"The Duck and the Kangaroo" is a nonsense poem by Edward Lear. It was first published in Lear's 1870 collection, Nonsense Songs. The poem depicts a dialogue between a pond-bound duck and the kangaroo who represents the duck's greatest chance at freedom. The duck persuades the kangaroo to take the duck around the world on its back. While "The Duck and the Kangaroo" does not share the structure or the precise meter of Lear's limericks, his greatest claim to fame, the poem includes Lear's signature wordplay and his use of anthropomorphism, in which he gives animal characters very human traits and interactions).
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The Full Text of “The Duck and the Kangaroo”
I
1Said the Duck to the Kangaroo,
2 ‘Good gracious! how you hop!
3Over the fields and the water too,
4 As if you never would stop!
5My life is a bore in this nasty pond,
6And I long to go out in the world beyond!
7 I wish I could hop like you!’
8 Said the Duck to the Kangaroo.
II
9‘Please give me a ride on your back!’
10 Said the Duck to the Kangaroo.
11‘I would sit quite still, and say nothing but “Quack,”
12 The whole of the long day through!
13And we’d go to the Dee, and the Jelly Bo Lee,
14Over the land, and over the sea;—
15 Please take me a ride! O do!’
16 Said the Duck to the Kangaroo.
III
17Said the Kangaroo to the Duck,
18 ‘This requires some little reflection;
19Perhaps on the whole it might bring me luck,
20 And there seems but one objection,
21Which is, if you’ll let me speak so bold,
22Your feet are unpleasantly wet and cold,
23And would probably give me the roo-
24 Matiz!’ said the Kangaroo.
IV
25Said the Duck, ‘As I sate on the rocks,
26 I have thought over that completely,
27And I bought four pairs of worsted socks
28 Which fit my web-feet neatly.
29And to keep out the cold I’ve bought a cloak,
30And every day a cigar I’ll smoke,
31 All to follow my own dear true
32 Love of a Kangaroo!’
V
33Said the Kangaroo, ‘I’m ready!
34 All in the moonlight pale;
35But to balance me well, dear Duck, sit steady!
36 And quite at the end of my tail!’
37So away they went with a hop and a bound,
38And they hopped the whole world three times round;
39 And who so happy,—O who,
40 As the Duck and the Kangaroo?.
The Full Text of “The Duck and the Kangaroo”
I
1Said the Duck to the Kangaroo,
2 ‘Good gracious! how you hop!
3Over the fields and the water too,
4 As if you never would stop!
5My life is a bore in this nasty pond,
6And I long to go out in the world beyond!
7 I wish I could hop like you!’
8 Said the Duck to the Kangaroo.
II
9‘Please give me a ride on your back!’
10 Said the Duck to the Kangaroo.
11‘I would sit quite still, and say nothing but “Quack,”
12 The whole of the long day through!
13And we’d go to the Dee, and the Jelly Bo Lee,
14Over the land, and over the sea;—
15 Please take me a ride! O do!’
16 Said the Duck to the Kangaroo.
III
17Said the Kangaroo to the Duck,
18 ‘This requires some little reflection;
19Perhaps on the whole it might bring me luck,
20 And there seems but one objection,
21Which is, if you’ll let me speak so bold,
22Your feet are unpleasantly wet and cold,
23And would probably give me the roo-
24 Matiz!’ said the Kangaroo.
IV
25Said the Duck, ‘As I sate on the rocks,
26 I have thought over that completely,
27And I bought four pairs of worsted socks
28 Which fit my web-feet neatly.
29And to keep out the cold I’ve bought a cloak,
30And every day a cigar I’ll smoke,
31 All to follow my own dear true
32 Love of a Kangaroo!’
V
33Said the Kangaroo, ‘I’m ready!
34 All in the moonlight pale;
35But to balance me well, dear Duck, sit steady!
36 And quite at the end of my tail!’
37So away they went with a hop and a bound,
38And they hopped the whole world three times round;
39 And who so happy,—O who,
40 As the Duck and the Kangaroo?.
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“The Duck and the Kangaroo” Summary
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“The Duck and the Kangaroo” Themes
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Friendship and Compromise
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Wanderlust and Freedom
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Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “The Duck and the Kangaroo”
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Lines 1-4
Said the Duck to the Kangaroo,
‘Good gracious! how you hop!
Over the fields and the water too,
As if you never would stop! -
Lines 5-8
My life is a bore in this nasty pond,
And I long to go out in the world beyond!
I wish I could hop like you!’
Said the Duck to the Kangaroo. -
Lines 10-13
‘Please give me a ride on your back!’
Said the Duck to the Kangaroo.
‘I would sit quite still, and say nothing but “Quack,”
The whole of the long day through! -
Lines 14-17
And we’d go to the Dee, and the Jelly Bo Lee,
Over the land, and over the sea;—
Please take me a ride! O do!’
Said the Duck to the Kangaroo. -
Lines 18-21
Said the Kangaroo to the Duck,
‘This requires some little reflection;
Perhaps on the whole it might bring me luck,
And there seems but one objection, -
Lines 22-25
Which is, if you’ll let me speak so bold,
Your feet are unpleasantly wet and cold,
And would probably give me the roo-
Matiz!’ said the Kangaroo. -
Lines 26-29
Said the Duck, ‘As I sate on the rocks,
I have thought over that completely,
And I bought four pairs of worsted socks
Which fit my web-feet neatly. -
Lines 30-33
And to keep out the cold I’ve bought a cloak,
And every day a cigar I’ll smoke,
All to follow my own dear true
Love of a Kangaroo!’ -
Lines 35-38
Said the Kangaroo, ‘I’m ready!
All in the moonlight pale;
But to balance me well, dear Duck, sit steady!
And quite at the end of my tail!’ -
Lines 39-42
So away they went with a hop and a bound,
And they hopped the whole world three times round;
And who so happy,—O who,
As the Duck and the Kangaroo?.
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“The Duck and the Kangaroo” Symbols
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The Pond
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“The Duck and the Kangaroo” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language
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Alliteration
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Anthropomorphism
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Assonance
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Caesura
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Consonance
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End-Stopped Line
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Enjambment
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Pun
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Repetition
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Diacope
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Rhetorical Question
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“The Duck and the Kangaroo” 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.
- The Dee and the Jelly Bo Lee
- Roo-matiz
- Sate
- Worsted
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Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “The Duck and the Kangaroo”
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Form
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Meter
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Rhyme Scheme
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“The Duck and the Kangaroo” Speaker
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“The Duck and the Kangaroo” Setting
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Literary and Historical Context of “The Duck and the Kangaroo”
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More “The Duck and the Kangaroo” Resources
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External Resources
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"The Duck and the Kangaroo" Read Aloud — Listen to a reading of the entire poem.
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Nonsense Songs — Project Gutenberg — In this digital version of the original 1870 book, read "The Duck and the Kangaroo" and the poems and stories with which it first appeared. See Lear's illustrations that appeared with the poem in its first printing.
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"The Duck and the Kangaroo" Song — Listen to the poem set to music (though note that this song includes only stanzas I, II, and V).
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Nonsense Verse Activities — This article contains an outline of various lesson plans and activities that can be used to explore nonsense verse (by authors like Lear and Lewis Carroll) further.
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Edward Lear Biography from the Poetry Foundation — Learn about the development of Lear's poetry over the decades, the connections between his visual art and his poetry, and the impact of his wandering lifestyle on his work.
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LitCharts on Other Poems by Edward Lear
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