The Green Man Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis

Rhyme Scheme: ABBACDCCDEFFFEEEGDGD CHCH CCCCCICIJCCJJBKBKLMM L DDNCCNCCOCOCCPQQPRSR S CSCS LT CUUCVVCQQCVVWSSW RRQCCQXVVXX YZZYDVVDA2A2B2B2C2D2 C2D2E2E2EF2EF2G2G2ZE 2E2WW H2H2I2J2J2I2E2K2E2K2 F2F2 L2E2L2E2E2M2E2E2M2M2 CDDCCE2E2N2N2DO2O2DE 2E2CK2CK2 K2N2N2K2K2DK2DK2P2K2 K2P2CCP2Q2K2Q2K2 E2CE2CCCCCE2CCE2E2CE 2CCE2E2CN2N2N2N2 N2N2E2E2E2CDDCCCC

Tom Simpson was as nice a kind of manA
As ever lived at least at number FourB
In Austin Friars in Mrs Brown's first floorB
At fifty pounds or thereabouts per annA
The Lady reckon'd him her best of lodgersC
His rent so punctually paid each quarterD
He did not smoke like nasty foreign codgersC
Or play French horns like Mr RogersC
Or talk his flirting nonsense to her daughterD
Not that the girl was light behaved or courtableE
Still on one failing tenderly to touchF
The Gentleman did like a drop too muchF
Tho' there are many suchF
And took more Port than was exactly portableE
In fact to put the cap upon the nippleE
And try the charge Tom certainly did tippleE
He thought the motto was but sorry stuffG
On Cribb's Prize Cup Yes wrong in ev'ry letterD
That D d be he who first cries Hold EnoughG
The more cups hold and if enough the betterD
And so to set example in the eyesC
Of Fancy's lads and give a broadish hint to themH
All his cups were of such ample sizeC
That he got into themH
-
Once in the company of merry matesC
In spite of Temperance's if's and butsC
So sure as Eating is set off with platesC
His Drinking always was bound up with cutsC
Howbeit such Bacchanalian revelsC
Bring very sad catastrophes aboutI
Palsy Dyspepsy Dropsy and Blue DevilsC
Not to forget the GoutI
Sometimes the liver takes a spleenful whimJ
To grow to Strasburg's regulation sizeC
As if for those hepatical goose piesC
Or out of depth the head begins to swimJ
Poor Simpson what a thing occurred to himJ
'Twas Christmas he had drunk the night beforeB
Like Baxter who so went beyond his lastK
One bottle more and then one bottle moreB
Till oh the red wine Ruby con was pass'dK
And homeward by the short small chimes of dayL
With many a circumbendibus to spareM
For instance twice round Finsbury SquareM
To use a fitting phrase he wound his wayL
-
Then comes the rising with repentance bitterD
And all the nerves and sparrows in a twitterD
Till settled by the sober Chinese cupN
The hands o'er all are members that make motionsC
A sort of wavering just like the ocean'sC
Which has its swell too when it's getting upN
An awkward circumstance enough for elvesC
Who shave themselvesC
And Simpson just was ready to go thro' itO
When lo the first short glimpse within the glassC
He jump'd and who alive would fail to do itO
To see however it had come to passC
One section of his face as green as grassC
In vain each eager wipeP
With soap without wet hot or cold or dryQ
Still still and still to his astonished eyeQ
One cheek was green the other cherry ripeP
Plump in the nearest chair he sat him downR
Quaking and quite absorb'd in a deep studyS
But verdant and not brownR
What could have happened to a tint so ruddyS
-
Indeed it was a very novel caseC
By way of penalty for being jollyS
To have that evergreen stuck in his faceC
Just like the windows with their Christmas hollyS
-
All claret marks thought he Tom knew his forteL
Are red this color CANNOT come from PortT
-
One thing was plain with such a face as hisC
'Twas quite impossible to ever greetU
Good Mrs Brown nay any party meetU
Altho' 'twas such a parti colored phizC
As for the public fancy Sarcy NedV
The coachman flying dog like at his headV
With Ax your pardon Sir but if you pleaseC
Unless it comes too highQ
Vere ought a feller now to go to buyQ
The t'other half Sir of that 'ere green cheeseC
His mind recoil'd so he tied up his headV
As with a raging tooth and took to bedV
Of course with feelings far from the sereneW
For all his future prospects seemed to beS
To match his customary teaS
Black mixt with greenW
-
Meanwhile good Mrs BrownR
Wondered at Mr S not coming downR
And sent the maid up stairs to learn the whyQ
To whom poor Simpson half deliriousC
Returned an answer so mysteriousC
That curiosity began to fryQ
The more as Betty who had caught a snatchX
By peeping in upon the patient's bedV
Reported a most bloody tied up headV
Got over night of course Harm watch harm catchX
From Watchmen in a boxing matchX
-
So liberty or notY
Good lodgers are too scarce to let them off inZ
A suicidal coffinZ
The dame ran up as fast as she could trotY
Appearance fiddle sticks should not deterD
From going to the bedV
And looking at the headV
La Mister S he need not care for herD
A married woman that had hadA2
