Buckingham Palace
They’re changing guard at Buckingham Palace—Christopher Robin went down with Alice.Alice is marrying one of the guard.“A soldier’s life is terrible hard,”Says Alice.
They’re changing guard at Buckingham Palace—Christopher Robin went down with Alice.We saw a guard in a sentry-box.“One of the sergeants looks after their socks,”Says Alice.
They’re changing guard at Buckingham Palace—Christopher Robin went down with Alice.We looked for the King, but he never came.“Well, God take care of him, all the same,”Says Alice.
They’re changing guard at Buckingham Palace—Christopher Robin went down with Alice.They’ve great big parties inside the grounds.“I wouldn’t be King for a hundred pounds,”Says Alice.
They’re changing guard at Buckingham Palace—Christopher Robin went down with Alice.A face looked out, but it wasn’t the King’s.“He’s much too busy a-signing things,”Says Alice.
They’re changing guard at Buckingham Palace—Christopher Robin went down with Alice.“Do you think the King knows all about me?”“Sure to, dear, but it’s time for tea,”Says Alice.
Words in this poem
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Buckingham Palace is in the public domain. This text is taken from When We Were Very Young, Project Gutenberg ebook #70271; 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, Buckingham Palace, in When We Were Very Young (1924), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #70271, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/milne-when-we-were-very-young/buckingham-palace.html, id L27176.
Form and metre
Buckingham Palace is 30 lines in 6 stanzas of 5 lines each. Every stanza rhymes AABBA, the Limerick.
See other limericks.
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 AABBA palaceA · aliceA · guardB · hardB · aliceA
- 2 AABBA palaceA · aliceA · boxB · socksB · aliceA
- 3 AABBA palaceA · aliceA · cameB · sameB · aliceA
- 4 AABBA palaceA · aliceA · groundsB · poundsB · aliceA
- 5 AABBA palaceA · aliceA · king'sB · thingsB · aliceA
- 6 AABBA palaceA · aliceA · meB · teaB · aliceA
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. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| They’re changing guard at Buckingham Palace— | 10 | ·/˘··/˘·/˘ |
| Christopher Robin went down with Alice. | 10 | /˘˘/˘···/˘ |
| Alice is marrying one of the guard. | 10 | /˘·/˘˘···· |
| “A soldier’s life is terrible hard,” | 9 | ·/˘··/˘˘· |
| Says Alice. | 3 | ·/˘ |
| They’re changing guard at Buckingham Palace— | 10 | ·/˘··/˘·/˘ |
| Christopher Robin went down with Alice. | 10 | /˘˘/˘···/˘ |
| We saw a guard in a sentry-box. | 9 | ······/˘· |
| “One of the sergeants looks after their socks,” | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Says Alice. | 3 | ·/˘ |
| They’re changing guard at Buckingham Palace— | 10 | ·/˘··/˘·/˘ |
| Christopher Robin went down with Alice. | 10 | /˘˘/˘···/˘ |
| We looked for the King, but he never came. | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| “Well, God take care of him, all the same,” | 9 | ········· |
| Says Alice. | 3 | ·/˘ |
| They’re changing guard at Buckingham Palace— | 10 | ·/˘··/˘·/˘ |
| Christopher Robin went down with Alice. | 10 | /˘˘/˘···/˘ |
| They’ve great big parties inside the grounds. | 9 | ···/˘/··· |
| “I wouldn’t be King for a hundred pounds,” | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| Says Alice. | 3 | ·/˘ |
| They’re changing guard at Buckingham Palace— | 10 | ·/˘··/˘·/˘ |
| Christopher Robin went down with Alice. | 10 | /˘˘/˘···/˘ |
| A face looked out, but it wasn’t the King’s. | 10 | ······/˘·· |
| “He’s much too busy a-signing things,” | 9 | ···/˘·/˘· |
| Says Alice. | 3 | ·/˘ |
| They’re changing guard at Buckingham Palace— | 10 | ·/˘··/˘·/˘ |
| Christopher Robin went down with Alice. | 10 | /˘˘/˘···/˘ |
| “Do you think the King knows all about me?” | 10 | ·········· |
| “Sure to, dear, but it’s time for tea,” | 8 | ········ |
| Says Alice. | 3 | ·/˘ |
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.