Pied Piper Of Hamelin, The Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis
Rhyme Scheme: A B CADDDAEEA FFGFGGGGHHG AHAHIIJGGHH II K LGMGNON PP AABBGGAA K BBAAJJJJJJBBBQ K LLBIIBRRB STSTSSAAUUGUGGG II K AVAVAAAAAASSSGGGGGGG GSSBABBABTTTTGGGGGBG BI IIB K LLGGGGGG G WWSSXXEESSSSSSSSSB G AAUUIIBBBI B SSAAA B AIIASA CHILD'S STORY | A |
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Written for and inscribed to W M the Younger | B |
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I | - |
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Hamelin Town's in Brunswick | C |
By famous Hanover city | A |
The river Weser deep and wide | D |
Washes its wall on the southern side | D |
A pleasanter spot you never spied | D |
But when begins my ditty | A |
Almost five hundred years ago | E |
To see the townsfolk suffer so | E |
From vermin was a pity | A |
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II | - |
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Rats | F |
They fought the dogs and killed the cats | F |
And bit the babies in the cradles | G |
And ate the cheeses out of the vats | F |
And licked the soup from the cooks' own ladles | G |
Split open the kegs of salted sprats | G |
Made nests inside men's Sunday hats | G |
And even spoiled the women's chats | G |
By drowning their speaking | H |
With shrieking and squeaking | H |
In fifty different sharps and flats | G |
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III | - |
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At last the people in a body | A |
To the Town Hall came flocking | H |
'Tis clear '' cried they our Mayor's a noddy | A |
And as for our Corporation shocking | H |
To think we buy gowns lined with ermine | I |
For dolts that can't or won't determine | I |
What's best to rid us of our vermin | J |
You hope because you're old and obese | G |
To find in the furry civic robe ease | G |
Rouse up sirs Give your brains a racking | H |
To find the remedy we're lacking | H |
Or sure as fate we'll send you packing '' | - |
At this the Mayor and Corporation | I |
Quaked with a mighty consternation | I |
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IV | K |
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An hour they sat in council | L |
At length the Mayor broke silence | G |
For a guilder I'd my ermine gown sell | M |
I wish I were a mile hence | G |
It's easy to bid one rack one's brain | N |
I'm sure my poor head aches again | O |
I've scratched it so and all in vain | N |
Oh for a trap a trap a trap '' | - |
Just as he said this what should hap | P |
At the chamber door but a gentle tap | P |
Bless us '' cried the Mayor what's that '' | - |
With the Corporation as he sat | A |
Looking little though wondrous fat | A |
Nor brighter was his eye nor moister | B |
Than a too long opened oyster | B |
Save when at noon his paunch grew mutinous | G |
For a plate of turtle green and glutinous | G |
Only a scraping of shoes on the mat | A |
Anything like the sound of a rat | A |
Makes my heart go pit a pat '' | - |
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V | K |
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Come in '' the Mayor cried looking bigger | B |
And in did come the strangest figure | B |
His queer long coat from heel to head | A |
Was half of yellow and half of red | A |
And he himself was tall and thin | J |
With sharp blue eyes each like a pin | J |
And light loose hair yet swarthy skin | J |
No tuft on cheek nor beard on chin | J |
But lips where smiles went out and in | J |
There was no guessing his kith and kin | J |
And nobody could enough admire | B |
The tall man and his quaint attire | B |
Quoth one It's as my great grandsire | B |
Starting up at the Trump of Doom's tone | Q |
Had walked this way from his painted tombstone '' | - |
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VI | K |
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He advanced to the council table | L |
And Please your honours '' said he I'm able | L |
By means of a secret charm to draw | B |
All creatures living beneath the sun | I |
That creep or swim or fly or run | I |
After me so as you never saw | B |
And I chiefly use my charm | R |
On creatures that do people harm | R |
The mole and toad and newt and viper | B |
And people call me the Pied Piper '' | - |
And here they noticed round his neck | S |
A scarf of red and yellow stripe | T |
To match with his coat of the self same cheque | S |
And at the scarf's end hung a pipe | T |
And his fingers they noticed were ever straying | S |
As if impatient to be playing | S |
Upon this pipe as low it dangled | A |
Over his vesture so old fangled | A |
Yet '' said he poor piper as I am | U |
In Tartary I freed the Cham | U |
Last June from his huge swarms of gnats | G |
I eased in Asia the Nizam | U |
Of a monstrous brood of vampyre bats | G |
And as for what your brain bewilders | G |
If I can rid your town of rats | G |
Will you give me a thousand guilders '' | - |
One fifty thousand '' was the exclamation | I |
