“The Song of the Shirt” Summary

“The Song of the Shirt” Themes

• 

  Poverty and Labor in Victorian England

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• 

  Gender Inequality in Victorian England

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Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “The Song of the Shirt”

• Lines 1-8

  With fingers weary and worn,
  With eyelids heavy and red,
  A woman sat, in unwomanly rags,
  Plying her needle and thread—
  Stitch! stitch! stitch!
  In poverty, hunger, and dirt,
  And still with a voice of dolorous pitch
  She sang the "Song of the Shirt."

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 9-16

  "Work! work! work!
  While the cock is crowing aloof!
  And work—work—work,
  Till the stars shine through the roof!
  It's O! to be a slave
  Along with the barbarous Turk,
  Where woman has never a soul to save,
  If this is Christian work!

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 17-24

  "Work—work—work
  Till the brain begins to swim;
  Work—work—work
  Till the eyes are heavy and dim!
  Seam, and gusset, and band,
  Band, and gusset, and seam,
  Till over the buttons I fall asleep,
  And sew them on in a dream!

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 25-32

  "O, Men, with Sisters dear!
  O, Men! with Mothers and Wives!
  It is not linen you're wearing out,
  But human creatures' lives!
  Stitch—stitch—stitch,
  In poverty, hunger, and dirt,
  Sewing at once with a double thread,
  A Shroud as well as a Shirt.

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 33-40

  "But why do I talk of Death?
  That Phantom of grisly bone,
  I hardly fear its terrible shape,
  It seems so like my own—
  It seems so like my own,
  Because of the fasts I keep;
  Oh! God! that bread should be so dear,
  And flesh and blood so cheap!

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 41-48

  "Work—work—work!
  My Labour never flags;
  And what are its wages? A bed of straw,
  A crust of bread—and rags.
  That shatter'd roof—and this naked floor—
  A table—a broken chair—
  And a wall so blank, my shadow I thank
  For sometimes falling there!

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 49-56

  "Work—work—work!
  From weary chime to chime,
  Work—work—work!
  As prisoners work for crime!
  Band, and gusset, and seam,
  Seam, and gusset, and band,
  Till the heart is sick, and the brain benumb'd,
  As well as the weary hand.

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 57-64

  "Work—work—work,
  In the dull December light,
  And work—work—work,
  When the weather is warm and bright—
  While underneath the eaves
  The brooding swallows cling
  As if to show me their sunny backs
  And twit me with the spring.

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 65-72

  "O! but to breathe the breath
  Of the cowslip and primrose sweet—
  With the sky above my head,
  And the grass beneath my feet
  For only one short hour
  To feel as I used to feel,
  Before I knew the woes of want
  And the walk that costs a meal!

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 73-80

  "O! but for one short hour!
  A respite however brief!
  No blessed leisure for Love or Hope,
  But only time for Grief!
  A little weeping would ease my heart,
  But in their briny bed
  My tears must stop, for every drop
  Hinders needle and thread!"

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 81-89

  With fingers weary and worn,
  With eyelids heavy and red,
  A woman sat in unwomanly rags,
  Plying her needle and thread—
  Stitch! stitch! stitch!
  In poverty, hunger, and dirt,
  And still with a voice of dolorous pitch,—
  Would that its tone could reach the Rich!—
  She sang this "Song of the Shirt!"

  

  

  

  

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“The Song of the Shirt” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language

• Imagery

  

  

  

  

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• Epizeuxis

  

  

  

  

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• Chiasmus

  

  

  

  

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• Repetition

  

  

  

  

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• Caesura

  

  

  

  

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• Alliteration

  

  

  

  

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• Consonance

  

  

  

  

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• Apostrophe

  

  

  

  

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• Metaphor

  

  

  

  

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• Personification

  

  

  

  

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• Rhetorical Question

  

  

  

  

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“The Song of the Shirt” Vocabulary

Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.

• Unwomanly
• Plying
• Dolorous
• Cock
• Aloof
• Barbarous Turk
• Gusset
• Shroud
• Phantom
• Grisly
• Flags
• Benumbed
• Eaves
• Brooding
• Swallows
• Cowslip and primrose
• Woes
• Respite
• Leisure
• Briny bed
• Hinders

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Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “The Song of the Shirt”

• Form

• Meter

• Rhyme Scheme

“The Song of the Shirt” Speaker

“The Song of the Shirt” Setting

Literary and Historical Context of “The Song of the Shirt”

More “The Song of the Shirt” Resources

• External Resources

  • Mrs. Biddell and the Victorian Court — Learn more about the historical context of "The Song of the Shirt," from a website dedicated to Charles Dickens and his society.

  • Workhouses and the Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834 — Discover the legislation that subjected people like Mrs. Biddell, who inspired "The Song of the Shirt," to horrible experiences in Victorian workhouses.

  • Punch Magazine — Learn more about the magazine in which Hood originally published "The Song of the Shirt."

  • Richard Redgrave's "The Sempstress" — Take a look at a painting inspired by "The Song of the Shirt." 

  • "The Song of the Shirt" Read Aloud — Listen to a recording of the poem.

  • Musical rendition of "The Song of the Shirt" — Hear one artist turn "The Song of the Shirt" into a musical song.

  • Biography of Thomas Hood — Read about the poet who wrote "The Song of the Shirt."

  • "It is not the linen you're wearing out, But human creatures lives" — This painting by Beatrice Offor borrows a quote from "The Song of the Shirt" in its title.

• LitCharts on Other Poems by Thomas Hood

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