Nine boys and gals and none had turned out badA2
Her own dear late would come home late at nightB2
And liquor always got him in a fightB2
She'd been in hospitals she wouldn't faintC2
At gores and gashes fingers wide and deepD2
She knew what's good for bruises and what ain'tC2
Turlington's Drops she made a pint to keepD2
Cases she'd seen beneath the surgent's handE2
Such skulls japann'd she meant to say trepann'dE2
Poor wretches you would think they'd been in battleE
And hadn't hours to liveF2
From tearing horses' kicks or Smithfield cattleE
Shamefully over drivF2
Heads forced to have a silver plate atopG2
To get the brains to stopG2
At imputations of the legs she'd beenZ
And neither screech'd nor criedE2
Hereat she pluck'd the white cravat asideE2
And lo the whole phenomenon was seenW
Preserve us all He's going to gangreneW
-
Alas through Simpson's brainH2
Shot the remark like ball with mortal painH2
It tallied truly with his own misgivingI2
And brought a groanJ2
To move a heart of stoneJ2
A sort of farewell to the land of livingI2
And as the case was imminent and urgentE2
He did not make a shadow of objectionK2
To Mrs B 's proposal for a surgentE2
But merely gave a sigh of deep dejectionK2
While down the verdant cheek a tear of griefF2
Stole like a dew drop on a cabbage leafF2
-
Swift flew the summons it was life or deathL2
And in as short a time as he could race itE2
Came Doctor Puddicome as short of breathL2
To try his Latin charms against Hic JacetE2
He took a seat beside the patient's bedE2
Saw tongue felt pulse examined the bad cheekM2
Poked strok'd pinch'd kneaded it hemm'dE2
shook his headE2
Took a long solemn pause the cause to seekM2
Thinking it seem'd in GreekM2
Then ask'd 'twas Christmas Had he eaten grassC
Or greens and if the cook was so improperD
To boil them up with copperD
Or farthings made of brassC
Or if he drank his Hock from dark green glassC
Or dined at City Festivals whereatE2
There's turtle and green fatE2
To all of which with serious tone of woeN2
Poor Simpson answered NoN2
Indeed he might have said in form auricularD
Supposing Puddicome had been a monkO2
He had not eaten he had only drunkO2
Of anything ParticularD
The Doctor was at faultE2
A thing so new quite brought him to a haltE2
Cases of other colors came in crowdsC
He could have found their remedy and soonK2
But green it sent him up among the cloudsC
As if he had gone up with Green's balloonK2
-
Black with Black Jaundice he had seen the skinK2
From Yellow Jaundice yellowN2
From saffron tints to sallowN2
Then retrospective memory lugg'd inK2
Old Purple Face the Host at Kentish TownK2
East Indians without numberD
He knew familiarly by heat done BrownK2
From tan to a burnt umberD
Ev'n those eruptions he had never seenK2
Of which the Caledonian Poet spokeP2
As rashes growing greenK2
Phoo phoo a rash grow greenK2
Nothing of course but a broad Scottish jokeP2
Then as to flaming visages for thoseC
The Scarlet Fever answer'd or the RoseC
But verdant that was quite a novel strokeP2
Men turn'd to blue by Cholera's last stageQ2
In common practice he had really seenK2
But Green he was too old and grave and sageQ2
To think of the last stage to Turnham GreenK2
-
So matters stood in doors meanwhile withoutE2
Growing in going like all other rumorsC
The modern miracle was buzz'd aboutE2
By people of all humorsC
Native or foreign in their dialecticalsC
Till all the neighborhood as if their nosesC
Had taken the odd gross from little MosesC
Seemed looking thro' green spectaclesC
Green faces so they all began to commentE2
Yes opposite to Druggists' lighted shopsC
But that's a flying color never stopsC
A bottle green that's vanish'd in a momentE2
Green nothing of the sort occurs to mindE2
Nothing at all to match the present pieceC
Jack in the Green has nothing of the kindE2
Green grocers are not green nor yet green geeseC
The oldest Supercargoes or Old SailorsC
Of such a case had never heardE2
From Emerald Isle to Cape de VerdE2
Or Greenland cried the whalersC
All tongues were full of the Green Man and stillN2
They could not make him out with all their skillN2
No soul could shape the matter head or tailN2
But Truth steps in where all conjectures failN2
-
A long half hour in needless puzzleN2
Our Galen's cane had rubbed against his muzzleN2
He thought and thought and thought andE2
thought and thoughtE2
And still it came to noughtE2
When up rush'd Betty loudest of Town CriersC
Lord Ma'am the new Police is at the doorD
It's B ma'am Twenty fourD
As brought home Mister S to Austin FriarsC
And says there's nothing but a simple caseC
He got that 'ere green faceC
By sleeping in the kennel near the Dyer'sC

Thomas Hood



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