Tuesday 18 December 2018
The Duck and the Kangaroo
By Edward Lear
Introduction to the poem
The poem elaborates the desire of a duck confined within the limits of the pond to go beyond and travel the world like the kangaroo did. The duck requests the kangaroo to take it on a trip and find a solution to the problems which the kangaroo would face.
Explanation
I
Said the Duck to the Kangaroo,
“Good gracious! how you hop!
Over the fields and the water too,
As if you never would stop!
My life is a bore in this nasty pond,
And I long to go out in the world beyond!
I wish I could hop like you!”
Said the Duck to the Kangaroo.
Said the Duck to the Kangaroo,
“Good gracious! how you hop!
Over the fields and the water too,
As if you never would stop!
My life is a bore in this nasty pond,
And I long to go out in the world beyond!
I wish I could hop like you!”
Said the Duck to the Kangaroo.
Nasty: unpleasant, bad
The duck is awestruck to see the movement of the kangaroo. It expressed that the kangaroo could hop continuously over the fields and water bodies. The ducks life was boring as it remained in the pond all the time. It wished to see the world beyond the limits of the pond. It wishes that it could also hop like the kangaroo.
II
“Please give me a ride on your back!”
Said the Duck to the Kangaroo.
“I would sit quite still, and say nothing but ‘Quack’,
The whole of the long day through!
And we’d go to the Dee, and the Jelly Bo Lee,
Over the land, and over the sea;
Please take me a ride! O do!”
Said the Duck to the Kangaroo.
“Please give me a ride on your back!”
Said the Duck to the Kangaroo.
“I would sit quite still, and say nothing but ‘Quack’,
The whole of the long day through!
And we’d go to the Dee, and the Jelly Bo Lee,
Over the land, and over the sea;
Please take me a ride! O do!”
Said the Duck to the Kangaroo.
Quack: sound made by the duck
The duck requests the kangaroo to give it a ride on its back. It promised that it would sit quietly and would just quack all day. The duck lists the places that they would visit as Dee and Jelly Bo Lee. It adds that they would hop over the land and the sea.
III
“This requires some little reflection;
Perhaps on the whole it might bring me luck,
And there seems but one objection,
Which is, if you’ll let me speak so bold,
Your feet are unpleasantly wet and cold,
And would probably give me the roo-
Matiz!” said the Kangaroo.
Reflection: thought, pondering
Roo-matiz: refers to the disease of rheumatism
Roo-matiz: refers to the disease of rheumatism
The kangaroo replied that it had to think over it. The idea could be good for him but he had an objection - that the duck’s wet and cold feet could give it body pains.
IV
Said the Duck, “As I sat on the rocks,
I have thought over that completely,
And I bought four pairs of worsted socks
Which fit my web-feet neatly.
And to keep out the cold I’ve bought a cloak,
And every day a cigar I’ll smoke,
All to follow my own dear true
Love of a Kangaroo!”
Said the Duck, “As I sat on the rocks,
I have thought over that completely,
And I bought four pairs of worsted socks
Which fit my web-feet neatly.
And to keep out the cold I’ve bought a cloak,
And every day a cigar I’ll smoke,
All to follow my own dear true
Love of a Kangaroo!”
Cloak: shrug
The duck said that as it sat on the rocks during the day, it had thought over it. In order to avoid that, the duck had bought four pairs of worsted socks which fitted its web - shaped feet well. In order to stay warm, it would wear a shrug and also, smoke a cigar every day. The duck would do all this to protect the kangaroo as it was a beloved.
V
All in the moonlight pale;
But to balance me well, dear Duck, sit steady!
And quite at the end of my tail!”
So away they went with a hop and a bound,
And they hopped the whole world three times round;
And who so happy — O who,
As the Duck and the Kangaroo?
The kangaroo was satisfied with the duck’s response and got ready for the ride. At night, when the sky was filled with the pale light of the moon, they started their trip with a hop. The kangaroo asked the duck to hold it firmly and they travelled around the world three times. Both of them enjoyed each other’s company.
Literary devices
1. Rhyme scheme
Stanza 1 - ababccaa
Stanza 2 - ababccbb
Stanza 3, 4, 5 - ababccdd
Stanza 1 - ababccaa
Stanza 2 - ababccbb
Stanza 3, 4, 5 - ababccdd
2. Alliteration - The repetition of a consonant sound at the start of two or more closely placed words.
a) Good gracious- ‘g’
b) how you hop - ‘h’
c) sit quite still, and say - ‘s’
d) But to balance- ‘b’
e) dear duck - ‘d’
f) whole world - ‘w’
a) Good gracious- ‘g’
b) how you hop - ‘h’
c) sit quite still, and say - ‘s’
d) But to balance- ‘b’
e) dear duck - ‘d’
f) whole world - ‘w’
3. Anaphora- When the same word is used at the start of 2 or more consecutive lines.
Instances of anaphora in the poem are as follows -
a) And to keep out the cold I’ve bought a cloak,
And every day a cigar I’ll smoke,
Instances of anaphora in the poem are as follows -
a) And to keep out the cold I’ve bought a cloak,
And every day a cigar I’ll smoke,
b) And they hopped the whole world three times round;
And who so happy — O who,
Both the pairs of sentences begin with ‘and’.
And who so happy — O who,
Both the pairs of sentences begin with ‘and’.
4. Refrain- the use of a musical rhyming sentence throughout the poem. “Said the duck to the kangaroo” has been repeated to lay stress on the request made by the duck to the kangaroo.
5. Enjambment - When the same sentence continues in two or more lines.
Instances of enjambment in the poem are as follows -
a) “And I bought four pairs of worsted socks
Which fit my web-feet neatly.”
Instances of enjambment in the poem are as follows -
a) “And I bought four pairs of worsted socks
Which fit my web-feet neatly.”
b) “All to follow my own dear true
Love of a Kangaroo!”
Love of a Kangaroo!”
Summary
The poem gives an account of a conversation between a duck and a kangaroo. The duck praises the kangaroo for its ability to hop and visit places. The duck finds the pond boring as it has to stay there forever. The duck requests the kangaroo to make it sit on its back and go on a trip to places like the Dee, and the Jelly Bo Lee, crossing lands and seas. It promises that it would remain quiet and would only quack. The kangaroo replies that it will have to think over it because the duck’s wet and cold feet may give it body pains - the disease of rheumatism.
The duck says that it has made arrangements for the kangaroo’s safety. It had got four pairs of worsted socks which fitted the web - shaped feet well. Additionally, it would wear a cloak to save itself from the cold weather and would smoke one cigar a day too. The duck loves the kangaroo and so, wants to take precautions for its well - being. The kangaroo agrees to take the duck on a trip. It asks the duck to sit firmly and not to move.
The duck sits on the kangaroo’s back. The kangaroo starts with a hop and they take three trips around the world. Both of them enjoy each other’s company.
The duck says that it has made arrangements for the kangaroo’s safety. It had got four pairs of worsted socks which fitted the web - shaped feet well. Additionally, it would wear a cloak to save itself from the cold weather and would smoke one cigar a day too. The duck loves the kangaroo and so, wants to take precautions for its well - being. The kangaroo agrees to take the duck on a trip. It asks the duck to sit firmly and not to move.
The duck sits on the kangaroo’s back. The kangaroo starts with a hop and they take three trips around the world. Both of them enjoy each other’s company.
