Note:This is an analyisis of the poem "The Pirate and the Penguin" by ~Tar1988 and ~Away-From-Me . To understand what I'm going on about, please read the poem first at http://tar1988.deviantart.com/art/The-Pirate-and-the-Penguin-82848539 . Thank you :)





                At first glance “The Pirate and the Penguin” seems to be a frivolous poem with no meaning. However, once one digs beneath the surface, it is a meticulously crafted allegory to the French Revolution and Napoleon Bonaparte.
The first stanza begins with an explanation of what has already happened in France.  In line 1, “The birthday girl” refers to the French Revolution, since the revolution was supposed to be a ‘rebirth’ of France. This phrase sets up the time period for the rest of the events in the poem; that is, after the revolutionary spirit in France has mostly died away (or been executed). The assonance in “birthday”, “has”, and “away” , in addition to the imagery of a birthday girl, helps create the light-hearted tone of this poem.
The use of the word “us” in the second line reveals the narrator of the poem: a common person in France.  This helps to explain the cheerful assonance in the first line; the people France were probably quite happy when the worst of the bloodshed was over, and Robespierre was gone. The rest of line 2 shows the frustration in France at this time, since the unpopular Directory had been established.  The narrator feels that France is being held back from its rightful place in the world; that is, being its conqueror. The rhyme between “delay” and “away” continues to reinforce the overall hopeful mood, as does the consonance between “leaving”, “small”, and “delay”. It also helps to emphasize the word “small”, since the Directory only lasted for 4 years.
              Line 3 exposes the method by which France plans to conquer. With “fish” as a metaphor for the France’s enemies, since France’s enemies do not deserve to be called human, and the word “slapped” in order to show the disrespect with which they should be dealt with,  the line shows that France will take over the world by disposing of its enemies. Although the first 2 lines of the first stanza were written in iambs with the unstressed syllable at the beginning of the second line missing to emphasize forward motion in France, in the second two lines the iambic structure breaks down. This, along with repetition of the sound ‘er’ in “suffer” and “another” shows the dissatisfaction that France has not yet conquered the world, and has to wait to settle its internal problems first.
          The first line of the second stanza takes the poem back to its optimistic mood, along with its original iamb form. Both assonance and consonance appear together in “penguin” “king” and “remains”, supporting this mood. The poem is particularly hopeful here, because “penguin king” is a reference to Napoleon Bonaparte. The imagery draws attention to the style of dress at the time, as well as to Napoleon’s diminutive height. This is also appropriate because penguins eat fish, and the word ‘fish’ in the last stanza was used as a metaphor for enemies. Napoleon was a source of hope for the people of France, because he provided relative stability, some lasting public reforms, and planned to make France great.
             The “pirates” in line 6 is a metaphor for the people of France. Although the word “pirates” usually has negative connotations, in this case it is beneficial because the pirates are able to take the glory and honor that France deserves. The stains referred to in line 6 are the metaphorical bloodstains from Napoleon’s coup, which enabled him to gain power. This is clarified in lines 6 and 7. Napoleon actually gained power when someone else asked him to support a coup d'état, after which Napoleon out-maneuvered the person and became First Consul for life. Hence, the phrase “angry, unslapped fish”, referring again to enemies, though this time the enemies of Napoleon that tried to get in his way. The twisted method of Napoleon’s rise to power is the reason for line 8; “sober” in this case should be interpreted as normal or typical. The disrupted iambs in the last line of the stanza help strengthen the disconcerted feeling caused by Napoleon’s sudden takeover.
           The third and final stanza goes into what the narrator of the poem, a French person, predicts will happen, as indicated by the use of the future tense. The name “pirate queen”(12) now refers to France herself, as ‘pirates’ was used in line 6 as a metaphor for the people of France, and “penguin king”(12) again refers to Napoleon Bonaparte. These are the “couple stout” in line 10, that the world will “fall for”, i.e. be conquered by, either through bribes, with cookie as metaphor for money or other benefits, or slapping, again used to mean force. The narrator predicts that Napoleon and France will conquer the world and be victorious. Assonance of “victory” “will” and “sing” in line 11 and alliteration of “pirate” and “penguin” in line 12 highlights this triumphant ending, accompanied by continued iambs through the entire stanza.
          “The Pirate and the Penguin”, by Tar1988, is an intricately constructed poem about the times of Napoleon Bonaparte written from the viewpoint of a Frenchman. From the modern viewpoint, Napoleon’s eventual fall from power and eventual exile lends a touch of irony to the poem, considering the narrator’s appreciation and high hopes for him. This impression is supported by the lucidity of many of the metaphors used, and the overall tone of the poem. It would do us all well to remember that, as wonderful as a person or situation seems at the time, its continuance cannot always be relied upon.