The Duel
The gingham dog and the calico catSide by side on the table sat;’Twas half-past twelve, and (what do you think!)Nor one nor t’other had slept a wink!The old Dutch clock and the Chinese plateAppeared to know as sure as fateThere was going to be a terrible spat.(I wasn’t there; I simply stateWhat was told to me by the Chinese plate!)
The gingham dog went “bow-wow-wow!”And the calico cat replied “mee-ow!”The air was littered, an hour or so,With bits of gingham and calico,While the old Dutch clock in the chimney-placeUp with its hands before its face,For it always dreaded a family row!(Now mind: I’m only telling youWhat the old Dutch clock declares is true!)
The Chinese plate looked very blue,And wailed, “Oh, dear! what shall we do!”But the gingham dog and the calico catWallowed this way and tumbled that,Employing every tooth and clawIn the awfullest way you ever saw--And, oh! how the gingham and calico flew!(Don’t fancy I exaggerate!I got my views from the Chinese plate!)
Next morning where the two had satThey found no trace of the dog or cat;And some folks think unto this dayThat burglars stole the pair away!But the truth about the cat and the pupIs this: They ate each other up!Now what do you really think of that!(The old Dutch clock it told me so,And that is how I came to know.)
Words in this poem
- gingham n.
- A kind of cotton or linen cloth, usually in stripes or checks, the yarn of which is dyed before it is woven; -- distinguished from printed cotton or prints. [F. guingan; cf. Jav. ginggang; or perh. fr. Guingamp, in France.]
- spat n.
- A young oyster or other bivalve mollusk, both before and after it first becomes adherent, or such young, collectively. [From the root of spit; hence, literally, that which is ejected.]
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- chimney n.
- A fireplace or hearth. Sir W. Raleigh.
- 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,]
- exaggerate v. t.
- To heap up; to accumulate. [L. exaggeratus , p. p. of exaggerare to heap up; ex out + aggerare to heap up, fr. agger heap, aggerere to bring to; ad to + gerere to bear. See Jest.]
- 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.]
- stole n.
- A long, loose garment reaching to the feet. [AS. stole, L. stola, Gr. stall. See Stall.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Duel is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems Every Child Should Know The What-Every-Child-Should-Know-Library, Project Gutenberg ebook #16436; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Mary E. Burt, The Duel, in Poems Every Child Should Know (1904), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #16436, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/poems-every-child/the-duel.html, id L25168.
Form and metre
The Duel is 36 lines in 4 stanzas of 9 lines each. The rhyme scheme is AABBCCADD, complete in 2 of its 4 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 78%).
See other poems in iambic tetrameter.
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 AABBCCACC catA · satA · thinkB · winkB · plateC · fateC · spatA · stateC · plateC
- 2 AABBCCBDD wowA · owA · soB · calicoB · placeC · faceC · rowB · youD · trueD
- 3 AABBCCADD blueA · doA · catB · thatB · clawC · sawC · flewA · exaggerateD · plateD
- 4 AABBCCADD satA · catA · dayB · awayB · pupC · upC · thatA · soD · knowD
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 tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| The gingham dog and the calico cat | 10 | ·/˘···/˘·· |
| Side by side on the table sat; | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| ’Twas half-past twelve, and (what do you think!) | 9 | ········· |
| Nor one nor t’other had slept a wink! | 10 | ···˘/˘···· |
| The old Dutch clock and the Chinese plate | 9 | ······˘/· |
| Appeared to know as sure as fate | 8 | ˘/······ |
| There was going to be a terrible spat. | 9 | ··/···/˘· |
| (I wasn’t there; I simply state | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| What was told to me by the Chinese plate!) | 10 | ·······˘/· |
| The gingham dog went “bow-wow-wow!” | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| And the calico cat replied “mee-ow!” | 10 | ··/˘··˘/·· |
| The air was littered, an hour or so, | 9 | ···/˘·/·· |
| With bits of gingham and calico, | 9 | ···/˘·/˘· |
| While the old Dutch clock in the chimney-place | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Up with its hands before its face, | 8 | ········ |
| For it always dreaded a family row! | 10 | ··/˘/˘·/˘· |
| (Now mind: I’m only telling you | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| What the old Dutch clock declares is true!) | 9 | ·····˘/·· |
| The Chinese plate looked very blue, | 8 | ·˘/··/˘· |
| And wailed, “Oh, dear! what shall we do!” | 8 | ········ |
| But the gingham dog and the calico cat | 11 | ··/˘···/˘·· |
| Wallowed this way and tumbled that, | 8 | /˘···/˘· |
| Employing every tooth and claw | 8 | ˘/˘/˘··· |
| In the awfullest way you ever saw-- | 8 | ··/˘··/· |
| And, oh! how the gingham and calico flew! | 11 | ····/˘·/˘·· |
| (Don’t fancy I exaggerate! | 8 | ·/˘·˘/˘· |
| I got my views from the Chinese plate!) | 9 | ······˘/· |
| Next morning where the two had sat | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| They found no trace of the dog or cat; | 9 | ········· |
| And some folks think unto this day | 8 | ········ |
| That burglars stole the pair away! | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| But the truth about the cat and the pup | 10 | ·········· |
| Is this: They ate each other up! | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Now what do you really think of that! | 9 | ····/˘··· |
| (The old Dutch clock it told me so, | 8 | ········ |
| And that is how I came to know.) | 8 | ········ |
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.