FITTE THE SIXTH by Eugene Field: Summary, Meaning & Analysis
A muddy puppy from the Taylor family stirs up complete chaos one afternoon in Buena Park — ruining kids' clothes, piling up laundry, and making Mr.
The poem
That noon a dozen little dears Were spanked and put to bed With naught to stay their appetites But cheerless crusts of bread. That noon a dozen hired girls Washed out each gown and shirt Which that exuberant Taylor pup Had frescoed o'er with dirt. That whole day long the Aprile sun Smiled sweetly from above On clotheslines flaunting to the breeze The emblems mothers love. That whole day long the Taylor pup This way and that did hie Upon his mad, erratic course, Intent on getting dry. That night when Mr. Taylor came His vesper meal to eat, He uttered things my pious pen Would liefer not repeat. Yet still that noble Taylor pup Survives to romp and bark And stumble over folks and things In fair Buena Park. Good sooth, I wot he should be called Buena's favorite son Who's sired of such a noble sire And dammed by every one!
A muddy puppy from the Taylor family stirs up complete chaos one afternoon in Buena Park — ruining kids' clothes, piling up laundry, and making Mr. Taylor curse at the dinner table. In spite of all the mayhem, the poem wraps up with a lighthearted pun that honors the dog as the neighborhood's favorite little troublemaker.
Line-by-line
That noon a dozen little dears / Were spanked and put to bed
That noon a dozen hired girls / Washed out each gown and shirt
That whole day long the Aprile sun / Smiled sweetly from above
That whole day long the Taylor pup / This way and that did hie
That night when Mr. Taylor came / His vesper meal to eat
Yet still that noble Taylor pup / Survives to romp and bark
Good sooth, I wot he should be called / Buena's favorite son
Tone & mood
Warm, playful, and intentionally goofy. Field writes like someone sharing a hilarious neighborhood tale at a dinner party—maintaining a serious demeanor while using quirky words ("frescoed," "vesper," "Good sooth, I wot") that elevate the ordinary to epic proportions. Beneath the humor lies genuine affection, both for the dog and the community it playfully disrupts.
Symbols & metaphors
- The Taylor pup — The dog is a source of pure, innocent chaos—it embodies how nature (and animals) function beyond human social structures, interrupting our carefully managed domestic lives without any intent or understanding.
- The clotheslines — The laundry drying in the sun represents domestic order and the hard work of mothers. Field refers to these garments as "emblems mothers love," so when the dog threatens them with mud, it's like an attack on the entire household structure.
- The pious pen — The narrator's choice not to record Mr. Taylor's words highlights Victorian propriety and the humorous disconnect between polite literary norms and the genuine frustration of everyday life.
- Buena Park — The named neighborhood anchors the poem in a real, specific community. It turns the dog from just a nuisance into a local legend, infusing the poem with the essence of a tall tale or a beloved piece of local folklore.
Historical context
Eugene Field was a Chicago newspaper columnist and poet, celebrated for his sentimental children's poetry, especially "Wynken, Blynken, and Nod." However, he also produced a significant amount of comic, satirical, and locally inspired work for his column in the Chicago Daily News. "Fitte the Sixth" — a title that mimics the old-fashioned chapter divisions found in medieval romances — is part of a series of humorous neighborhood poems Field created about real or slightly fictionalized residents of the Chicago area and their pets. Buena Park was a real neighborhood on Chicago's North Side. The poem dates back to the 1880s or early 1890s, during Field's peak popularity as a humorist. The intentionally archaic language ("Good sooth, I wot," "liefer") serves as a playful joke — Field is using Chaucer-like and medieval epic language to narrate a story about a muddy dog, which was a popular comedic technique of the time.
FAQ
A "fitte" (or "fit") is an old term for a section or canto of a lengthy poem, commonly found in medieval literature such as *Sir Gawain and the Green Knight*. Field plays with this term ironically—by referring to a short comic poem about a dog as "Fitte the Sixth," he gives it the grand air of an epic poem, which is the punchline. It suggests there were five earlier parts of just as absurd neighborhood antics.
A fresco is a painting applied directly onto wet plaster, which is the method behind iconic pieces like the Sistine Chapel ceiling. Field uses this term to refer to the mud that the puppy left on the children's clothes. By calling the dog's muddy paw prints a "fresco," he's humorously exaggerating, framing the mess as if it were a masterpiece.
The final stanza plays with two interpretations of *dam*. In animal breeding, a "dam" refers to the mother of an animal, so "dammed by every one" might suggest the dog comes from a prestigious maternal lineage. However, it also sounds like "damned by every one," implying that everyone in the neighborhood has expressed their frustration toward the dog. Field sets up this pun with "sired of such a noble sire" (referring to the father's side), making the "dammed" line hit as the punchline.
This humorously suggests that Mr. Taylor shouted in frustration when he returned home to find the household in disarray. Writers from the Victorian era frequently employed this polite circumlocution to hint at swearing without spelling it out. The term "liefer" is an old-fashioned word meaning "rather" or "more willingly" — the narrator is indicating that he prefers not to write those words.
Yes. Buena Park is an actual neighborhood located on Chicago's North Side, close to Lake Michigan. Field lived in Chicago and often wrote about its neighborhoods and the people who live there. By setting the poem in a specific real place, it takes on the feel of local gossip or neighborhood lore.
The poem leaves a lot unsaid, but it hints that the children were somehow caught up in — or held responsible for — the dog's mess. Being sent to bed with just crusts of bread was a typical punishment back then. Field immerses us in the aftermath without any backstory, creating a humorous feeling that we’ve stumbled into a family already in chaos.
Both phrases are intentionally old-fashioned. "Good sooth" translates to "in truth" or "truly," while "I wot" means "I know" or "I believe" — both originate from Old and Middle English. Field employs these terms to maintain the mock-medieval tone set by the title. Using the language of ancient poetry to embellish a joke about a muddy dog is the core comedic approach of the poem.
The title hints at this pretty clearly. "Fitte the Sixth" suggests there are at least five earlier poems in the same series, likely featuring the same neighborhood characters and their ongoing antics. Field frequently wrote these serial comic poems for his newspaper column, often revisiting the same fictional or loosely based Chicago residents.