Of the astonished Mayor and Corporation | I |
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VII | K |
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Into the street the Piper stept | A |
Smiling first a little smile | V |
As if he knew what magic slept | A |
In his quiet pipe the while | V |
Then like a musical adept | A |
To blow the pipe his lips he wrinkled | A |
And green and blue his sharp eyes twinkled | A |
Like a candle flame where salt is sprinkled | A |
And ere three shrill notes the pipe uttered | A |
You heard as if an army muttered | A |
And the muttering grew to a grumbling | S |
And the grumbling grew to a mighty rumbling | S |
And out of the houses the rats came tumbling | S |
Great rats small rats lean rats brawny rats | G |
Brown rats black rats grey rats tawny rats | G |
Grave old plodders gay young friskers | G |
Fathers mothers uncles cousins | G |
Cocking tails and pricking whiskers | G |
Families by tens and dozens | G |
Brothers sisters husbands wives | G |
Followed the Piper for their lives | G |
From street to street he piped advancing | S |
And step for step they followed dancing | S |
Until they came to the river Weser | B |
Wherein all plunged and perished | A |
Save one who stout as Julius Caesar | B |
Swam across and lived to carry | B |
As he the manuscript he cherished | A |
To Rat land home his commentary | B |
Which was At the first shrill notes of the pipe | T |
I heard a sound as of scraping tripe | T |
And putting apples wondrous ripe | T |
Into a cider press's gripe | T |
And a moving away of pickle tub boards | G |
And a leaving ajar of conserve cupboards | G |
And a drawing the corks of train oil flasks | G |
And a breaking the hoops of butter casks | G |
And it seemed as if a voice | G |
Sweeter far than b y' harp or b y' psaltery | B |
Is breathed called out Oh rats rejoice | G |
The world is grown to one vast drysaltery | B |
So munch on crunch on take your nuncheon | I |
Breakfast supper dinner luncheon ' | - |
And just as a bulky sugar puncheon | I |
All ready staved like a great sun shone | I |
Glorious scarce an inch before me | B |
Just as methought it said Come bore me ' | - |
I found the Weser rolling o'er me '' | - |
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VIII | K |
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You should have heard the Hamelin people | L |
ringing the bells till they rocked the steeple | L |
Go '' cried the Mayor and get long poles | G |
Poke out the nests and block up the holes | G |
Consult with carpenters and builders | G |
And leave in our town not even a trace | G |
Of the rats '' when suddenly up the face | G |
Of the Piper perked in the market place | G |
With a First if you please my thousand guilders '' | - |
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IX | G |
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A thousand guilders The Mayor looked blue | W |
So did the Corporation too | W |
For council dinners made rare havoc | S |
With Claret Moselle Vin de Grave Hock | S |
And half the money would replenish | X |
Their cellar's biggest butt with Rhenish | X |
To pay this sum to a wandering fellow | E |
With a gipsy coat of red and yellow | E |
Beside '' quoth the Mayor with a knowing wink | S |
Our business was done at the river's brink | S |
We saw with our eyes the vermin sink | S |
And what's dead can't come to life I think | S |
So friend we're not the folks to shrink | S |
From the duty of giving you something for drink | S |
And a matter of money to put in your poke | S |
But as for the guilders what we spoke | S |
Of them as you very well know was in joke | S |
Beside our losses have made us thrifty | B |
A thousand guilders Come take fifty '' | - |
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X | G |
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The Piper's face fell and he cried | A |
No trifling I can't wait beside | A |
I've promised to visit by dinnertime | U |
Bagdat and accept the prime | U |
Of the Head Cook's pottage all he's rich in | I |
For having left in the Caliph's kitchen | I |
Of a nest of scorpions no survivor | B |
With him I proved no bargain driver | B |
With you don't think I'll bate a stiver | B |
And folks who put me in a passion | I |
May find me pipe after another fashion '' | - |
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XI | B |
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How '' cried the Mayor d'ye think I brook | S |
Being worse treated than a Cook | S |
Insulted by a lazy ribald | A |
With idle pipe and vesture piebald | A |
You threaten us fellow Do your worst | A |
Blow your pipe there till you burst '' | - |
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XII | B |
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Once more he stept into the street | A |
And to his lips again | I |
Laid his long pipe of smooth straight cane | I |
And ere he blew three notes such sweet | A |
Soft notes as yet musician's cunning | S |
Robert Browning
(1)
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