Roundabouts and Swings

It was early last September nigh to Framlin'am-on-Sea,
An' 'twas Fair-day come to-morrow, an' the time was after tea,
An' I met a painted caravan adown a dusty lane,
A Pharaoh with his waggons comin' jolt an' creak an' strain;
A cheery cove an' sunburnt, bold o' eye and wrinkled up,
An' beside him on the splashboard sat a brindled tarrier pup,
An' a lurcher wise as Solomon an' lean as fiddle-strings
Was joggin' in the dust along 'is roundabouts and swings.

"Goo'-day," said 'e; "Goo'-day," said I; "an' 'ow d'you find things go,
An' what's the chance o' millions when you runs a travellin' show?"
"I find," said 'e, "things very much as 'ow I've always found,
For mostly they goes up and down or else goes round and round."
Said 'e, "The job's the very spit o' what it always were,
It's bread and bacon mostly when the dog don't catch a 'are;
But lookin' at it broad, an' while it ain't no merchant king's,
What's lost upon the roundabouts we pulls up on the swings!"

"Goo' luck," said 'e; "Goo' luck," said I; "you've put it past a doubt;
An' keep that lurcher on the road, the gamekeepers is out."
'E thumped upon the footboard an' 'e lumbered on again
To meet a gold-dust sunset down the owl-light in the lane;
An' the moon she climbed the 'azels, while a night-jar seemed to spin
That Pharaoh's wisdom o'er again, 'is sooth of lose-and-win;
For "up an' down an' round," said 'e, "goes all appointed things,
An' losses on the roundabouts means profits on the swings!"

Glossary
"Fair-day come to-morrow": the day before Fair-day.
"Pharaoh": man who provides amusements at fairs.
"cove": fellow (slang).
"tarrier": terrier.
"lurcher": cross-bred dog much used by poachers.
"roundabouts": merry-go-rounds.
"the very spit": the exact copy.
"night-jar": bird with monotonous song.
"sooth": truth, wise saying. © by owner. provided at no charge for educational purposes

Analysis (ai): The poem reflects early 20th-century English rural nostalgia, common in interwar literature, where traveling folk symbolize transient wisdom amid industrial stability. Unlike modernist fragmentation, it preserves narrative coherence and pastoral rhythm, aligning with Georgian poetry’s preference for accessible language and rural themes.

Form and Structure: Written in rhymed quatrains with anapestic meter, the poem mimics the lilt of folk balladry. The regular rhyme scheme (ABAB) and refrain-like repetition of “roundabouts and swings” emphasize cyclical themes without formal disruption.

Use of Dialect: The Kentish dialect—“'twas,” “goo'-day,” “'ow,” “lumbered”—grounds the speaker’s authenticity and shapes a conversational, working-class tone. This choice distances the speaker from literary elitism and reinforces oral tradition, giving rhythm an informal, rolling cadence that mirrors the caravan’s motion.

Theme of Cyclicality: The central metaphor of “roundabouts” and “swings” frames economic and emotional fluctuation as natural, inevitable. Unlike contemporaneous modernist works fixated on disorientation, the poem resists despair, proposing balance through acceptance rather than rebellion.

Comparison to Author’s Work: Within Chalmers’ largely overlooked body of rural sketches and humorous essays, this poem stands out for its philosophical clarity. While his other pieces often emphasize caricature or anecdote, here wit serves insight, presenting a traveler not as comic figure but as stoic observer.

Less-Discussed Angle: While often read as a cheerful proverb, the poem subtly critiques capitalist pressure through the showman’s resigned pragmatism—his “profits on the swings” reveal reliance on uneven outcomes, suggesting economic precarity masked by folk wisdom.

Engagement with Era’s Concerns: Though written post-1900, the poem avoids formal experimentation typical of modernism. Instead, it counters urban anxiety with rural aphorism, positioning cyclical hardship as bearable through tradition—a stance at odds with more radical or alienated postwar voices.

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The Tortoiseshell Cat

The tortoiseshell cat,
She sits on the mat,
As gay as a sunflower she;
In orange and black you see her wink,
And her waistcoat’s white and her nose is pink,
And her eyes are as green as the sea.
But all is vanity, all the way;
Twilight’s coming and close of day,
And every cat in the twilight’s gray,
Every possible cat.

The tortoiseshell cat,
She is smooth and fat,
And we call her Josephine,
Because she weareth upon her back
This coat of colours, this raven black,
This red of tangerine;
But all is vanity, all the way;
Twilight follows the brightest day,
And every cat in the twilight’s gray,
Every possible cat.

Analysis (ai): The poem presents a domestic portrait of a cat, emphasizing her colorful appearance and named identity, then undercuts it with a recurring refrain on transience and uniformity in twilight. The contrast between individuality and dissolution in darkness suggests a meditation on the illusion of difference.

