ebook #70516; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: A. A. Milne, The Emperor's Rhyme, in Now We Are Six (1927), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #70516, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/milne-now-we-are-six/the-emperors-rhyme.html, id L27234.
Form and metre
The Emperor's Rhyme is 64 lines in 4 stanzas. The rhyme scheme is ABCCBCDAAD, complete in 2 of its 4 stanzas. The metre is anapaestic dimeter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 85%).
See other poems in anapaestic dimeter.
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 AABCDDBCEEFGHHFG--IJJI peruA · tooA · rhymeB · knowC · shyD · byD · timeB · goC · fellE · wellE · skatingF · hatG · toldH · coldH · waitingF · thatG · emperor · or · sadI · murmurJ · firmerJ · hadI
- 2 ABCCBCDAAD fourA · sevenB · doneC · oneC · elevenB · oneC · threeD · moreA · fourA · teaD
- 3 AABCDDBCEEFGHHFG--IJJI queenA · cleanA · rememberB · starchC · mayD · dayD · novemberB · marchC · stateE · greatE · hiccupF · nameG · coughH · offH · upF · sameG · emperor · or · shyI · whisperJ · crisperJ · skyI
- 4 ABCCBCDAAD oneA · sevenB · moreC · fourC · elevenB · fourC · threeD · doneA · oneA · teaD
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 anapaestic dimeter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| The King of Peru | 5 | ···˘/ |
| (Who was Emperor too) | 6 | ··/˘˘· |
| Had a sort of a rhyme | 6 | ······ |
| Which was useful to know, | 6 | ··/˘·· |
| If he felt very shy | 6 | ···/˘· |
| When a stranger came by, | 6 | ··/˘·· |
| Or they asked him the time | 6 | ······ |
| When his watch didn't go; | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Or supposing he fell | 6 | ·˘/˘·· |
| (By mistake) down a well, | 6 | ·˘/··· |
| Or he tumbled when skating | 7 | ··/˘·/˘ |
| And sat on his hat, | 5 | ····· |
| Or perhaps wasn't told, | 6 | ·˘//˘· |
| Till his porridge was cold, | 6 | ··/˘·· |
| That his breakfast was waiting— | 7 | ··/˘·/˘ |
| Or something like that; | 5 | ·/˘·· |
| Oh, whenever the Emperor | 7 | ·˘/˘·/˘ |
| Got in to a temper, or | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Felt himself sulky or sad, | 7 | ·˘//˘·· |
| He would murmur and murmur, | 7 | ··/˘·/˘ |
| Until he felt firmer, | 6 | ····/˘ |
| This curious rhyme which he had: | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| Eight eights are sixty-four, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Multiply by seven. | 6 | /˘··/˘ |
| When it's done, | 3 | ··· |
| Carry one | 3 | /˘· |
| And take away eleven, | 7 | ··˘/˘/˘ |
| Nine nines are eighty-one | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Multiply by three. | 5 | /˘··· |
| If it's more, | 3 | ··· |
| Carry four, | 3 | /˘· |
| And then it's time for tea. | 6 | ······ |
| So whenever the Queen | 6 | ·˘/˘·· |
| Took his armour to clean, | 6 | ··/˘·· |
| And she didn't remember | 7 | ··/˘˘/˘ |
| To use any starch; | 5 | ··/˘· |
| Or his birthday (in May) | 6 | ··/··· |
| Was a horrible day, | 6 | ··/˘˘· |
| Being wet as November | 7 | /˘··˘/˘ |
| And windy as March; | 5 | ·/˘·· |
| Or, if sitting in state | 6 | ··/˘·· |
| With the Wise and the Great, | 6 | ······ |
| He just happened to hiccup | 7 | ··/˘·/˘ |
| While signing his name, | 5 | ·/˘·· |
| Or the Queen gave a cough, | 6 | ······ |
| When his crown tumbled off | 6 | ···/˘· |
| As he bent down to pick up | 7 | ······· |
| A pen for the same; | 5 | ····· |
| Oh, whenever the Emperor | 7 | ·˘/˘·/˘ |
| Got into a temper, or | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Felt himself awkward and shy, | 7 | ·˘//˘·· |
| He would whisper and whisper, | 7 | ··/˘·/˘ |
| Until he felt crisper, | 6 | ····/˘ |
| This odd little rhyme to the sky: | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| Eight eights are eighty-one; | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Multiply by seven. | 6 | /˘··/˘ |
| If it's more, | 3 | ··· |
| Carry four, | 3 | /˘· |
| And take away eleven. | 7 | ··˘/˘/˘ |
| Nine nines are sixty-four; | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Multiply by three. | 5 | /˘··· |
| When it's done, | 3 | ··· |
| Carry one, | 3 | /˘· |
| And then it's time for tea. | 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.