A Naughty Boy-John Keats

 A NAUGHTY BOY

There was a naughty boy,

And a naughty boy was he.

He ran away to Scotland,

The people there to see,

But he found

That the ground

Was as hard,

That a yard

Was as long,

That a song

Was as merry,

That a cherry

Was as red,

That lead

Was as weighty,

That fourscore

Was still eighty,

And a door was as wooden as in England.

So he stood in his shoes, and he wondered,

He wondered, he wondered,

So he stood in his shoes and he wondered.

JOHN KEATS

Summary: 'A Naughty Boy' by John Keats is a short poem about a mischievous boy who runs away to Scotland to see the people there. However, the boy soon realizes that everything he sees in Scotland is the same as it was in England - the ground is still hard, a yard is still long, a song is still merry, and a cherry is still red. The boy is surprised to discover that lead is still weighty, fourscore is still eighty, and a door is still made of wood. The poem concludes with the boy standing in his shoes, wondering about the similarities between Scotland and England. The poem can be read as a humorous commentary on the universality of human experience and the futility of seeking novelty in distant places.