Analysis of Topsy-Turvy World

William Brighty Rands 1823 (Chelsea, Middlesex) – 1882 (East Dulwich, London)



IF the butterfly courted the bee,  
 And the owl the porcupine;  
If churches were built in the sea,  
 And three times one was nine;  
If the pony rode his master,
 If the buttercups ate the cows,  
If the cats had the dire disaster  
 To be worried, sir, by the mouse;  
If mamma, sir, sold the baby  
 To a gypsy for half a crown;
If a gentleman, sir, was a lady,—  
 The world would be Upside-down!  
If any or all of these wonders  
 Should ever come about,  
I should not consider them blunders,
 For I should be Inside-out!  

Ba-ba, black wool,  
 Have you any sheep?  
Yes, sir, a packfull,  
 Creep, mouse, creep!
Four-and-twenty little maids  
 Hanging out the pie,  
Out jump’d the honey-pot,  
 Guy Fawkes, Guy!  
Cross latch, cross latch,
 Sit and spin the fire;  
When the pie was open’d,  
 The bird was on the brier!


Scheme ABABCXCXADADEFEF GHGHXIXIXCFC
Poetic Form
Metre 10101001 001010 11001001 011111 1011110 1010101 101101010 11101101 11011010 10101101 1010011010 0111111 110111110 110101 111010110 1111011 1111 11101 1101 111 1010101 10101 110101 111 1111 101010 10111 0111010
Closest metre Iambic trimeter
Characters 840
Words 149
Sentences 7
Stanzas 2
Stanza Lengths 16, 12
Lines Amount 28
Letters per line (avg) 21
Words per line (avg) 5
Letters per stanza (avg) 292
Words per stanza (avg) 73
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on May 01, 2023

44 sec read
173

William Brighty Rands

William Brighty Rands (24 December 1823, Chelsea, Middlesex — 23 April 1882, East Dulwich, London) was a British writer and one of the major authors of nursery rhymes of the Victorian era.  more…

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