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The Bab Ballads

by W. S. Gilbert (1836–1911)

  • Free to read
  • 1 hour to read
  • 3 chapters
  • Reading level: 7th grade

"The Bab Ballads" by W. S. Gilbert is a collection of light verse first published in book form in 1869. Named after Gilbert's childhood nickname, these illustrated comic poems showcase his signature "topsy-turvy" style—establishing ridiculous premises and pursuing their logical, absurd conclusions. Written before his famous Gilbert and Sullivan collaborations, the ballads reveal his cynical wit and became wildly popular, read at dinner parties and even in the House of Lords. Many later provided plot elements and characters for his celebrated comic operas.

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  • English wit and humor
  • Humorous poetry, English

Read the opening

Part I

AT a pleasant evening party I had taken down to supper
One whom I will call ELVIRA, and we talked of love and TUPPER,

MR. TUPPER and the Poets, very lightly with them dealing,
For I’ve always been distinguished for a strong poetic feeling.

Then we let off paper crackers, each of which contained a motto,
And she listened while I read them, till her mother told her not to.

Then she whispered, “To the ball-room we had better, dear, be walking;
If we stop down here much longer, really people will be talking.”

There were noblemen in coronets, and military cousins,
There were captains by the hundred, there were baronets by dozens.

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Contents

  1. Front Matter
  2. Part I
  3. Part II

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About this edition

This free edition of The Bab Ballads by W. S. Gilbert comes from Project Gutenberg eBook #931, released 1997-06-01. It is in the public domain in the United States, so you can read it here in full at no cost, on any phone, tablet or computer. Genre: Poetry, Humour, British Literature.

Summary provided by Project Gutenberg (automatically generated).

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