Another Version
There was a king in Brentford,--of whom no legends tell,But who, without his glory,--could eat and sleep right well.His Polly's cotton nightcap,--it was his crown of state,He slept of evenings early,--and rose of mornings late.
All in a fine mud palace,--each day he took four meals,And for a guard of honor,--a dog ran at his heels,Sometimes, to view his kingdoms,--rode forth this monarch good,And then a prancing jackass--he royally bestrode.
There were no costly habits--with which this king was curst,Except (and where's the harm on't?)--a somewhat lively thirst;But people must pay taxes,--and kings must have their sport,So out of every gallon--His Grace he took a quart.
He pleased the ladies round him,--with manners soft and bland;With reason good, they named him,--the father of his land.Each year his mighty armies--marched forth in gallant show;Their enemies were targets--their bullets they were tow.
He vexed no quiet neighbor,--no useless conquest made,But by the laws of pleasure,--his peaceful realm he swayed.And in the years he reigned,--through all this country wide,There was no cause for weeping,--save when the good man died.
The faithful men of Brentford,--do still their king deplore,His portrait yet is swinging,--beside an alehouse door.And topers, tender-hearted,--regard his honest phiz,And envy times departed--that knew a reign like his.
Words in this poem
- nightcap n.
- A cap worn in bed to protect the head, or in undress.
- rode n.
- Redness; complexion. [See Rud.]
- royally adv.
- In a royal or kingly manner; like a king; as becomes a king.
- curst a.
- Froward; malignant; mischievous; malicious; snarling. [SeeCurse.]
- swayed a.
- Bent down, and hollow in the back; sway-backed; -- said of a horse.
- deplore v. t.
- To feel or to express deep and poignant grief for; to bewail; to lament; to mourn; to sorrow over. [L. deplorare; de- + plorare to cry out, wail, lament; prob. akin to pluere to rain, and to E. flow: cf. F. déplorer. Cf. Flow.]
- phiz n.
- The face or visage. [Contr. fr. physiognomy.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Another Version is in the public domain. This text is taken from Ballads, Project Gutenberg ebook #2732; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: William Makepeace Thackeray, Another Version, in Ballads (1849–1855), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #2732, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/thackeray-ballads/another-version.html, id L10370.
Form and metre
Another Version is 24 lines in 6 stanzas of 4 lines each. The rhyme scheme is AABB, complete in 5 of its 6 stanzas. The metre is alexandrines, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 74%). 80% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 12.8 syllables.
See other poems in alexandrines.
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 AABB tellA · wellA · stateB · lateB
- 2 AA-- mealsA · heelsA · good · bestrode
- 3 AABB curstA · thirstA · sportB · quartB
- 4 AABB blandA · landA · showB · towB
- 5 AABB madeA · swayedA · wideB · diedB
- 6 AABB deploreA · doorA · phizB · hisB
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 alexandrines. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| There was a king in Brentford,--of whom no legends tell, | 13 | ··········/˘· |
| But who, without his glory,--could eat and sleep right well. | 13 | ·····/˘······ |
| His Polly's cotton nightcap,--it was his crown of state, | 13 | ·/˘/˘/˘······ |
| He slept of evenings early,--and rose of mornings late. | 13 | ···/˘/˘···/˘· |
| All in a fine mud palace,--each day he took four meals, | 13 | ·····/˘······ |
| And for a guard of honor,--a dog ran at his heels, | 13 | ·····/˘······ |
| Sometimes, to view his kingdoms,--rode forth this monarch good, | 13 | ˘/···/˘···/·· |
| And then a prancing jackass--he royally bestrode. | 12 | ···/˘/··/˘˘/ |
| There were no costly habits--with which this king was curst, | 13 | ···/˘/˘······ |
| Except (and where's the harm on't?)--a somewhat lively thirst; | 13 | ········///˘· |
| But people must pay taxes,--and kings must have their sport, | 13 | ·/˘··/˘······ |
| So out of every gallon--His Grace he took a quart. | 13 | ···/˘/˘······ |
| He pleased the ladies round him,--with manners soft and bland; | 13 | ···/˘···/˘··· |
| With reason good, they named him,--the father of his land. | 13 | ·/˘·····/˘··· |
| Each year his mighty armies--marched forth in gallant show; | 13 | ···/˘/˘···/˘· |
| Their enemies were targets--their bullets they were tow. | 12 | ·/˘·/˘·/˘··· |
| He vexed no quiet neighbor,--no useless conquest made, | 12 | ···//˘·/˘/˘· |
| But by the laws of pleasure,--his peaceful realm he swayed. | 13 | ·····/˘·/˘··· |
| And in the years he reigned,--through all this country wide, | 12 | ·········/˘· |
| There was no cause for weeping,--save when the good man died. | 13 | ·····/˘······ |
| The faithful men of Brentford,--do still their king deplore, | 13 | ·/˘········˘/ |
| His portrait yet is swinging,--beside an alehouse door. | 13 | ·/˘··/˘·/·/·· |
| And topers, tender-hearted,--regard his honest phiz, | 13 | ···/˘/˘˘/·/˘· |
| And envy times departed--that knew a reign like his. | 13 | ·/˘·˘/˘······ |
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.