Appearance
Excerpt
Excerpt from Songs of a Savoyard, by W. S. Gilbert
FIRST you’re born—and I’ll be bound you
Find a dozen strangers round you.
“Hallo,” cries the new-born baby,
“Where’s my parents? which may they be?”
Awkward silence—no reply—
Puzzled baby wonders why!
Father rises, bows politely—
Mother smiles (but not too brightly)—
Doctor mumbles like a dumb thing—
Nurse is busy mixing something.—
Every symptom tends to show
You’re decidedly de trop—
Ho! ho! ho! ho! ho! he! ho! ho!
Time’s teetotum,
If you spin it,
Give its quotum
Once a minute:
I’ll go bail
You hit the nail,
And if you fail
The deuce is in it!
You grow up, and you discover
What it is to be a lover.
Some young lady is selected—
Poor, perhaps, but well-connected,
Whom you hail (for Love is blind)
As the Queen of Fairy-kind.
Though she’s plain—perhaps unsightly,
Makes her face up—laces tightly,
In her form your fancy traces
All the gifts of all the graces.
Rivals none the maiden woo,
So you take her and she takes you!
Ho! ho! ho! ho! ho! ho! ho! ho!
Joke beginning,
Never ceases,
Till your inning
Time releases;
On your way
You blindly stray,
And day by day
The joke increases!
Ten years later—Time progresses—
Sours your temper—thins your tresses;
Fancy, then, her chain relaxes;
Rates are facts and so are taxes.
Fairy Queen’s no longer young—
Fairy Queen has such a tongue!
Twins have probably intruded—
Quite unbidden—just as you did;
They’re a source of care and trouble—
Just as you were—only double.
Comes at last the final stroke—
Time has had his little joke!
Ho! ho! ho! ho! ho! ho! ho! ho!
Daily driven
(Wife as drover)
Ill you’ve thriven—
Ne’er in clover:
Lastly, when
Threescore and ten
(And not till then),
The joke is over!
Ho! ho! ho! ho! ho! ho! ho! ho!
Then—and then
The joke is over!
Explanation
W. S. Gilbert’s "Songs of a Savoyard" (1890) is a collection of witty, satirical verses from his collaborations with composer Arthur Sullivan in the Savoy Operas—lighthearted comic operas that mocked Victorian social conventions. This excerpt, likely from "The Bab Ballads" (a precursor to the Savoy works), exemplifies Gilbert’s signature style: whimsical cynicism, rhythmic verve, and biting social commentary. The poem traces the arc of human life—birth, love, marriage, aging, and death—through the lens of a cosmic joke, where Time is the prankster and humanity the unwitting punchline.
Textual Analysis: Themes, Structure, and Devices
1. The Cosmic Joke: Life as Absurd Theater
The poem frames existence as a farce orchestrated by Time, a "teetotum" (a spinning top used in games of chance) that dictates fate arbitrarily. The refrain—"Ho! ho! ho!"—mirrors a mocking laugh, reinforcing the idea that life’s milestones are punchlines in Time’s endless jest. Key stages:
- Birth: The baby’s arrival is met with awkward silence and social pretense ("Father rises, bows politely"). The term "de trop" (French for "superfluous") suggests the child is an inconvenience, a theme that recurs with the twins later.
- Love/Marriage: The "joke" escalates as the narrator describes romantic delusion ("Love is blind") and the inevitable disillusionment of marriage. The "Fairy Queen" (a satirical nod to idealized beauty) devolves into a nagging, aging spouse, while the husband’s youthful ardor sours into resentment.
- Aging/Death: The final stanza reveals the cruelest punchline: after decades of struggle ("daily driven"), the joke ends only at death ("Threescore and ten").
Gilbert’s deterministic view—life as a scripted farce—reflects Victorian anxieties about social roles, marriage as an economic transaction, and the illusion of free will.
2. Satirical Targets: Victorian Hypocrisy
Gilbert skewers middle-class conventions with razor-sharp irony:
- Parenthood as Performance: The baby’s birth is a theatrical charade—parents and doctors act out roles ("Doctor mumbles like a dumb thing") while the child is treated as an afterthought.
- Marriage as Transaction: The "poor, perhaps, but well-connected" bride highlights class and dowry concerns over love. The line "Rivals none the maiden woo" implies she’s unremarkable, yet socially advantageous.
- Domestic Drudgery: The husband’s decline ("Sours your temper—thins your tresses") and the wife’s transformation into a harsh "drover" (a cattle driver, suggesting she’s herding her husband) invert romantic ideals. The twins’ intrusion mirrors the baby’s earlier unwelcome arrival, completing the cycle of resentment and obligation.
3. Literary Devices
- Repetition & Refrain: The "Ho! ho! ho!" chorus mimics a laugh track, turning life into a vaudeville act. The teetotum metaphor (a gambling tool) underscores fate’s randomness.
- Irony & Understatement:
- "Mother smiles (but not too brightly)"—a forced, hollow welcome to the newborn.
- "Fairy Queen’s no longer young— / Fairy Queen has such a tongue!"—the collapse of idealism into domestic strife.
- Rhyming Couplets & Rhythm: The bouncy, sing-song meter (anapestic tetrameter) contrasts with the bleak content, heightening the satire. Gilbert’s internal rhymes ("traces/all the graces") add musicality while mocking romantic clichés.
- Allusion: The "Queen of Fairy-kind" references Shakespearean fairies (e.g., A Midsummer Night’s Dream), but Gilbert subverts the trope—she’s no ethereal being, just a plain woman with tight corsets.
4. Time as the Villain
Time is personified as a malevolent trickster:
- "Time’s teetotum": Life’s outcomes are random spins, not earned.
- "Time has had his little joke": The final stroke is death, the only release from the joke.
- "Till your inning / Time releases": Life is a baseball game (or cricket inning) where Time controls the rules.
This aligns with 19th-century existential dread (see also Thomas Hardy’s The Dynasts), where fate is indifferent and human suffering is cosmic comedy.
5. The "Joke" as Existential Metaphor
The poem’s circular structure (birth → love → aging → death → "the joke is over") suggests life’s futility. The laughter is both mocking and resigned—Gilbert doesn’t offer rebellion, just wry acceptance. Compare to:
- Shakespeare’s "All the world’s a stage" (As You Like It), but Gilbert’s version is far more cynical.
- Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot (absurdism), though Gilbert’s tone is lighter, more musical.
Significance & Legacy
- Social Critique: Gilbert’s satire exposed the hypocrisy of Victorian marriage, parenthood, and class mobility, themes later explored in Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest.
- Theatrical Innovation: The lyrical, rhythmic style influenced musical theater, paving the way for modern comedic songwriting (e.g., Stephen Sondheim).
- Philosophical Undertones: The poem’s deterministic humor foreshadows 20th-century absurdism, where life’s meaninglessness is met with dark laughter.
Key Takeaways from the Text Itself
- Life is a scripted farce—from the unwanted baby to the trapped husband, no one escapes Time’s joke.
- Love is delusion—the "Fairy Queen" is a construct of fantasy, shattered by reality.
- Aging is punishment—youth’s vitality decays into bitterness and burden (thinning hair, sour temper, nagging spouse).
- Death is the only exit—the joke’s final punchline is oblivion.
Gilbert’s genius lies in making despair entertaining. The cheerful meter and laughing refrains mask a profoundly pessimistic view—one that resonates today in an era of existential humor (e.g., Rick and Morty, BoJack Horseman). The poem’s power is in its universality: no matter the era, the joke of life remains the same old spin.