Larry O'Toole
You've all heard of Larry O'Toole,Of the beautiful town of Drumgoole;He had but one eye,To ogle ye by--Oh, murther, but that was a jew'l!A foolHe made of de girls, dis O'Toole.
'Twas he was the boy didn't fail,That tuck down pataties and mail;He never would shrinkFrom any sthrong dthrink,Was it whisky or Drogheda ale;I'm bailThis Larry would swallow a pail.
Oh, many a night at the bowl,With Larry I've sot cheek by jowl;He's gone to his rest,Where's there's dthrink of the best,And so let us give his old sowlA howl,For 'twas he made the noggin to rowl.
Words in this poem
- ogle v. t.
- To view or look at with side glances, as in fondness, or with a design to attract notice. [From a Dutch word corresponding to G. äugeln to ogle, fr. auge eye; cf. D. ooglonken to ogle, OD. oogen to cast sheep's eyes upon, ooge eye. See Eye.]
- murther n.
- Murder, n. & v.
- sowl v. t.
- To pull by the ears; to drag about. hak. [Cf. prov. G. zaulen, zauseln, G. zausen to tug, drag.]
- noggin n.
- A small mug or cup. [Ir. noigin, or Gael. noigean. Cf. lst Nog.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Larry O'Toole 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, Larry O'Toole, in Ballads (1849–1855), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #2732, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/thackeray-ballads/larry-o-toole.html, id L10420.
Form and metre
Larry O'Toole is 21 lines in 3 stanzas of 7 lines each. The rhyme scheme is AABBAAA, complete in 2 of its 3 stanzas. The metre is anapaestic trimeter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 91%). 95% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 6.4 syllables. 19% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in anapaestic trimeter.
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-AA o'tooleA · drumgooleA · eyeB · byB · jew'l · foolA · o'tooleA
- 2 AABBAAA failA · mailA · shrinkB · dthrinkB · aleA · bailA · pailA
- 3 AABBAAA bowlA · jowlA · restB · bestB · sowlA · howlA · rowlA
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 trimeter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| You've all heard of Larry O'Toole, | 8 | ····/˘˘/ |
| Of the beautiful town of Drumgoole; | 9 | ··/˘····· |
| He had but one eye, | 5 | ····· |
| To ogle ye by-- | 5 | ·/˘·· |
| Oh, murther, but that was a jew'l! | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| A fool | 2 | ·· |
| He made of de girls, dis O'Toole. | 8 | ······˘/ |
| 'Twas he was the boy didn't fail, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| That tuck down pataties and mail; | 7 | ······· |
| He never would shrink | 5 | ·/˘·· |
| From any sthrong dthrink, | 5 | ·/˘·· |
| Was it whisky or Drogheda ale; | 9 | ··/˘····· |
| I'm bail | 2 | ·· |
| This Larry would swallow a pail. | 8 | ·/˘·/˘·· |
| Oh, many a night at the bowl, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| With Larry I've sot cheek by jowl; | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| He's gone to his rest, | 5 | ····· |
| Where's there's dthrink of the best, | 6 | ······ |
| And so let us give his old sowl | 8 | ········ |
| A howl, | 2 | ·· |
| For 'twas he made the noggin to rowl. | 9 | ·····/˘·· |
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.