Solomon Grundy
By Anonymous
Solomon Grundy,
Born on a Monday,
Christened on Tuesday,
Married on Wednesday,
Took ill on Thursday,
Grew worse on Friday,
Died on Saturday,
Buried on Sunday.
That was the end,
Of Solomon Grundy
Summary of Solomon Grundy
- Popularity of “Solomon Grundy”: With its index number 19299 in Roud Folk Song, this song seems to have been published by James Orchard Halliwell in 1842. Since then, the song has been adapted to several situations and sung several times in different tunes. Despite its popularity, its exact date is as unknown as its author. The song’s presentation of a character and his seven days of life demonstrates the reason behind its popularity. Along with these unusual thematic strands, the song stands among the rest due to its rhyme scheme.
- “Solomon Grundy” As a Representative of Reality: The anonymous poet presents a person, Soloman Grundy, and his entire life story comprising just one week time. The poet states that he was born on Monday, Christened on Tuesday, and married on Wednesday. Then he becomes ill on Thursday, which gets worse on Friday, and he dies on Saturday. Sunday is the day of his burial. This unbelievably short life of a person shows the main and significant events. Due to this short and brief narration of the life of Solomon, he has become an urban legend rather.
- Major Themes in “Solomon Grundy”: Transience of life, speed of time, and importance of events are the three major themes of this poem. The poem beautifully presents the transience of life, presenting Solomon Grundy as the main character with just six days of life and a seventh day reserved for his burial. The poem shows the speed of time, how fast it approaches, meets the person, and passes, leaving little time for other things to be done in life. Although these events are significant, the poet shows that there could be other events in case life continues for more than seven days.
Analysis of Literary Devices Used in Solomon Grundy
This nursery rhyme shows the use of various literary devices that have enhanced the intended impact of the poem. Some of the major literary devices used in this nursery rhyme are as follows.
- Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /o/ in “Born on a Monday” and the sound of /o/ in “That was the end.”
- Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /n/ in “Born on a Monday” and the sound of /g/ in “Grew worse on Friday.”
- Connotations: It means to use words with different shades of meanings. The poem shows different life events to signify the importance of some events in life. They have been rather generalized through this connotative usage.
- Irony: Irony is a figure of speech in which words are used in such a way that their intended meaning is different from the actual meaning of the words. The irony of the poem lies in the brevity of time, which is not possible in the life of a person.
- Imagery: Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses. Anonymous poet has used imagery in this poem such as “Grew worse on Friday”, “Died on Saturday” and “Married on Wednesday.”
- Symbolism: Symbolism is using symbols to signify ideas and qualities, giving them symbolic meanings that are different from the literal meanings. The poem shows symbols of days to connote time in one’s life.
Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in Solomon Grundy
Poetic and literary devices are the same, but a few are used only in poetry. Here is an analysis of some of the poetic devices used in this poem.
- Diction and Tone: Diction means the type of language, and tone means the voice of the text. The song shows simple and formal diction while the tone is exciting and jubilant.
- End Rhyme: End rhyme is used to make the stanza melodious. Anonymous poet has used end rhyme in this poem, such as Monday, Tuesday, and so on.
- Rhyme Scheme: The poem follows an ABAB rhyme scheme, and this pattern continues until the end.
- Stanza: A stanza is a poetic form of some lines. This poem is itself a stanza with ten verses.
Quotes to be Used
The following lines are useful to quote the brevity of life.
Grew worse on Friday,
Died on Saturday,
Buried on Sunday.
That was the end,
Of Solomon Grundy
