And then there Were None Poem (the Nursery Rhyme)

– And then there Were None Poem –

The author with the most books sold overall is Agatha Christie. The best-selling mystery ever written is one of her works, “And Then There Were None.” In 1939, they released the book.

In “and then there were none,” they invite ten strangers to a renowned but remote island owned by an unidentified host. Each visitor may be hiding a secret from their history, maybe a crime they committed.

One by one, the visitors pass away, and in ways predicted by a macabre poem posted all around the place. The reader and the surviving guests then tensely debate two pressing issues: Who is the murderer and who will perish next?

And then there Were None Poem

The well-known lyric and nursery rhyme “Ten Little Soldiers” is woven throughout the narrative. The poem, which dates back to the 1600s, describes an activity that a group of lads engages in, one of whom dies as a result, in each line.

One youngster is the only one left by the poem’s conclusion. The poem ends with the line “and then there were none” before he hangs himself.

Ten Little N*****s was the title of Christie’s book when it was initially released in the United Kingdom. The book’s title changed to “Ten Little Indians” after they eliminated the racial epithet in 1940.

They then changed the name to “Ten Little Soldiers.” Under its present title, And Then There Were None, they published the novel in the United States in 1940.

The Ten Little Soldiers Poem

The text that makes up Christie’s poem And Then There Were None is as follows. Though many still call it there And Then There Were None poem, we originally knew this poem as the Ten Little Indians poem:

“Ten little Soldier Boys went out to dine; one choked his little self and then there were nine.
Nine little Soldier Boys sat up very late; one overslept himself and then there were eight.
Eight little Soldier Boys traveling in Devon; one said he’d stay there and then there were seven.
Seven little Soldier Boys chopping up sticks; one chopped himself in halves, and then there were six.
Six little Soldier Boys playing with a hive; a bumblebee stung one and then there were five.
Five little Soldier Boys going in for law; one got in Chancery and then there were four.
Four little Soldier Boys going out to sea; a red herring swallowed one and then there were three.
Three little Soldier Boys walking in the zoo; a big bear hugged one and then there were two.
Two little Soldier Boys sitting in the sun; one got frizzled up and then there was one.
One little Soldier Boy left all alone; he went out and hanged himself And Then There Were None.”

Summary of the Poem

This poem’s first lines include a little child who chokes himself, someone who oversleeps, someone who remains in Devon, someone who dies while cutting wood, and so on. The poet uses instances of internal and end rhyme throughout.

Character deaths and Agatha Christie’s book are connected in certain ways that are more obvious than others. Even yet, it serves as a chilling metaphor to what will happen over the rest of the novel.

The poem ends with the last boy “going and hanging himself,” which is how he passed himself. “There were none,” the poet concludes.

Structure and Form 

An entire stanza makes up the eleven-line nursery rhyme “Ten Little Soldiers.” They divide each line into two half and is extremely lengthy. The boys’ activity in the first half comes to an end, and the boys’ death and the number of remaining boys do in the second.

Although the poet employs internal rhymes, the final phrases do not rhyme with one another.

These link the quantity of soldier boys left with the action they just completed. For instance, in the tenth line of the poem, “One” rhymes with “sun,” while in the sixth line, “hive” rhymes with “Five.”

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Literary Devices 

The author employs many literary techniques in this poem. They comprise, but are not restricted to:

Caesura: When a poet adds a pause in a line of poetry, we know it as a caesura. This may be accomplished by adding punctuation or by allowing the meter to naturally pause.

A bumblebee stung one of the six tiny military boys while they were playing with the hive, and soon there were five more.

Alliteration: When a poet uses the same consonant sound at the beginning of many lines, we know it as alliteration. For instance, in line 7, the words “sea” and “soldier”

Poets refer to repeated parts in a poem as repetition. This might be the framework, an image, a word or phrase, or something else entirely. The poet employs several repetitions, including anaphora, epistrophe, and the consistent usage of structure.

Detailed Analysis of Lines 1-5

“Ten little soldier boys went out to dine; One choked his little self and then there were Nine.

Nine little soldier boys sat up very late; one overslept himself and then there were eight.

Eight little soldier boys traveling in Devon; one said he’d stay there and then there were seven.

Seven little soldier boys chopping up sticks; one chopped himself in halves and then there were six.

Six little soldier boys playing with a hive; a bumblebee stung one and then there were Five.”

Analysis

The author presents the framework used for the remaining lines in the poem’s initial few words (except for the eleventh). Each line begins with the number of “little military lads” still present.

As the line moves forward, one of these lads has a setback, which reduces the total by one. We have split these lines in half to show a caesura.

The poet rhymes the word before the pause and the word at the conclusion of each line throughout, which is another thing the reader should know.

For instance, the word “nine” in the first line rhymes with the word “dine” in the middle of the sentence. The words “late” and “eight” do the same thing in the following paragraph.

The opening words explain how the guys decreased in number from “ten” to “five.” One dies from being suffocated (Anthony Marston passes away while drinking), while another “overslept himself” (Mrs. Rogers’ passing).

Another remained in “Devon,” where she was found dead from poisoning. Macarthur’s demise marks the third fatality in the book. He is pushed after going outside to sit and observe the water.

Another young man “cut himself in half” (this connects with Mr. Rogers, who dies while chopping firewood for the household). Then a bumblebee “stung” someone. This is a reference to Miss Brent, who passes away from a poison injection in the waiting area.

We can find more horrific deaths than others on this list. For instance, it’s unclear whether the youngster from the poem’s “Devon” perished. But it’s obvious that the youngster who “chopped himself” lost his life in a most ghastly manner.

Many of the characteristics seen in nursery rhymes from the 16th century are present in this composition.

The poem uses straightforward language that most youngsters could comprehend and is full of odd allusions to events that readers are ignorant of. It also has excellent rhymes that give it the sensation of a song.

Detailed Analysis of Lines 6-11 

“Five little soldier boys going in for law; one got into chancery and then there were four.

Four little soldier boys going out to sea; a red herring swallowed one and then there were three.

Three little soldier boys walking in the Zoo; a big bear hugged one and then there were two.

Two little soldier boys sitting in the sun; one got frizzled up and then there was one.

One little soldier boy left all alone; he went and hanged himself.

And Then There Were None.”

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Analysis

The number of lads progressively reduced over the course of the following few sentences until “there were none.”

The guys “went in for law” in the sixth line, and one “got in the Chancery.” This is consistent with Wargrave’s alleged shooting death while dressed in judge’s robes.

When the army lads “go out to sea,” the seventh boy perishes. A “red herring” engulfs him. In the book, MacArthur perishes at sea from drowning. (Wargrave shoved him inside.)

They visit the zoo and “a giant bear cuddles one and then there were two” until there are only three tiny military lads left, or three characters in the book. This is consistent with Blore’s passing. He receives a head injury by a statue of a bear.

The ninth little boy passes away while enjoying the sun. His hair is “frizzled up.” In the book, Vera shot Lombard and passed away. (This is the death that the poem’s death is the least like.)

There is only one young guy remaining at this point. This youngster kills himself, leaving “none.” Vera, who kills herself to absolve herself of responsibility for Cyril’s murder, is the final person to pass away.

The eleventh line of this poem contains the title of Agatha Christie’s book. This line, which also serves as the modern title for the book, provides the poem’s melancholic conclusion.

We hope you’ve found meaning in each section of this poem. Do well to share and remember to leave a comment in the comment section below.