Tone and Diction: Simple, nursery-rhyme diction and singsong rhythm create a surface lightness, yet the repeated phrase "all is vanity" introduces a somber philosophical tone drawn from biblical sources. This juxtaposition aligns with Edwardian-era tendencies to cloak existential concerns in genteel forms.

Form and Rhythm: Rhyming quatrains with a loose anapestic meter echo children’s verse, a style found in other light verse from the early 20th century. The refrain’s repetition mimics liturgical cadence, reinforcing the thematic focus on cyclical inevitability.

Historical Context: Compared to modernist contemporaries experimenting with fragmentation and free verse, this poem adheres to formal traditionalism. Its preoccupation with ephemerality resonates with post-Victorian anxieties about decline and loss of certainty, though it lacks the radical formalism of high modernism.

Authorial Context: Less central than Chalmers’s satirical or rural sketches, this poem stands out in his minor corpus for its symbolic layering. Unlike his more overtly humorous pieces, it quietly introduces metaphysical reflection, suggesting a rare moment of introspection in his light verse output.

Less-Discussed Angle: While often read as a meditation on beauty’s impermanence, the poem also critiques naming and anthropomorphism—assigning the name “Josephine” only to conclude that identity dissolves in darkness. The cat’s designation is revealed as a human imposition, erased by the equalizing effect of twilight.

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The Myth

Where the bullrushes grow ranker
(Oh, the long green spears a-gleam!)
There the punt shall rock at anchor
In the stream;
By the weir's cool curve of thunder.
By the stones where wagtails plunder
Foolish daddy-long-legs flies,
And the strings of rainbow bubbles in rhapsody arise!Hours may pass and hours go fleeting,
You shall heed them not, but stay
Lost to them, and all the sweeting
Of the may;
For beneath the swelling current
Where the midge-cloud hangs sussurrant,
And the sweeping swallows go,
Lives a most prodigious monster, lurking learnedly and low!

No! I've never really seen him,
But the boatman tells a tale
Of a something ("must 'a' been 'im")
Like a whale,
On the shelving shallows showing
"Where them kingcups is a-growing"
Only just the other night,
And the frightened fry went leaping from the Presence left and right!

But a craft old curmudgeon
He must be, for ne'er a fin
Does he move for any gudgeon
that you spin;
With a wink he maybe watches
'Neath the willow-root's dark notches
As you toil with aching wrist,
But the landing net's no nearer, nor the deft taxidermist!

But the skies are smiling bluely,
There is shade along the shore,
And the chestnut's litten newly
Lamps a score;
Drop the rod then and be thankful
For the sights that fill the bank full -
Verdant meads and ancient stems
And the broad paternal bigness and the Peace of Father Thames!

Analysis (ai): The speaker alternates between a mesmerized observer and a skeptical participant, creating tension between imagination and experience. Unlike the author's typically satirical tone in journalistic works, this poem adopts a reflective, almost conspiratorial intimacy uncommon in his oeuvre.

Myth and Belief: The central figure—the unseen monster—is treated with a mix of mockery and reverence. The creature functions less as a literal being than as a justification for inaction, a myth that excuses failed fishing and romanticizes idleness, subverting the Victorian expectation of productivity in nature poetry.

Nature Imagery: Detailed depictions of river life—wagtails, kingcups, swallows—ground the poem in pastoral realism. Yet natural elements are animated through childlike wonder rather than scientific precision, contrasting with the more detached, observational style typical of Edwardian nature writing.

Rhythm and Dialect: The poem employs a regular ABAB rhyme scheme with variable tetrameter, lending a lulling, conversational cadence. The boatman’s dialect (“must 'a' been 'im”) introduces a rustic authenticity that underscores regional specificity and subtly challenges the dominant polished diction of early 20th-century poetry.

Form and Era: Though conforming to traditional rhyme and meter, the poem quietly resists Edwardian formal rigidity by allowing digression, humor, and personal anecdote to structure the narrative. It avoids the industrial or urban themes emerging in contemporaneous modernist works, instead doubling down on rural retreat.

Engagement with Modernity: Written in the interwar period, the poem’s focus on stasis and peace functions as a quiet response to social upheaval. The rejection of the catch—valuing observation over conquest—mirrors contemporary philosophical shifts toward mindfulness and ecological awareness, albeit indirectly.

Place in the Author’s Work: Among the author’s predominantly humorous and journalistic writings, this lyrical excursion stands out for its sustained metaphor and emotional restraint. Its focus on stillness and myth diverges from his usual irony, suggesting a rare moment of genuine contemplation.

Underexamined Theme: Rather than simply celebrating nature or rural life, the poem critiques the expectation of success and result. The monster's nonexistence becomes liberating—freedom from performance, even in leisure—offering a counter-narrative to the productivity-driven ethos of the era.

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Famous poet /1872 - 1942

Patrick R Chalmers

Roundabouts and Swings

The Tortoiseshell Cat

The Myth

Famous poets