Happy the Lab'rer

Happy the Lab'rer

Happy the lab’rer in his Sunday clothes!
In light-drab coat, smart waistcoat, well-darn’d hose,
And hat upon his head, to church he goes;
As oft, with conscious pride, he downward throws
A glance upon the ample cabbage rose
That, stuck in button-hole, regales his nose,
He envies not the gayest London beaux.
In church he takes his seat among the rows,
Pays to the place the reverence he owes,
Likes best the prayers whose meaning least he knows,
Lists to the sermon in a softening doze,
And rouses joyous at the welcome close.

In Happy the Lab'rer Jane Austen uses strong imagery to describe the appearance and setting. In the beginning of the poem Austen describes the man in his Sunday clothes and at the end describes the church scene. In the second and third line she says "In light-drab coat smart waistcoat, well darn'd hose, and a hat upon his head, to church he goes." By clearly stating what the man is wearing we can clearly picture it in our heads. At the bottom of the poem she says "In church he takes his seat among rows, pays to the place his reverence he owes, like best the prayers whose meaning least he knows, lists to the sermon in a softening doze." The scene is explicit and easily we easily understand that it is about a man in church listening to a sermon. With a little research have also found that this poem is a product of a game that Jane Austen's family would play in which they would see who could write the longest poem with the lines all rhyming with the word "rose."